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Defrosting a freezer
By Adele Ong
Published: December 10 2007,
CATS Classified in The Straits Times
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Most freezers made and sold now are designed to be frost-free, so you won’t have to defrost them, or will have only very little defrosting to do occasionally. But if yours is an old freezer, or your newer model is forming ice crystals on its inner surfaces, it’s best to defrost the appliance so that it can perform optimally, using the lowest possible amount of energy.

When the frost build-up is light, just use a blunt plastic or wooden scraper (an old fry-stick that you no longer use for cooking will usually do quite well) to quickly remove the layer of ice lining the inside of the freezer, scoop it out, and discard it. Never use a metal fry-stick or knife – it could scratch or even pierce the freezer walls, causing permanent damage.

Some old freezers can accumulate an impressively thick coating of ice, and that is when a complete defrosting is required. This involves removing all the food from the freezer (and the fridge too, if it shares the same power supply), and turning the power off.

The food taken out should ideally be popped into another freezer at once, but if one is not available to you, keep it in a picnic cooler in the coolest part of the house and work quickly on the defrosting so the edibles don’t thaw or go bad.

With the power off and freezer doors open, let the ice melt. Catch the drips in a basin or keep mopping up with old towels. To hurry things along, try placing a pot of freshly boiled water in the freezer compartment.

Clear the inner surfaces of all ice, and wipe with a baking soda-water mix to remove odours. Rinse thoroughly with clean water, wipe everything dry, then turn the power back on. About half-an-hour after powering back up, if the freezer is working normally, it should be ready to start holding food again.