Defrosting a Freezer

[deepfryerdan]

Our A/C went kaput this past weekend and was off for about 3 days. In that time a lot of frost built up in the freezer compartment of our refrigerator. Now that the house is cool again, I need to get the frost out of the freezer. What sucks about this situation is that I don't have another freezer to store my food in while I clean out the refrigerator so I'm kind of confused on the process. How should I got about doing this?

BTW, our freezer is a bottom-mounted drawer-style.. in case that info is needed.

 

[Andy M.]

You can temporarily store freezer contents in the fridge and coolers so it stays cold.

I have found the quickest way to defrost a freezer (I have a separate upright freezer that's NOT frost-free.) is to heat large pots of water to boiling and put them on the freezer shelves and shut the door. The heat and steam quickly softens the ice and away you go.

Shut the freezer down before starting and wipe it all dry after you finish.

 

[Alix]

Andy's way is likely better than mine. I turn a hair dryer on it until I can pop the ice chunks off. Then wipe dry.

 

[Robo410]

Andy's method was out tried and true for years. Also, when drying, aim a fan in there...the moving air helps evaporate moisture which will just become frost again when you turn it back on.

 

[SherryDAmore]

When someone named "It wasn't me" left the door of the upright open, I got the ice chests, and packed everything in them, and with hot pots of water for the freezer, I had it done in about 2 hours, +/-. (Now, I lock the freezer, and it has to be locked when others are done......)

And there was some loss, mostly ice cream.

 

[Andy M.]

...And there was some loss, mostly ice cream.

Baked goods are among the first things to thaw out. Bread, cakes, cookies, etc. You'll just have to get a glass of milk and finish them off.

 

[deepfryerdan]

I'm really only worried about the meat. I really didn't want to have to do this but oh well. The light in there went out too.. I've only had it a year, I wonder if after I defrost it if I can make a warranty claim for the bulb

 

[Timothy]

When someone named "It wasn't me" left the door of the upright open,...

"It wasn't me" used to live at my house. Oddly enough, "It wasn't me" moved without a forwarding address at exactly the same time as my son moved out.

I always wondered where "It wasn't me" moved. Now I know! Good luck dealing with "It wasn't me", that innocent sounding, mischievous person!

 

[MostlyWater]

A lot of people say to use hair dryers but it's a dangerous idea because even if a little speck of water gets inside something electric, it's an accident waiting to happen.

We just defrosted our upright freezer because the three year accumulation of ice was so bad, we couldn't get stuff in and out of the shelves anymore.

Different online friends advised me different ways ...

In the wintertime, you could stick your stuff in bags and boxes and leave them outside and your freezer could defrost naturally overnight.

Of course, you didn't plan on defrosting, so that wouldn't help you, and anyway, it's a hundred degrees today !!!

For the summertime, I took laundry hampers or moving type boxes lined with old towels and packed them full lof frozen foods. You can buy ice, too, if you're concerned about stuff defrosting and you getting sick from that. Some stuff stuff can go in the fridge and be OK. (Not ice cream, though.)

Even with three years of ice, it only took us about 2 hours to let everything melt. I kept the door open and the AC off.

My last tip is that I use the lock feature on our big freezer. It's not to keep people out anymore; we're all over 20 years old now. It's to make sure that the freezer stays closed. If you have that feature or can install it, I suggest it. It helps a LOT.

 

[ChocolateFrosting]

You can temporarily store freezer contents in the fridge and coolers so it stays cold.

I have found the quickest way to defrost a freezer (I have a separate upright freezer that's NOT frost-free.) is to heat large pots of water to boiling and put them on the freezer shelves and shut the door. The heat and steam quickly softens the ice and away you go.

Shut the freezer down before starting and wipe it all dry after you finish.

This is amazing!! We've spent years just leaving the freezer door open with towels all round the bottom! Never again. Thanks Andy!

And thanks Deepfryerdan for bringing up the topic!

 

[deepfryerdan]

I finally got to it. Used two pots of hot water and ran a blow dryer for about 15 minutes. It was all said and done in under an hour. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Andy M.]

I finally got to it. Used two pots of hot water and ran a blow dryer for about 15 minutes. It was all said and done in under an hour. Thanks for the tips!

I'm glad that worked for you, dan. My freezer has a drain in the bottom. I attached a clear plastic hose to it and run it right into the sump hole.

 

[deepfryerdan]

I used 4 beach-sized towels.. wasn't too bad at all. I hope I don't have to do it again for a year.

 

[Andy M.]

The towels are necessary during the defrosting process to keep water from leaking out the door as well as for cleanup.

 

[Claire]

I had to laugh ... when I saw you were from Indiana, all I could think is wait 'til a sub-freezing day, put in the cooler on the porch.

my freezer is supposedly frost free, but even cleaning it can be a royal pain because I cannot unplug it. Thank heaven the issue doesn't come up often!