Cleaning when you own pets ...

How often do you move your refrigerator and clean under and behind it?

My fridge has been leaking from the bottom and my handyman friend said he would try to fix it. I emptied the fridge out this morning and he pulled it out from the wall. What a mess! :eek: There was an entire cat's worth of hair under the fridge, and I am not exaggerating. The thing was about 8 inches long and about 3 inches wide. We tipped the fridge over and I vacuumed good underneath it. There was hair sticking to every part of my poor aging fridge. The leaking was not due to the hair though. There was a plug inside the fridge that was frozen over.

hmmm this fridge was already stuck to the floor when I moved in 6.5 years ago, so it hasn't been cleaned in that long.

My fridge gets moved regularly in the past 2 years; since a certain male of the canine persuasion arrived. He is a marker and the side of the fridge is one of his places. :rolleyes: I am trying to keep belly bands on him! But the moment I forget . . . .

You may want to get something like this to attach to your vacuum:
http://www.mileskimball.com/MilesKim...tid=0000041565

That one is open at the end plus has a slot, you can turn the slot UP to pull from the bottom of the fridge. So you don't have to tip it over every time!

Unfortunately, the new fridge I bought 3 years ago is so low to the ground that even this attachment does not fit under. It is on wheels, and as mentioned I pull it out regularly.

not nearly enough apparently, i had lost a gold earing some time ago, we won't say how long ago, now hubby moved the fridge and there it was, strange place, but then i have a bad habit of leaving my jewellery on the table and my lexie the lil darling loves anything that sparkles and pulls it off, caught her a few times and yes i have lost a few things because of that, thing was i had cashed in the other earing for a mere sum of money as i thought no use having one earing, and they were my favourite pair, now i have one again, grr, might as well cash it in too. SO the lesson in this is CLEAN BEHIND YOUR FRIDGE MORE OFTEN lol:D

I don't move it to clean under it as often as I should. I do,however, fish out cat toys that get stuck under it.:) My old refrigerator was a lemon and it only lasted me 5 years but now I have a new one. I bought a brush to clean under the condensor. It's actually a vent brush but it still works well. When I used it, a lot of cat hair stuck to it. If you have pets then you have to expect that this will happen.:)

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Originally Posted by Freedom

My fridge gets moved regularly in the past 2 years; since a certain male of the canine persuasion arrived. He is a marker and the side of the fridge is one of his places. :rolleyes: I am trying to keep belly bands on him! But the moment I forget . . . .

You may want to get something like this to attach to your vacuum:
http://www.mileskimball.com/MilesKim...tid=0000041565

That one is open at the end plus has a slot, you can turn the slot UP to pull from the bottom of the fridge. So you don't have to tip it over every time!

Unfortunately, the new fridge I bought 3 years ago is so low to the ground that even this attachment does not fit under. It is on wheels, and as mentioned I pull it out regularly.

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That is pretty cool. I wonder if it actually works? I tried clicking on the reviews but they didn't come up.

Clean under the fridge ... I pull the drip pan about every 6 or 8 weeks, wash it and put it back. Retrieve lost kitty toys from under the fridge as needed. I wash the grate thingie when I do the floor.

Pull it away from the wall - never, the way it was installed I can't slide it out. (it was here before I was, so I won't be moving it unless/until it stops working)

My daughters fridge is doing the same thing, how did you fix it?

Mine doesn't get pulled out as often as it should. In between that task, I just wrap a dryer sheet around the end of a yardstick and swish it around under the fridge. You'd be amazed at the amount of junk that gets picked up that way - and you don't need to bust a gut moving the fridge out very often. I also vacuum the front grill that is at the bottom with the dusting brush attachment for the vacuum.

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Originally Posted by caseysmom

My daughters fridge is doing the same thing, how did you fix it?

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Is ice building up inside the fridge on the bottom? That is what mine was doing. There is a little hole in the very back on the bottom of the freezer and that was plugged on mine.

I am looking forward to seeing if my electric bill goes down next month because the fridge was running constantly before we cleaned it and now it is also quieter.

The funniest incident in our clan was many years ago - about 20-something - my eldest niece and nephew were about 3-4 years old, and had discovered where Gracie (the Great Dane mix)'s cookies were stored at my parents' house. One of them would declare "Gracie's hungry!" at random moments, they'd give her a biscuit, and she'd dutifully trot off with it. No one realized how frequently they were doing it until days later, we moved the recliner in the living room for vacuuming, and discovered Gracie's stash! She obviously ate one or two, then tucked the rest away, out of sight of the kids, but also out of reach for herself. Before the next family gathering, we moved the "cookie bin" to where small children could not see it!

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Originally Posted by happylabs

Is ice building up inside the fridge on the bottom? That is what mine was doing. There is a little hole in the very back on the bottom of the freezer and that was plugged on mine.

I am looking forward to seeing if my electric bill goes down next month because the fridge was running constantly before we cleaned it and now it is also quieter.

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I will have her check, the hole is in the back of the freezer right? So if its plugged she should just unplug it?

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Originally Posted by caseysmom

I will have her check, the hole is in the back of the freezer right? So if its plugged she should just unplug it?

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Yes. Mine was filled with ice. Knock on wood, it has not leaked since he thawed it out yesterday morning.