While many of us neglect to keep our fridges clean, it can be unhealthy to live with a dirty refrigerator. Spoiled food can foster the growth of microorganisms that can spread to the rest of your food. Take spring cleaning to the next level this year by getting your refrigerator clean, and keeping your family healthy.

If it’s been a while since you last cleaned the fridge, then a deep-clean is in order:

• Unplug your fridge, removing all food and discarding anything that is no longer edible
• Thoroughly scrub the interior with a powerful disinfectant, careful to clean seams and corners
• Place a fresh box of baking soda to help with odors
• Reload the remaining food into the fridge.

While it might take a bit of work, it’s important for your health that you deep-clean your refrigerator. To take it even further, you can change your habits so that food lasts longer and your fridge remains cleans for a longer period of time:

• Maintain fridge and freezer temperatures of about 40 and 0 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively
• Follow a food freshness guide to learn how long various types of food last in storage, and be sure to throw away anything that outlasts the recommended time.
• Store food in air-tight plastic containers after opening packaging

By following these tips, you’ll have a lot less fridge cleaning to do next time spring rolls around!

Keeping a clean fridge is about more than just unpleasant odors – it’s about your health. Make sure that you’re doing everything you can to maintain a bacteria-free fridge by following these simple tips.