Having an ice machine built into your refrigerator is one of life’s little pleasures. There is truly nothing sweeter than an ice-cold glass of water on a scorching summer’s day.
The convenience of having instant ice at a push of a button is great in comparison to having to break pieces of ice apart from your frozen bag in your freezer - cold hands, ice everywhere on the floor, no thank you!
There can be misconceptions of whether you should or how you should clean your refrigerator’s ice machine.
It may seem and look like an impossible task since it’s built into your refrigerator, but it is actually a lot more simple than you may think.
Despite what you learned in biology in school, bacteria can actually still survive in an ice machine and can cause you some problems and even health issues if you don’t tackle it soon enough.
A lot of people are completely unaware of how often you should be cleaning your ice machine and it is a lot more regularly than you may think.
We’ve created this article to give you the low down on everything you need to know about cleaning your refrigerator’s ice machine.
How should I clean my ice machine?
Ideally, you should attempt to clean your refrigerator’s ice machine on a day where the temperature isn’t too high outside.
Depending on what kind of refrigerator you have, you should switch off the ice machine on the side or back if it has that option.
If you aren’t sure how to do that or can’t find the button, then you can always just turn off the whole refrigerator (unless you’re cleaning the whole refrigerator, you won’t have to take all the food out).
If you don’t want to turn the refrigerator off then you could just turn off the water valve that feeds the ice machine.
Tip: You should never use a dishwasher to wash the removable plastic parts of your ice machine.
Cleaning Your Ice Cube Bin
The first thing you should do is remove your ice bin from the machine and empty it into the sink or outside somewhere safe where you won’t slip on it.
If there are pieces of ice stuck to the side of the bin, let it thaw in the sink before attempting to clean it.
You can then use warm soapy water and a sponge or washcloth to gently clean the inside and exterior of the ice cube bin.
You can also use baking soda diluted with water to clean it as well. If you want to take extra precaution, you can dilute ½ cup of bleach with a gallon of water to use as your solution, but make sure you’re using gloves when putting your hands in there.
Once you’ve cleaned it properly, set it aside on your drying rack to air dry. You should wait till you cleaned all parts of your machine before reassembling it.
All the parts should also be dry before putting them back together as well, so if they’re still damp, wipe them with a microfiber towel.
If you want to be extra safe, you can use an antibacterial surface spray (non-tainting so won’t leave a taste) after this step.
Check the Icemaker
Some ice may be stuck in or around the ice maker, so to get rid of this, you should press a warm sponge or towel on the areas until it melts off.
If the ice is covering a large area and is stubborn to get off, then you could use a sharp clean tool to pick at the ice. Once all the ice has been removed.
Use warm soapy water or diluted baking soda/white vinegar water to wipe down the ice maker as much as you can.
There may be parts of the maker that you can’t reach so you could always use a spoolie brush or a toothbrush with the solution to get to those parts.
Make sure you rinse the area after you’ve finished with clean water. Wipe over the area until it is dry, it’s best to leave for a few minutes to allow the pieces you cannot reach to air dry.
Change Your Filters
If your ice machine has a water filter then you’ll need to make a habit of replacing it every six months or so.
All the minerals within the water can build up and start to block the machine from dispensing the maximum capacity of ice cubes.
What now?
Once everything is clean and dry. You can start putting your ice machine back together and turn it back on.
Let the machine run a few cycles, but empty all the ice cubes each time. This stops them from absorbing any possible residue left from your cleaning ingredients.
How often should I clean my ice machine?
You should aim to clean out your ice machine every 3 to 6 months, this will prevent the build-up of nasty water and possible bacteria contaminating your ice cubes.
If you have hard water in your area, then you may want to clean it more regularly than that. It would probably be convenient to clean your ice machine every time you clean out and sterilize your refrigerator.
If you’re starting at your screen right now with wide eyes, then we’re guessing you don’t clean your fridge very often. It’s so important to be regularly cleaning out your refrigerator to avoid bacteria building up.
if you have your unwashed fruit and vegetables free in your refrigerator, think about what could possibly be on them and how it’s getting on your shelves.
The same goes for plastic packaging, they could’ve been anywhere before you bought them and now they could have some nasty germs sat on them in your fridge.
You should be emptying your fridge out every few months and using antibacterial wipes or sprays to wipe all the surfaces, to stop the buildup of bacteria.
Sometimes ice machines can malfunction and not work properly often leading to weird smells or odors, if this occurs then you should try and clean your ice machine immediately as there may be a bigger problem.
What happens if I don’t clean my ice machine?
If you don’t clean your machine regularly, there can be a big build of horrible germs and bacteria which could lead to Salmonella or E. coli.
Imagine having food poisoning just from having some dirty ice in your drink! This is why your parents told you not to eat the ice in your drinks in public places or restaurants, it’s because they’re worried that the business doesn’t clean out their machine enough.