Fast and easy way to clean your freezer, use a fan. Simply empty the freezer and direct at top speed in front of a stand up or on top of a chest freezer. The frost will melt in a matter of minutes! No need to wrap the food to keep it frozen as it will be returned to the freezer in less than 1/2 hour.
By Marilyn from Timmins, Ontario
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A fan is a big help and speeds the defrosting. If you have an electrolux canister style vacuum cleaner, you can put the hose on the blower end and blow warm air on the ice. I did this the other day and in just a few minutes I was able to slip a sheet of plastic behind the ice and loosen it so it would fall. It felt so good to have the freezer clean and organized again.
Personally, I prefer to use my hairdryer. The air is hotter and it is easier to "aim" if you have spots where the ice is thicker.
By far, the fastest and easiest way to defrost a freezer is to use a vaporizer -- the kind that shoots out steam and used when you have a cold, or when the air is too dry. You can get one for about $10 in any drugstore. Amazon sells one for for $11. Basically, filll it with water and put in the recommended amount of salt. Place inside the freezer with the steam nozzle aim at the area you want to defrost most. Plug in (making sure the plug isn't exposed to water!) and within minutes you'll have hot steam blasting out. If you want to melt the entire interior, simply close the freezer door with the vaporizer running. In less than 5 mins, chunks of ice will start falling off. Add more salt if the blast isn't powerful enough but be aware that more steam means more electricity used so your fuse may blow.
This is much better than using a hair dryer because 1) Steam is more efficient than dry heat for melting; 2) It uses MUCH less electricity; hairdryers on high uses 1500-1800 watts. A vaporizer uses about 400 watts with the recommended amount of salt, more if you add more salt, increasing output; 3) it's more convenient. No need to hold on to the hairdryer. Simply place the vaporizer in the freezer and leave. Close the door if you wish; 4) it's safer. The vaporizer itself is made to hold water and to blast out water so you need only protect the cord outside. A hair dryer is dangerous around melting ice.
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The great thing about the vaporizer is that it has other uses like humidifying the air, keeping plants moist, tasty underwear, soothing nasal passages, disinfecting (put toothbrushes in front of the steam), etc.
I, too, prefer the fan. It is nearly as fast as the hair dryer, and uses a heck of a lot less electricity.
I do, however resort to the hairdryer when I defrost the freezer that is over our fridge (but not frost-free) at our cabin.
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