Don't Overlook This Simple Chore!

Something most people never think about is the cleanliness of their water dispenser. Over time, however, your water may start coming out of the fridge slower than normal, or it may taste a little off. Our best recommendation for a natural, non-chemical way of cleaning is using distilled vinegar. Vinegar has many cleaning uses around the kitchen, and we're here to tell you how to use it to make your water dispenser as good as new.

Make Cleaning Easy with Vinegar

First, you want to turn off the source of the water so it doesn't continue coming out while you're cleaning. Find the copper pipe on your fridge's water tank; this is what the water travels through. Locate a screw on this pipe and loosen it, which should allow you to easily pull the tube off.

Here comes the vinegar! Hold the tube above your fridge's reservoir and pour about three cups of vinegar into the copper tube. Tape it to your fridge's wall and let it drain into the water system. Use this same method for your ice dispenser if your fridge has a built-in ice maker. After emptying out the ice tray, ensure that the ice dispenser is turned on. This will simultaneously clean your ice and water dispensers at the same time.

Once you've done the initial preparation for cleaning, run the water system multiple times to check that the vinegar has gone through all the necessary tubing in your fridge. Have a bowl or pitcher of some kind at the end of your water spout to contain any vinegar that comes out. While this system is running, feel free to use a vinegar-dipped toothbrush to scrub the water spout.

Continue running the water system until you can't detect any taste or smell of vinegar in your water and ice cubes. When you can no longer sense vinegar, your system is fully clean and ready for regular use again. Repeat this in-depth cleaning process every six months, but use the vinegar toothbrush to clean your water spout every month or so.

This small chore can be long and taxing, and you probably don't feel like completing any other tasks you had on your to-do list. Don't worry about it! You've Got Maids is happy to check off all the chores you wanted done that you just didn't have the energy to do. Click the button below to get your free cleaning estimate, and your house will be sparkling clean before long.