I Used a Dishwasher Tablet to Clean My Fridge — And You *Have* to See the Results

Shifrah Combiths
Shifrah Combiths
With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.
published Jun 10, 2023
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When I have an effective way of cleaning something, I tend to stick to it without trying something else. Although I love cleaning (and spend lots of time doing it for my family of seven), sticking to my go-to strategies means I don’t often get to experiment with new or different methods — until now.  

This has absolutely been the case when it comes to cleaning things that are not dishes with dishwasher tablets. I’ve never felt too compelled to use this “hack” because I’ve always felt that I have pretty successful methods of cleaning various items around the house.

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But our garage fridge was in dire need of a thorough clean-out, and I decided it was a great time to see if dishwasher detergent pulled through for me the way so many others have said it does. I didn’t have a hard tablet to use, so I couldn’t test out how you can scrape messes clean with the hard edge of the tablet, but I figured the cleaning properties of a dishwasher pod were likely to perform just as well. For this experiment, I used Costco’s Kirkland Signature Platinum Performance UltraShine Dishwasher Detergent Pacs. (What a mouthful!)

Credit: Shifrah Combiths

Before even involving dishwasher detergent, I emptied out the fridge and cleaned up loose crumbs with a damp rag. Then, I grabbed a bowl and filled it with hot water. Next, I got a dishwasher pod and tossed it in the hot water so it would dissolve. I brought the bowl and microfiber rag to the fridge and got to work. 

I dipped the rag in the detergent solution and squeezed the excess water out — I didn’t want to make the fridge too wet. I began with the top shelf and the interior sides and back of the fridge, wiping back to front and paying special attention to the crevices that harbor extra crumbs and gunk. I worked my way down the fridge this way, tackling the sides and back, and then the tops of the shelves. With each level, I also wiped the underside of the shelves. (For this round of cleaning, I didn’t clean the door shelves because they were already pretty clean.) 

So, how did it work? Far better than I anticipated! The dishwasher pod solution instantly melted smudges and spills in the fridge — even old sticky mystery dribbles that had dried. To put it plainly, I was quite pleasantly surprised. It makes sense, though — dishwasher detergent is formulated to deal with sticky, greasy food messes, so it’s no wonder it tackles them just as well outside of the dishwasher as in. I mean, just look at it!

Credit: Shifrah Combiths

Using a dishwasher pod solution to clean my fridge interior is certainly going to be my preferred method going forward. I’ll take this as a reminder to myself to always try new things — even if my tried-and-true methods work. 

Buy: Kirkland Signature Platinum Performance UltraShine Dishwasher Detergent Pacs, $24.54 (originally $26.94)

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