{"id":2005,"date":"2026-08-21T22:37:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T22:37:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/?p=2005"},"modified":"2026-08-21T22:37:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T22:37:33","slug":"heres-a-great-trick-to-defrost-your-freezer-the-ice-disappears-without-having-to-unplug-it-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/?p=2005","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s a great trick to defrost your freezer: The ice disappears without having to unplug it!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At first glance, it sounds incredibly tempting! Who wants to pull heavy appliances out of the socket or wait hours for the ice to melt?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But \u2013 and I have to be a bit of a joy killer here \u2013 defrosting your freezer without turning it off is not a great trick, but rather a complete myth. It\u2019s not a good idea for your appliance or your wallet.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-8\">\n<div id=\"fanstopis.com_responsive_2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s why you should always unplug it and how you can speed up the process dramatically:<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why \u201cunplugging\u201d backfires<br \/>\nIf you try to remove the ice while the freezer is running (e.g. with hot water or scraping it), the following will happen:<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-9\">\n<div id=\"fanstopis.com_responsive_3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The compressor breaks down: The freezer\u2019s thermostat detects a sudden warming. The appliance tries its best to compensate for this and continuously cools at maximum power. This consumes a lot of electricity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Risk of overheating: The compressor can overheat and be damaged by this constant load.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rapid ice formation: Because the cooling system is running, the warm, humid air you let in immediately condenses on the walls. So you are essentially creating new ice immediately.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Risk of death from scraping: If you use a knife or scraper while the appliance is running, you can puncture the cooling pipes. The casing is under voltage and the refrigerant leaks out \u2013 the appliance is then usually destroyed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A real \u201csmart and quick\u201d trick (with the plug unplugged):<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don\u2019t have to sacrifice an entire day, however. If you have unplugged it, you can speed up the process considerably with this simple physical trick:<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-7\">\n<div id=\"fanstopis.com_responsive_1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bowl method:<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unplug the appliance from the mains (or switch it off completely via the display).<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-8\">\n<div id=\"fanstopis.com_responsive_2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Temporarily store all food in cooler bags or boxes with cooler bags.<\/p>\n<div class=\"google-anno-skip google-anno-sc\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\" aria-label=\"Tasty food blog\" data-google-vignette=\"false\" data-google-interstitial=\"false\">Tasty food blog<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Place the bowl of boiling water on a towel or freezer mat.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-9\">\n<div id=\"fanstopis.com_responsive_3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Close the door.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Effect: The hot steam will cause the ice to break off in large pieces from the walls within 15 to 20 minutes. Simply remove it and wipe the appliance dry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Extra tip for the future:<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After defrosting, lightly rub the clean and dry interior walls with a little neutral cooking oil or glycerin. This will make it much harder for new ice to stick and even easier to remove later!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<div class=\"justread-ad justread-ad--ad-before-nav\"><\/div>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<div class=\"justread-ad justread-ad--ad-before-nav\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At first glance, it sounds incredibly tempting! Who wants to pull heavy appliances out of the socket or wait hours&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2007,"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005\/revisions\/2007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flavorguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}