How to Safely Defrost Your Chest Freezer

One of the drawbacks of a chest freezer is that they do not come with an automatic defrost feature. Since a frost or ice build-up can actually cause a freezer to run less efficiently, a periodic defrost should be part of a regular housekeeping routine.

High efficiency freezers that are less than 10 years old typically only need to be defrosted once a year. If your unit is older, it may need to be defrosted more often. A good rule of thumb to follow is to defrost when the ice is preventing the lid from sealing properly or when there's a quarter inch to half inch build up of frost on the inside.

Emptying the freezer

Before defrosting your chest freezer, the food needs to be removed. The easiest method is eat up everything in the freezer prior to defrosting. What ever can't be eaten can be transferred to the freezer unit above your refrigerator or tightly packed in a large insulated cooler. The food will remain frozen in the cooler for several hours.

Beginning the defrost

Once the food has been transferred, the lid to the freezer should be opened and the power shut off. Some chest freezers have a button that can be turned off, while other units require the unit to be unplugged from the wall.

There's a quick way to defrost a freezer and a couple of lazy ways. The quick way is to boil a large soup kettle of water, place it in the bottom of the freezer, and shut the lid. The steam of the hot water will warm up the frost and cause it to melt. While this method works quite well, the drawback is that the water cools in a hurry and must be switched out several times. If you choose to use the hot water method, remember to protect the freezer liner from heat damage by setting the kettle on a thickly folded beach towel.

This isn't the only way to defrost a freezer, however.