Door liner
The moulded plastic inside face of the door. It is not the same surface as the shelves and it is not the same surface as the stainless outside.
What not to do
Sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) is unsafe on Door liner
Unsafe
Do not do this. The risk is established, and it is described below.
Evidence
Supported
Sources
Cleaning the Interior of the Refrigerator
Whirlpool Corporation · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That warm water with mild dish soap and a microfibre cloth is used, that gaskets are cleaned with a damp cloth and mild soap lifting the folds, that all parts must be completely dry before reinstalling, and that abrasives, window sprays, scouring cleansers, waxes, concentrated detergents, bleaches and petroleum-based cleansers must not be used on plastic parts, liners or gaskets. (states this directly)
Glass cleaner is unsafe on Door liner
Unsafe
Do not do this. The risk is established, and it is described below.
Evidence
Supported
Sources
Cleaning the Interior of the Refrigerator
Whirlpool Corporation · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That warm water with mild dish soap and a microfibre cloth is used, that gaskets are cleaned with a damp cloth and mild soap lifting the folds, that all parts must be completely dry before reinstalling, and that abrasives, window sprays, scouring cleansers, waxes, concentrated detergents, bleaches and petroleum-based cleansers must not be used on plastic parts, liners or gaskets. (states this directly)
Scouring powder is unsafe on Door liner
Unsafe
Do not do this. The risk is established, and it is described below.
Evidence
Supported
Sources
Cleaning the Interior of the Refrigerator
Whirlpool Corporation · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That warm water with mild dish soap and a microfibre cloth is used, that gaskets are cleaned with a damp cloth and mild soap lifting the folds, that all parts must be completely dry before reinstalling, and that abrasives, window sprays, scouring cleansers, waxes, concentrated detergents, bleaches and petroleum-based cleansers must not be used on plastic parts, liners or gaskets. (states this directly)
White spirit is unsafe on Door liner
Unsafe
Do not do this. The risk is established, and it is described below.
Evidence
Supported
Sources
Cleaning the Interior of the Refrigerator
Whirlpool Corporation · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That warm water with mild dish soap and a microfibre cloth is used, that gaskets are cleaned with a damp cloth and mild soap lifting the folds, that all parts must be completely dry before reinstalling, and that abrasives, window sprays, scouring cleansers, waxes, concentrated detergents, bleaches and petroleum-based cleansers must not be used on plastic parts, liners or gaskets. (states this directly)
Precautions
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
Start here
What this is, what tends to go wrong with it, and what to do about it.
Made from
What tends to go wrong
- Dustvia its material
Mostly textile fibres and skin, held by static as much as by gravity — which is why a dry cloth on a plastic surface makes it worse.
Why it is difficult: Static and dust, Mechanical action and abrasion, Why different surfaces get different dirt, Surface roughness
A concentrated water-soluble dye with nothing else in it. Nothing has to be emulsified or dissolved — the only question is whether the surface has taken the colour up.
Why it is difficult: Capillary absorption, Dye migration and colour bleeding
A sticky, yellow-brown tar film deposited everywhere at once. It is the reason a room smells after everything visible has been cleaned.
Why it is difficult: Adsorption of odour molecules, Solubility and polarity
Coloured by turmeric in most prepared mustards, and curcumin is a pH indicator — which is why an alkaline cleaner turns a yellow mark red.
Why it is difficult: pH indicators in stains, Fat-soluble pigments, Photodegradation, Pigment retention
The commonest cleaning problem that is not dirt. The tackiness is the plastic's own additive arriving at the surface, which is why wiping it off works for a week.
Why it is difficult: Plasticizer migration, Damage versus soiling
The science behind this: Solvent crazing, Static and dust, Solvents and polymers, Plasticizer migration
Part of Refrigerator.
In detail
The interior liner of a refrigerator door is a single moulded plastic panel carrying the shelves and bins. It is one of three quite different surfaces within a few centimetres of each other — the liner itself, the rubber gasket set into it, and the exterior finish on the other side — and each takes a different answer. The liner is a fixed surface, so it is cleaned in place: a microfibre cloth lightly sprayed with a mild soap solution, wiping walls, ceiling and door liners together. The cloth is sprayed, not the liner. It sits explicitly inside the manufacturer's prohibition list — abrasives, window sprays, scouring cleansers, flammable fluids, waxes, concentrated detergents, bleaches and petroleum-based cleansers are all excluded from interior and door liners. Window spray in particular is the product most people would reach for on a plastic panel with a smear on it.
What works
Soap is safe on, in specific conditions, Door liner
Safe only in specific conditions
This is only appropriate within specific limits, and nothing is established outside them.
Only within these limits:
- Spray the CLOTH lightly, as the maker directs, rather than the liner
- A microfibre cloth with a mild soap solution
- Dry afterwards
Precautions
- Disconnect from the power supply first
Evidence
Supported
Sources
Cleaning the Interior of the Refrigerator
Whirlpool Corporation · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That warm water with mild dish soap and a microfibre cloth is used, that gaskets are cleaned with a damp cloth and mild soap lifting the folds, that all parts must be completely dry before reinstalling, and that abrasives, window sprays, scouring cleansers, waxes, concentrated detergents, bleaches and petroleum-based cleansers must not be used on plastic parts, liners or gaskets. (states this directly)
Related
- Door liner is made from Household plastics
Sources for this page
Sources
Cleaning the Interior of the Refrigerator
Whirlpool Corporation · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That a microfibre cloth is lightly sprayed with a mild soap solution to wipe walls, ceiling and door liners, and that abrasive or harsh cleaners including window sprays and bleaches must not be used on interior and door liners. (states this directly)