How do you clean yours?

Mine came with a “thingy” to do this . It’s just a piece of plastic with a ring . Completely useless and ineffective so I too poke twisted bits of kitchen roll into the hole . Not sure if there’s anything better ?

I haven't got a hole in my fridge, so no cleaning required.

I use a long piece of plastic covered wire, similar to the ones you get for fastening freezer bags. I think originally it was one of those that are used used to hold something still in a packaging box.

Mine is often blocked, so the bottom is awash with water. It has a plastic stick thing in the little hole that you are supposed to wriggle to unblock it. I can't remove it, and wiggling it around the hole does absolutely nothing. You cannot put anything else in there as there isn't room. DH sometimes cleans it out by squirting water into it, I've never tried his method!
I'd like a new fridge, but it's part of a built-in unit so it might prove difficult.

Here's a though. I wonder if an inter-dental brush would work. I've got some of those, so might try it.

I must have a look. I clean my fridge shelves all the time but never noticed one.

Pipe cleaners

Just going to look and see if my fridge has such a thing!

Don't think I've got one.

I don’t have one. Should I have?

I also do not appear to have one. One less thing to clean.

I shove a bendy straw down my fridge thingy , it clears it in one go

Phew I haven't got one either. Oh no. Should I be worrying?

No. Blessed are the fridges without the hole thingy at the back, for they shalt not give you watery shelves and a soggy bottom. ( Twists of kitchen roll for me too. )

I use a straw on mine it works fine.

I use to use a cocktail stick or wooden kebab stick, then I found a small double pointed knitting needle does the trick, I keep it in the cutlery draw in a plastic bag so it’s always handy. The silly thing alway blocks up at the most inconvenient times, just when you really don’t need another job.

Not sure I have one, I shall look for it one day!!!!

I’ve used a number of the suggestions given. Sometimes the twisted kitchen roll doesn’t go down far enough so some kind of flexible wire is better.
These type of fridges are meant to be ‘self defrosting’ and the melted ice from back of fridge is supposed to drip down hole at back, into a tray on top of motor, and then evaporate.
OK in theory, but if some food item gets pushed to back of fridge, or a small spill, it can stick and freeze onto wall. Then in defrost cycle, will flow down and block hole. Or, it can end up in evaporation tray at back.
Last year I was trying to track down a horrible smell in kitchen and eventually pulled fridge right out. Found plastic tray full of gungy, smelly water. Nowhere in instruction manual did it suggest that this might have to be emptied or cleaned, or that it even existed!

GrannyGravy, it depends what type of fridge or freezer you've got. If it's a self-defroster, then it will have the irksome little drainage channel which, as Nanagem says, always gets clogged up at the most inconvenient possible time. If you have the sort of appliance that you have to defrost, you'll never be troubled by the wretched little hole.

But I never defrost either! I never have. Somehow the food stays cold enough. I remember my mother faffing about with bowls of boiling water and towels along the front of the fridge though. I thought defrosting fridges was a thing of the past.

I use a cotton wool bud. Works well.

Thank you scribbles, mine is an automatic defrosting fridge, I will have to have all the drawers out to try and find it lol!!!

Farmor, I found out about the pesky little hole with my old fridge in exactly the way you describe. The fridge was well over 25 years old at the time and it had never happened before. OH Googled the problem and discovered about the drainage and we cured the problem temporarily with a wooden skewer and lots of paper towel to absorb the gungy water in the tray. After that, we had to clear it every few months. Ugh.
I replaced the fridge when we moved so the current one is only a little over 2 years old but I noticed this morning there seemed to be some water in the bottom so guess what tomorrow's job is?
By the way, Jane, there are still loads of non-self-defrosting fridges on sale although why you'd buy one is beyond me!

What ?!