Defrosting the freezer

I put down a thick layer of newspapers with a floor cloth or two on top before starting to defreeze mine, and a basin of hot water on each shelf to speed the process up and catch some of the drips.

Glad to hear you are feeling well enough to tackle the job, please don't overdo things.

I only have frost free freezers these days, which are brilliant. However, back in the long distant past we had a large chest freezer and the only way of actually mopping up all the water when we defrosted it for either me or hubbie to climb into it and use towels, etc. Stopped having chest freezers way back in 1979.
My older brother purchased a small fridge/freezer. Very small freezer at top. He rang me saying he needed to defrost it and asked best way. I told him to wrap any food he had in there in newspaper, then to put into that little freezer a bowl of very hot water. In my mind he should have been done and finished inside about an hour - so I was rather surprised when I went to visit him three days later and he said his kitchen was in a mess and water everywhere as he was still defrosting this little freezer area!!!
So, I popped in to see - Stupid Man - (or perhaps me stupid for assuming some knowledge.)
He had not turned off this fridge/freezer. Indeed, had put wrapped up freezer food into main body of fridge, then turned that up to its highest mark. So, he was continuously putting bowls of hot water into the freezer area which was still turned on!!! How he had not burned out the motor over those days I do not know - poor little machine -
My fault for not giving absolutely clear instructions!!!!!
Would say this was some 18 years ago.

Has anyone suggested a hair dryer? I used one once but only in the small freezer above the fridge.

I always used to run down and defrost my freezer in late November/ early December and my boys would cheer as it meant Christmas was coming! I would then start loading it up with all the goodies for the holidays. I did the same for the store cupboards . Happy days!

All the above. My favourite job with all those lumps of ice cascading down and cracking . Very satisfying.

PS friend in Californian fire got back to her house to find everything in the freezer had defrosted when the power was off then refrozen when it came back on....yuk.

We bought a frost free one. It isn't.

When I had a chest freezer I used to pour warm (not boiling) water around the rim so that it seeped behind the layer of ice. It would then fall off in sheets which I used to chuck on the garden (the freezer was in the garage). A dustpan was ideal for scooping up any water and remaining bits in the base. A quick wipe with a towel and it was ready to turn on again. Easy peasy!

I'm in the process of defrosting my chest freezer which I don't think has ever been defrosted before. I emptied it and switched off yesterday afternoon. Bowls of hot water left inside didn't make any difference. It's in the cellar so it's cold.
I've been hacking the ice off every couple of hours, carrying the bowl upstairs, throwing outside. My back and legs are aching from leaning over so far and my clothes keep getting wet.
I am going to stick to my small upright freezer in future.

The freezer must be defrosted when the layer of ice on the sides reaches a thickness of 10 – 15 mm. It will be easier to defrost the freezer when it's empty or only .

I used to do that , till I found the wee tap to empty the water from most of the bottom . I now have a stand up one with drawers as I couldn't reach the bottom of the chest one !

I have two chest freezers. I defrosted the biggest today. I just unloaded everything onto the floor in a big heap. Put a bowl of boiling water at the bottom, went away for an hour and came back and bailed it out with a dustpan and then a cloth.

Put everything back, no significant signs of defrosting. It is now back to temperature and ready for being filled back to choc-a-bloc by Christmas goodies.

Mines frostfree. My old ine wasnt7. There's no quick easy way. I kept putting bowls of boiled water in and soaking up water and lumps of ice.

Go for it DoraMarr. Then maybe you could persuade me to get a new fridge. The trouble then starts, re-arranging the kitchen for a new one to fit in. Hmmm, our kitchen is 20 years old now, perhaps......
Stop it, now. ?

I had the same problem, defrosting and trying to stop melt water going every where. Replaced it this year with a frost free. Great, no messy defrosting. And no ice build up. Plus it has an Audible alarm if the door is left open even a little bit.

I would get a new freezer , the new ones are more efficient and don't need defrosting

Done. I still can't decide whether to get a new freezer, or just replace the drawers. The freezer is about 9 years old, and Sod's law would mean I'd shell out £100 for the new drawers and the freezer would pack up.

I do this, Shysal. There is a tray on the door of the fridge, which fits onto the bottom of the freezer to catch the water.

I always choose a frosty morning and take the drawers of frozen food into the garden and cover them. I then train a fan heater (at a distance to avoid drips) into the freezer, with a large towel on the floor. The ice tends to fall off in chunks therefore not much water goes onto the floor. Within a hour or less all is finished.

I’ve had a look at JL website at a frost- free integrated freezer. Together with fitting plus disposal of my old one it would cost around £600. All the drawers are broken- they were when I moved in- which I think is why it needs defrosting so often. Replacing the freezer drawers would be about £100. Can’t decide!

Good on you DoraMarr for feeling better. I have defrosted an upright freezer this morning. I did the other one a couple of days ago. They are both in the garage, so just took out the drawers and left them on the garage floor, well covered up with an old blanket. I put a large bowl of boiling water into the top, fast freeze bit, and an absorbent towel on the bottom. I put a wad of newspaper on the garage floor, in front of the freezer, where a shallow tray collects any water not sopped up by the towel. It took longer than it should have, because I left it too long before defrosting them this time.
I had tried to run down the contents before doing it, and so feel very virtuous now. I did the fridge last week, and keep thinking we should get one that doesn’t need defrosting, but can’t bring myself to replace it while it is still working well.

I usually fill the bottom deeper freezer drawer with hottish water then close the door. Is it a 'fridge/freezer ?

I defrosted mine last week for the same reason DoraMarr I suspect that one if the DGC didn’t close the door after raiding the ice cream drawer !

My method . Put an old towel down and a large tray on top . Empty the freezer (mines just drawers so quite easy) . Blast the interior with a hairdryer on a high setting (be careful to keep the hairdryer out of the water) use a spatula to loosen stubborn ice . Wipe dry with kitchen towels. Empty each drawer of food and wipe over with kitchen paper or old tea towel to get rid of frost . Put everything back ( getting rid of anything you think might’ve partially defrosted ) if you do it quickly everything should be fine . The tray should catch most of the water and the towel will get the rest . Good luck .