Tips for A Well-Functioning Fridge
“Is your refrigerator running?... Well, you better go catch it”, has been a long-time joke. Whether it gets a laugh out of you after all these years, that depends on your sense of humor. Something that isn’t very funny is a refrigerator that isn’t running unless you have that kind of sense of humor.
Either way, we’ve seen countless reasons why our customers need refrigerator repair, and we’d like to mitigate some of those issues by providing tips to keep your refrigerator running longer. This blog covers tips on how to keep your refrigerator cold and what to do when it might not be.
Clear the top of the refrigerator
The top of the fridge often ends up with lots of extras, like additional appliances that don’t fit on the counter, WIFI routers, extra boxes or storage items, and more. Keeping the refrigerator clear on top and roughly two inches on the sides helps cooling efficiency.
Traviesa gato!
Wait for recently heated dishes to cool
For both a proper-functioning fridge and to uphold the sanctity of your recently cooked meals, always wait to put hot dishes in the refrigerator after they cool. The refrigerator temperature should stay within 35 and 39 degrees. You can increase and decrease that temperature depending on how many items are inside but keep that as the average.
Clean or replace the gasket
Every six months, dissolve one teaspoon of baking soda into warm water and clean the gasket on the door. Removing gunk from the gasket and checking to make sure it isn’t loose, helps keep your appliance door functional. Loose gaskets let cold air out and need to be replaced. Doing this simple check and cleaning twice a year can save you a lot of energy and compressor life.
Clean refrigerator coils
Refrigerator coils require cleaning one to two times per year. Yes, you can go longer, but here’s why we suggest routine cleaning: if left with build-up, your fridge cannot correctly release heat. When this happens, the compressor has to work much harder and shortens the life of your fridge.
First, recall where the coils are located. Usually, they are behind the refrigerator, or above or below the doors in front. Expose coils by removing the cover. Grab the vacuum cleaner and brush to suck up any dirt or dust.
If your refrigerator isn’t cooling properly
Check the controls to make sure they are on and set properly. Try setting them to mid-range levels. Turn your thermostat up to the next level above its current temperature and let the new settings run for 24 hours to see if that makes a difference. After a day, check to see things are working correctly.
We hope these tips helped create longer-lasting refrigerator life in your home and the appliance running longer. We’ll leave it up to you if you want to go catch it!
Freedom Appliance of Tampa Bay has 13 years of experience in professional repair and installation of all laundry and kitchen appliances and dryer duct cleaning. Call 813-302-7672 today!