Tag Archives: appliance repair expert

6 Ways to Prevent Ice from Building Up in Your Fridge During Winter

Virginia Refrigerators Repair

As winter approaches, many people feel that they will face the regular issue of ice buildup in their refrigerators and freezers.

You should note that ice buildup not only affects the efficiency of your appliance but it can also lead to food spoilage and increased energy consumption. You don’t want this, do you?

Fortunately, there are simple and practical solutions to this freezing issue. In this post, we’ll look at six practical techniques to keep your fridge and freezer ice-free over the winter months, ensuring that you keep off a refrigerator repair professional, have your appliance performing optimally, and your food stays fresh and well-preserved.

These tips might help you have a stress-free winter, whether you’re a culinary aficionado or simply want to keep your equipment operating optimally.

Remove the excess ice buildup.

To begin dealing with excessive frost and ice, empty your fridge and freezer compartments. Set the thermostat to the highest temperature and leave some towels handy to absorb extra water.

Ensure all the compartments are dry before reinstalling your food and altering the temperature.

This simple procedure will guarantee that your refrigerator remains frost-free and performs at peak performance.

Adjust the temperature

You need to regularly check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer. Keep your refrigerator between 35 and 42 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer close to 0 degrees Fahrenheit for best results.

You should note that frost or ice may form if temperatures dip below these temperatures. To ensure the fridge is at the proper temperature, you must place the fridge thermometer in the right place.

Position the thermometer at the center of the refrigerator for the most accurate reading. Some fridge thermometers stand alone, while others can be hung on a shelf. You should place your fridge based on its design.

If you have a stick-shaped thermometer in your fridge, submerge it in water.

Because the warmest position in your fridge is usually near the door, it can be a suitable alternative location for your thermometer.

For peace of mind that your fridge is at the proper temperatures, you must regularly monitor the temperatures.

Your thermometer will need some time to calibrate to the correct reading. So keep the door closed as much as possible to maintain a steady temperature.

To tell the accurate temperature,  check the thermometer the next day to see if anything has changed.

If there are changes, adjust the unit.

Place the fridge correctly.

How you place your fridge can have a significant impact on ice formation. 

You should be cautious and place your fridge in the right place. As a rule of thumb, do not put the refrigerator in your kitchen if it doesn’t have an exhaust system.

Instead, select a location that offers enough clearance from the wall to ensure appropriate cooling for the refrigerator’s compressor.

Reduce the frequency at which you open the fridge and freezer doors

Frequent opening of the door raises the humidity levels inside your fridge and freezer, which can lead to ice buildup and frost.

With this in mind, avoid leaving your fridge or freezer doors open while determining what to eat or which ingredients to pull out.

Instead, prepare a fast mental list of what you’ll need and get everything out at once.

If you have a two-door fridge, open only one door at a time. You should close the doors as quickly as possible in under one minute to prevent as much humidity from getting in as possible. 

For example, combine the eggs, butter, and milk if you’re baking. You only have to open the door once this way.

If you have trouble remembering what’s in your fridge, keep a list of what’s inside posted on the fridge door. This way, you don’t waste time figuring out what is there and what isn’t.

Ensure you have a tight seal.

You should regularly inspect the seals on your refrigerator and freezer doors for air leakage symptoms, such as damp or frozen areas.

If a problem arises, you can use a simple process to replace the gasket.

The door seals are the long rubber strips that run around the edges of your door to keep cold air out.

If you notice cold air around the exterior of your fridge door or any visible damage, repair the seal to prevent your fridge from constantly running or warming up.

Close the door on a dollar bill to see if the fridge door seal is tight. Your seal remains intact if you encounter resistance when removing the dollar note. If it readily falls out, it’s time to replace them.

You can do the replacement if you have the skills, but if you have never done it before, let an expert help you.

You should note that the seals lining your fridge or freezer doors will not close correctly if they are caked with food residue or ice crystals.

Working on one door at a time, quickly scrape the inside of the seal with a damp cleaning cloth and mild dish soap.

Clean the frame of the refrigerator opening so the seal may sit flush against it. Wipe away any lingering wetness with a dry cloth before closing the door.

Ensure no moisture remains, as this could form an ice crystal.

Keep your fridge clean.

For the best fridge efficiency and ice frosting reduction, regularly clean your refrigerator’s cooling fan, vents, and condenser coils. You can remove the ice buildup with a hot, soapy cloth, pressing against frost and repeating until entirely melted.

You can do the cleaning without the help of an appliance repair Springfield professional, but if you notice a significant problem, such as the fridge giving off odors after cleaning, let an expert help you.

It can be tempting to deep clean a refrigerator using bleach and other chemical cleansers, but you should avoid it because bleach can damage surface materials and possibly release harmful toxins into your food.

To stay safe, use gentle dish soap and food-grade pantry staples like white vinegar and baking soda. This way, you can clean the interior of the fridge without risking chemical contamination or structural damage.

Commercial Oven Repair: 4 Ways Of Taking Care Of Your Oven

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Just like any other appliance in your place of work, you want to have a fully functioning oven. For it to continue working for long without requiring you to call a commercial appliances repair professional here are tips that you should follow:

Avoid covering the vents

Vents ensure that there is balanced heat circulation. This maintains even temperatures throughout the oven cabinet. Most of the affected vents are those at the bottom of the appliance. To avoid covering them, place the oven on an elevated surface.

Clean it correctly

As you know, the best and easiest way of ensuring that your appliance lasts for a long time without problems is cleaning the appliance regularly. When cleaning your oven take care that you don’t damage it in the process.

Never use abrasive cleaners as they scratch and abrase the appliance. Also avoid using cleaning products directly on the control panel. Before using the products always place them on a damp cloth.

If your appliance has a self-cleaning feature you have an opportunity of leaving your appliance sparkling clean without putting in any effort.

Adjust the cleaning cycles to anywhere between 2 and 3 hours. If you have been dusting the appliance, set it to clean itself for two hours. If you run a restaurant or cake baking business, the best time to self-clean the appliance is at night as this is the time that you aren’t busy.

Use it for the right role

While many people use ovens to bake, there are others that use them as heating sources. While the appliances give heat, they don’t have a blower to push heat.

Commercial oven repair contractors recommend that you leave your oven door open when the oven is on in order to save energy, but you shouldn’t do it with a gas oven. Leaving the gas oven running for long results to buildup of high levels of carbon monoxide. This puts your life at stake especially if you are working in a small area.

Be on the lookout for warning signs

If you have been around commercial appliances you might have noticed that few break down abruptly—most of them give you warning signs that something is wrong. These signs include: noise, high energy bills, and moisture.

When you notice even a minor sign, hire a commercial oven repair professional to inspect and fix the commercial appliance. This not only prevents you from halting your operations, it also saves you from hiring an expensive emergency oven contractor.

Commercial Kitchen Appliance Service: Guide On How To Maintain Kitchen Appliances

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There are many kitchen appliances and for them to continue working effectively for long you need to take good care of them. Here are kitchen appliance maintenance tips:

Refrigerator

A broken down refrigerator is very inconvenient. To avoid the breakdown you should clean the appliance at least once a week and remove all the old food and mold that might be there. You should also remove dirt and cobwebs from the back of the refrigerator using a broom.

You should go around the appliance and ensure all the parts are working perfectly. You should take a look at the door bins, caps shelves and retainer bars. To have peace of mind you should repair even the most minor flaw that you notice. If your refrigerator has crisper drawers or glass shelves you should replace them even if they have a minor crack.

A refrigerator that is on the verge of breaking down produces unusual sounds. You should listen to any sounds that might be coming from the evaporator fan motors or condenser fan. Any rattling, buzzing, squeaking or squealing sound is a cause of concern.

If you can’t fix the problem you should ask a refrigerator repair professional to take a look at it.

Dishwasher

The dishwasher saves you a lot of time and energy as all you need to do is to put your dirty utensils in the appliance and it handles everything. One of the major reasons why the appliance breaks down is due to improper use.

To avoid hiring a commercial appliance repair professional every now and then you should carefully load the appliance. The racks are made from steel wire and coated with a vinyl material that can easily get damaged when used roughly. The appliance can also stop working if you overload it.

Remember that the appliance also gets dirty just like any other appliance in your home; therefore, you should clean it on a regular basis.

When cleaning the utensils you should take care that no foreign materials enter the pump area. Materials in the pump area tend to damage the impellers, filters, and seals requiring you to undertake expensive repair.

When the dishwasher is running, you should listen to any unusual sounds such as rattling, grinding or scraping noises. If you notice any unusual sounds you should hire a dishwasher repair contractor to fix it.

Conclusion

A malfunctioning kitchen appliance is very inconvenient and can cost you a lot of money to repair it. To avoid hiring emergency kitchen appliance repair Alexandria you should properly maintain your appliances.

 

Commercial Kitchen Appliance Repair Services Taking Care Of Your Kitchen

kitchen appliance repair

It’s in the kitchen where families have bonding conversations. It’s also the first room that most people head to after a long day at work. To ensure that your kitchen is functioning efficiently, you need to take good care of your kitchen appliances.

Kitchen appliances that need regular maintenance

While your kitchen has many appliances, not all require regular maintenance. Here are some of the ones that you have to regularly take a look at:

Refrigerator: this is where you keep your beer, soda, juice and foods that you don’t want to spoil. One way of maintaining the fridge is cleaning it at least once a week. You should also get rid of old food that might still be there.

Refrigerator condenser coils tend fail every now and then; therefore, you should regularly take a look at them. The coils are located at the top or bottom of the fridge. If you are unable to repair the refrigerator on your own, you should seek commercial refrigerator repairs.

Microwave: how inconvenient is it when you are in a hurry to heat your food or drink and notice that your microwave isn’t working? Common problems with microwaves are: blown fuses, uneven cooking or failure of the unit to start at all.

You can correct these problems using a volt ohmmeter that you can easily find in your local hardware store. You can repair the microwave on your own; however, if you don’t want to do it you should hire a commercial microwave oven service provider to fix the problems for you.

Dishwasher: dishwashers are designed to last up to 10 years before they start falling apart. The most common problems with them are malfunctioning circuit and motor breakers, and failing water supply lines.

The cool thing is that it won’t cost you much to repair the problems especially if the dishwasher is still covered by warranty. Dishwashers are usually complex to reassemble; therefore, it’s always recommended that you seek commercial dishwasher repairs.

Electric grill: an electric grill provides you with a fun and easy way to cook different types of foods in a healthy manner. The grill contains delicate components that stop working every now and then. Electronic appliances are dangerous to handle if you don’t have the right skills; therefore, you should call a commercial kitchen appliance service repair professional to repair the grill for you.

Parting shot

The kitchen is a very important part of your home; therefore, you should take good care of it. When seeking kitchen appliance repair services Vienna, always work with a certified and experienced service provider.

Faulty Dryer Repair Tips

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A faulty clothes dryer not only inconveniences you, it also puts your home at a fire risk. The US consumer product safety commission (CPSC) estimates that faulty clothes dryers cause over 15,000 fires annually. To prevent this danger, you should repair your dryer as soon as you notice a problem. To guide you through, here are dryer repair tips:

Timer

A faulty timer results to the dryer’s timer not functioning properly. To fix the faulty timer you should disconnect the leads from the motor and set the VOM or Volt-Ohm to RX100. You should then clip off the probes onto the leads, and if the timer is set on infinity you should replace it.

Drum

If the drum isn’t spinning it’s as a result of the motor pulley not working correctly. The remedy for this is simply replacing the pulley. Before you replace it, you should take your time to clean out the different dryer compartments with a vacuum in order to remove dust and dirt.

Sometimes the drum may fail to spin if the dryer belt is broken. To fix it you need to replace the belt.

Terminal block

A problem in the terminal block results to the dryer not working at all. Even when you turn it on it doesn’t work. You should thoroughly inspect the terminal block before you decide to replace it. For ideal results you should use VOM to check for the terminal block voltage.

When doing the work you should exercise extreme caution as you need power to test the terminal block. To be on the safe side it’s always wise that you hire an appliance technician to help you with the testing.

If the terminal block is working perfectly, but the dryer isn’t working, you should take a look at the switches. You should set the VOM to RX1 and get rid of the leads to the switch. You should then switch the reader to infinity and press the start button. If the reader doesn’t switch to zero, the switch is most definitely faulty and you should ask an appliance repair expert to replace it.

Conclusion

It’s recommended that you repair even the most minor dryer problem as soon as possible. To avoid high appliance repair costs you should prevent the problems from occurring in the first place. One of the ways is regularly cleaning the dryer. When cleaning it you should remove all traces of lint that might be stuck in the lint filter. You should also hire an appliance inspector to undertake appliance inspection on a regular basis.

Signs Your Refrigerator Ice Maker Needs Repair

Did you know the refrigerator ice maker gives obvious signs that it’s time to fix it? Some of these signs as given by refrigerator ice maker repair professionals include:

The freezer gets too warm

For the ice maker to make ice, it needs to be cold, so if you notice the temperature in your appliance being too high, there might be a problem that you need to look into. Even if your freezer is above 10 degrees F, you should be worried.

While the freezer might be freezing food, the ice maker won’t make ice, and in some cases, it might stop making any ice altogether.

To make ice, the freezer should be functioning at 0 degrees F, which is the temperature you should shoot for. Before you contact a repair professional, turn down the freezer and observe the temperature. If it doesn’t drop, get in touch with an expert to find out why the temperature isn’t dropping.

The ice doesn’t taste right.

Sometimes the ice maker will make ice, but it has a weird taste or smell on tasting it. Sometimes it might be due to poor city water supply, but if tap water tastes alright, but the ice still has a weird taste or smell, the problem might be with the ice maker.

Get in touch with an experienced professional to look into the source of the problem and fix it.

Faulty water inlet valve

The water inlet runs from the wall to your appliance and connects via the water inlet valve. This valve can fail to function due to a variety of reasons that include:

  • The water pressure might be too low that it doesn’t activate the valve as well as it should
  • There might be some mineral build up in the valve or hose that restricts proper water flow
  • The valve might fail mechanically

If you are a dab hand at DIY projects, you can try troubleshooting the appliance by shutting off the water to your appliance then disconnecting the hose from the inlet valve.

After removing the hose, inspect it and identify any issues that might be present.

If the problem is due to low water pressure, you will notice the low pressures in some areas of your house, and you should work on increasing it.

The buildup will be visible in the valve and hose if the problem is due to mineral buildup. In some cases, you can remove the buildup, but you are better off simply replacing the valve and getting it working again in other cases.

If the valve has failed, remove the metal bracket securing it to the appliance, and test it with a multimeter.

If you have done everything within your knowledge level and still the valve inlet valve has a problem, get in touch with an experienced professional to help with the troubleshooting.

Loud noises

It’s normal for the ice maker to make some noises, but they shouldn’t be too loud that you hear them from a distance. In most cases, ice makers are loud when dumping ice, but they tend to be fairly silent in all the other cases.

If your ice maker is making constant loud and /or unusual sounds, you must be having a mechanical problem that needs to be looked at by an expert.

No ice

The purpose of the ice maker is to make ice, so when it fails to, it’s obvious that you have a problem that you should look into. Your icemaker will fail to make ice due to plenty of reasons such as blocked water line, electricity problem or any other problem.

If you can’t tell why your unit isn’t functioning, get in touch with an experienced appliance repair Springfield professional to help with the inspection and troubleshooting.

Work with the right contractor

While there are many contractors in the industry you can hire, take your time and hire an experienced one that knows what they are doing. The last thing you want is hiring a contractor and they cause more problems than were originally there.

Should I Buy Extended Warranty On Washer And Dryer?

When you buy a washing machine, dryer, or any other large appliance, it’s not uncommon for retailers to try to sell you an extended warranty meant to provide you with coverage beyond the manufacturer’s original warranty.

When you have the warranty, you pay nothing if you need to undertake appliance repair or replace the unit.

When homeowners are in this situation, you will hear them asking, should I buy an extended warranty on the washer and dryer?

The answer to this question is no. You shouldn’t buy the extended warranty. This is because, in most cases, you end up not using it, so you lose money. A study by Stanford University showed that most modern appliances are reliable, and most won’t break down within the warranty period.

The study went further to show that even if the appliance broke down, the repair costs are often much lower than the warranty cost, so you lose money if you buy the extended warranty.

Extended warranties are moneymakers for retailers, so avoid them as a homeowner. However, if you feel the warranty is right for you, don’t go for it blindly. Instead, do the following:

Understand the manufacturer’s warranty

Before you commit yourself, first take time to understand what the manufacturer’s warranty contains. Carefully go through it and pay attention to how long it lasts, what it covers, and whether the company will repair or replace the appliance or refund the money when it breaks down.

Some companies will repair the appliance even after the warranty period has extended to provide good customer service, so you don’t even need the extended warranty.

Check whether the credit company has extended the warranty.

When you buy your appliance using a credit card, some credit companies extend appliance warranties for a year or more, saving you money as you don’t have to buy the extended warranty. Before you buy the warranty, contact your card insurer and check whether your credit card provides extended warranties.

Take time to read the extended warranty’s fine print.

Contrary to popular belief, extended warranties aren’t as comprehensive as you think, so with little effort, you can quickly go through the fine print.

When you are reading the warranties, pay attention to exclusions. Studies show that most warranties include lots of exclusions, making them less useful. For example, the extensions might fail to include accidental damage, or the company might be able to deny a claim if you didn’t follow the given routine maintenance instructions.

The warranty might also require you to use a specific service provider, and you might not be in the same area as the service provider.

Carefully go through the fine print and only consider purchasing if the warranty makes sense to you.

Consider how much it would cost you to repair the appliance.

The sole purpose of the extended warranty is to protect you when the appliance breaks down, but do they save you money? Before buying them, do your research and find out how much it will cost you to repair the appliance in the event it breaks down.

A great way to do it is to contact your local repair companies and ask them for their charge sheet.

Invest in a high-quality appliance

High-quality appliances are expensive, but they rarely break down, so you don’t need an extended warranty. Before you make the purchase, take time to learn about the appliance’s reliability by reviewing the product’s consumer report.

When buying the appliance, buy from a company that will take returns on defective items. Some stores with generous return policies will even accept broken items years after the original purchase. These are the companies to buy from.

Buy only when it makes sense.

Avoid buying the extended warranty unless it makes sense. For example, only buy if it costs less than the cost of repairs. You also should ensure the company you are buying the warranty from is reputable.

If you don’t know about the organization’s reputation or feel nervous about giving your information, steer clear and instead settle the washer repair Springfield costs from your pocket.

How to Ruin a Washing Machine

Wondering how to ruin a washing machine? There are plenty of ways to do it. Here are some of these ways:

Overloading the machine

You might have the impression that loading the machine’s drum to full capacity will save you time and money, but this isn’t the case. According to washer repair professionals, overloading the machine leads to some clothes coming out unwashed. Sometimes, you even put the machine at the risk of getting damaged.

Washing machines are designed to carry a specific weight of clothes. In fact, most of the modern appliances won’t start if you load more clothes than they are designed to carry.

If you have an older appliance, the appliance might still run while full. Unfortunately, the clothes don’t clean well as there is less room for water and detergent to spread throughout the load.

So there is the risk of overloading the washing machine leading to damage to the drum hence shortening the appliance’s life.

To avoid ruining your appliance and clean your clothes properly, load the washing machine properly. Before you start a cycle, ensure there is a space between the top of the drum and the top of the load in the drum. There should be a space equal to the width of your palm.

If you are strapped for time and want to clean as many clothes as possible within a short time, instead of cramming everything in one load, use the quick-wash setting and have two decent-sized loads.

Although, the clothes won’t be as clean as they should, you will have saved time, and you won’t have overloaded the machine.

Failing to service the machine

Like any other appliance, you need to maintain the washing machine to keep it in top working condition. At least once a year, hire an appliance technician to inspect the appliance and clean it to get rid of mold and awful smells.

If you go for a couple of months or years without giving the machine some attention, you will ruin it.

To avoid this, make it a habit to run a service wash every month that will keep the machine clean and get rid of odors.

The cool thing is servicing the machine isn’t complicated. All you need to do is to set the machine at 90°C then run the appliance using detergent or without. If not sure how to do it, check the machine’s manual.

Failing to level the machine

Washing machines run at super fast speeds. For them to do this safely, they need to be level on the floor. Unfortunately, if an inexperienced technician installed the machine, it won’t be level.

The machine might also not be level if you have gone for a long time without servicing it.

If your washing machine is making weird noises when running, chances are it’s not level. To level it, loosen the locking nut, then use a spanner to lower or raise it until its level. Check whether the machine is level with a spirit level and tighten the nuts.

Using too much detergent

Using a lot of detergents gives you immaculate clothes, right? Wrong! Besides the large amounts of detergents being harmful to your clothes and your hands, they can clog the washing machine, shortening its lifespan.

The cool thing it’s easy to avoid ruining the washing machine with too much detergent. Before running a cycle, check the owner’s manual and confirm the amount you need. Don’t guess the amount. Always measure the amount to avoid problems.

While you might save money by making your own soap, avoid using homemade soap as it rarely cleans as effectively. Washing machines are designed to use detergents, not soap, so you will ruin your machine by using soap.

Washing coins, belts, and other harmful items

Belts and coins can break the washing machine drum, leaving you with an expensive repair. To keep appliance repair Alexandria at bay, always double-check the clothes and ensure there are no belts. Also, check the pockets and ensure there are no coins.

Do you have clothes with large metal buttons? Don’t clean them bare—instead, place them in a laundry bag.

If you suspect the buttons on your clothes might break the glass, run the machine at a slower speed.

How To Fix An Ice Maker Not Making Ice

Virginia Refrigerators Repair

You have heard that making ice takes time, so you take your sweet time. You check your ice maker after a few minutes, and there is nothing. You come back after a few hours and still, nothing.

What could be wrong? You wonder.

A properly functioning ice maker should produce ice, so if yours isn’t, you have a problem you should address as soon as possible. To help you out, here are tips given by refrigerator ice maker repair experts on how to fix ice maker not making ice:

Check the water connections.

The failure of the appliance to make ice is most likely due to poor water connections. Since the connections vary depending on the refrigerator models, it’s hard to pinpoint where the connections are located, so check the instructions in your appliance’s user manual.

If you don’t have the hard copy manual, you can always download it online. Before you touch the connections, first confirm they are correctly in place and unobstructed.

Since you are inexperienced, avoid tinkering with connections in hard to reach areas as you can easily damage your appliance.

Check the power connections.

Sometimes you might get your pants in a bunch for nothing. You might think your appliance is faulty, but in a real sense, it’s simply switched off. Check the power connection to the ice maker. Is it switched off? If it is, switch it on.

Check the water supply line.

If you can see the arm swing into motion accompanied by a buzz, and yet the appliance isn’t making ice, it means the water valve is asking for water that isn’t arriving.

This often happens when the valve and the solenoid function properly, but the water supply isn’t.

Check your appliance’s water supply that will most likely be located behind or beneath the refrigerator. Find the shut-off valve behind the fridge or under the sink, turn it off, unscrew the copper line from the back of the fridge, put the copper line in a bucket, turn on the valve and see whether water pours out.

Confirm whether the filter has clogged up

Like a furnace and other appliances in your home, the ice maker will fail to make ice if the filters are clogged up. A dirty filter reduces the amount of water getting into the ice machine, reducing the ice maker’s chances of making ice.

If you find out the filter is clogged, clean it following the owner’s manual instructions.

Check the tap valve

The tap valve is a small device that connects the ice maker’s water supply tube to the water pipe. In some cases, the valve develops problems, so water fails to get to the ice maker.

If you do the inspection and find the valve malfunctioning, replace it together with the inlet valve. When undertaking the replacement, go for a valve that requires you to drill a ¼ inch hole instead of the self-piercing type.

You can purchase the connection kit and work yourself or hire a repair professional to do the work for you.

Take a look at the solenoid.

The solenoid attaches to the water line at the back and bottom of the fridge then travels to the ice maker. Sometimes the solenoid gets defective or fails to receive power resulting in plenty of problems.

Inspect the solenoid, unplug the refrigerator, and then remove the sediment screen inside and flush it with water. While at it, take a look at the seals and confirm they are in perfect working condition.  If not in good shape, replace them.

Look out for a frozen line.

It’s common to have a frozen water line, especially if you live in icy areas. To fix the frozen line, unplug the fridge, then locate the shut-off valve, often located under the sink or behind the fridge.

You should then turn the valve to the closed or off position then fill the turkey baster with warm water. You can also defrost the line with a hairdryer or by letting the fridge sit unplugged for at least two hours.

If you do this and still the ice maker doesn’t make ice, ask an experienced commercial appliance repair Northern VA professional to inspect the appliance. It might be having a more serious problem.

What Can Damage A Refrigerator? Refrigerator Repair Experts Answer

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Fridges don’t come cheap, and when you buy one, the last thing you want is to damage it. As a homeowner looking to have your fridge for as long as possible, you must be wondering, what can damage a refrigerator? According to refrigerator repair experts, the fridge can be destroyed by plenty of things that include:

Overstocking the fridge

This often happens when you come back from the grocery store. Since you don’t want any fresh groceries to spoil, you put everything in the fridge, which is wrong. When you put more items than the fridge can handle, you make it difficult for the refrigerator to regulate the interior temperature and keep the insides of the appliance cool.

This provokes the appliance to work harder than it should, putting a lot of strain onto the compressor and condenser coils, which puts the fridge at the risk of overheating.

How can you prevent this from happening?

As you are putting your groceries in the fridge, leave enough room for air to circulate freely, so you aren’t overburdening the appliance. A good rule of thumb is to keep your fridge 75% full.

Another great idea is to remove the old food before you go grocery shopping. This way, you always have enough room to stock the new fresher items.

Failing to clean the fridge regularly.

People rarely clean their fridges either due to their busy lifestyles or ignorance. When you let food spills and other debris accumulate, the refrigerator seal, compressors, and other parts degrade and crack.

This results in the fridge working too hard to cool the interior, which not only leads to an increase in your electricity bill, but the fridge also has a short lifespan.

Thankfully, it’s easy to fix this problem. Clean the fridge at least once every two weeks and when doing it, clean both the inside and outside of the appliance.

You store the food improperly.

It’s one thing to overstock the fridge and an entire ballgame to improperly store the food. For example, you will be storing the food improperly if you move the hot leftover food directly from the dinner table to the fridge.

In addition to the food spoiling, it can also spoil the fridge. This is because you expose the fridge to too hot food, forcing it to work harder than it should.

You can avoid damaging your refrigerator this way by giving your leftover food time to safely cool on the counter then carefully place it on your fridge.

Failing to replace the water filter frequently enough.

If your fridge has an ice and filtered water dispenser on the refrigerator door, you should regularly clean the filter to keep your drinking water and ice-free of contaminants and prevent sediment from building up in the pipes.

When you have debris in your pipes, your fridge works harder than it should; hence you have a high energy bill at the end of the month. Also, the fridge has a short lifespan due to its overworking.

Replace the water filter at least once every six months to keep your fridge in top working condition. You should note that even if you have an ice maker and no water dispenser, you still need to change the water filter to have peace of mind, the ice is free of pollutants.

Failing to inspect the fridge regularly

Like any other appliance, you need to inspect the fridge routinely. You can inspect it by yourself or hire a technician to help you.

Most people will inspect the other parts and forget a vital area—the door seal. When you don’t inspect the door seal frequently enough, it deteriorates, gets brittle, and cracks. This causes it to break down, and it doesn’t properly seal in the cool air.

As you might guess, this leads to a massive loss of energy as the fridge has to work harder to maintain a cool interior.

Whether you are doing the inspection by yourself or you have hired an appliance repair Fairfax professional to do the work, pay attention to the door seal, and look out for any signs of wear and tear or cracking. If your door is no longer resisting as much as it should when opening it, and the suction feels week, it’s time to replace the seal.