Tag Archives: fridge maintenance

5 Ways To Triple The Lifespan Of Your Refrigerator

Virginia Refrigerators Repair

A good quality refrigerator doesn’t come cheap; therefore, the last thing you want is having to buy a new appliance every few years. The good news is that there are several things you can do to extend the refrigerator’s life. Some of these things, as given by refrigerator repair professionals include:

Keep it clean

Everything begins here. Just like your car, your refrigerator won’t last for long if you don’t clean it regularly. Begin with the insides. At least once a month, clean the insides of the fridge with warm soapy water.

Is your refrigerator giving off bad smells? Get rid of them by placing a bowl filled with vinegar and lime on the inside. The purpose of the products is to absorb the bad smell.

You also should pay attention to the outsides of the refrigerator. The most common area that gets dirty is behind the appliance. To keep it clean, clean it 2-3 times a year. If you have pets, clean it more often.

The purpose of giving more attention to behind the fridge is because this is where coils are located. When the coils are dirty, they lead to inefficient cooling, which puts a lot of stress on the compressor that works harder than it should.

The best appliance to use to clean the coils is a vacuum cleaner.

It’s also common for the door seals to get dirty and greasy. If you haven’t cleaned them for a long time, use soapy water and clean piece of cloth to clean them.

Does your refrigerator have a drip pan? Clean it thorough every two weeks.

You also should defrost the refrigerator. Most of the modern fridges have an auto-defrost option, but if yours doesn’t, do it manually once every few months.

Don’t put hot foods in the refrigerator

While the refrigerator is meant to keep the foods cool, you shouldn’t put hot items in it. This is because the items make the fridge work too hard, which not only results in the appliance consuming a lot of energy, it also lowers its lifespan.

For you to give your refrigerator a long life, let the foods first cool down to the room temperature before putting it in the fridge.

Don’t overfill the refrigerator. Also, don’t let it run empty

When you allow the refrigerator to run empty, you save a lot of money on cooling, right? Wrong! Refrigerator experts report that an empty fridge wears out faster; hence, you should ensure there is always something in the refrigerator.

So even when you are leaving for vacation, have a few items in the fridge. For example, you can place water bottles in the fridge.

Just as you shouldn’t leave the fridge empty, you also shouldn’t overfill it. When you stock too many items in the refrigerator, you block smooth and efficient air circulation.

When air doesn’t circulate as well as it’s supposed to, the compressor works too hard which not only translates to high energy bills at the end of the month, it also reduces the lifespan of the appliance.

When storing items in the fridge, store items that allow air to flow freely without putting a lot of stress on the compressor.

Keep the refrigerator away from heat

Dishwashers, ovens, and other heat-producing appliances make the refrigerator compressor work harder than it should, so you spend a lot of money on the refrigerator and at the same time, shorten the lifespan of the appliance.

For your appliance to last for a long time, keep it in an area where it’s not exposed to high temperatures. This calls for you to keep it away from the appliances mentioned above. You also should ensure that it’s not exposed to direct sunlight.

When making the purchase, go for a fridge with a reflective surface as it will reflect heat.

Undertake regular inspections

Have you ever hired an appliance repair Fairfax professional to inspect your fridge? If you are like other homeowners, you haven’t, which is wrong. At least once a year, even if your appliance is functioning correctly, ask an appliance technician to inspect your fridge.

During the inspection, the professional will identify issues with the unit that you should fix before they get worse.

Refrigerator Repair: Tips On How To Keep Your Fridge In Tip-Top Shape

refrigerator repair

According to refrigerator repair professionals, how you use the fridge has a great impact on how it works and how long it lasts. For it to give you a long service for a long time you need to take good care of it. To help you out, here are tips on how to take good care of your unit:

Clean the refrigerator regularly

This is a no-brainer. For you to keep your unit in tip-top shape you need to clean it regularly. Just like your air conditioner or heating system, when you don’t clean the fridge as regularly as you should, you make the unit work harder than it should. The unit also tends to keep on failing every now and then.

For ideal results, you should ensure that you clean the refrigerator at least once a month. At the end of the month, remove everything in it and give it a thorough cleaning. Do you use the fridge actively? Consider giving it a thorough cleaning at least once a week.

Keep it full all the time

Many people have the belief that if they want their refrigerators to save energy they should minimize the food that they keep in it. There is nothing that is further from the truth than this. You should note that the fuller the fridge is, the better it works.

When the food is in close proximity, the fridge has an easy time keeping it cool as the cold can easily spread between the different food pieces. This means that by keeping the fridge full, you make it easy for it to keep the food cool.

When there are many empty spaces in the fridge, the refrigerator compressor tends to work harder to cool the empty spots thus increasing the amount of energy that the unit uses hence the high monthly energy bill.

While you should keep the refrigerator full, you should avoid overstocking it. This is because you tend to end up destroying it. Just keep only what the fridge can take.

Make use of baskets

If you visit most refrigerators, you will find them in disarray. This not only gives your fridge an ugly look, it also reduces the amount of food that you can store in it. For you to keep the unit organized you should make use of baskets.

Buy a few small baskets that you use to sort the different products on the shelves and indoors. According to refrigerator experts, the baskets not only keep the fridge organized, they also act as a protective layer where they capture the spills and any food mess that is there.

Due to this, you have an easy time cleaning the refrigerator. When you are looking to clean the unit, you only need to remove the basket and clean it.

Use the right temperature all the time

For you to keep the food in the fridge fresh, you need to use the right temperature all the time. You should note when you set your unit at high temperatures thus keep it warm, the food tends to rot. On the other hand, when you keep the temperature too low, you end up damaging the food.

The best temperature to set your fridge is 37 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. For optimal freezing, set the freezer at 5 degrees Fahrenheit. This way you are sure that the food won’t get spoilt. This temperature has also been shown to ensure that the food tastes good, the electricity bill remains low, and the fridge isn’t overburdened.

Undertake regular inspections

You need to regularly inspect the unit for any issues it might be having. During the inspection, give attention to the condenser coils that are responsible for the proper cooling of the insides of the fridge.

Are the coils coated with dust or grime? Check them out. You should note that if they are dirty, they won’t work as well as they are supposed to unless you clean them. In some cases, you might find them damaged. In such a scenario, hire an appliance repair Springfield professional to help you with the inspection and fixing of the parts.

When buying new coils, buy high-quality ones that will last for a long time.