A refrigerator breakdown is an urgent problem that can potentially ruin hundreds of dollars worth of food. Fortunately, modern refrigerators rarely stop working completely without displaying some symptoms first. Here are three early warning signs of refrigerator problems that you should know.
1. Poor Cooling and Food Spoilage
If your meats and veggies aren't lasting as long as they should, your fridge may be having temperature problems. Check the thermostat dial inside your fridge and turn it to a colder setting if possible.
If poor cooling persists after adjusting your fridge thermostat, it's time to call an appliance repair professional. Insufficient cooling may be caused by dirty or damaged condenser coils. In other cases, an overheating evaporator fan motor may make your fridge unable to cool.
2. Your Fridge Is Warm to the Touch
Refrigerators must be able to dissipate the heat removed from their interior during the cooling process. If your fridge is very warm or hot to the touch on the outside, there's probably a problem with heat dissipation.
Make sure your fridge isn't touching the adjacent walls directly, as it needs a few millimeters of space to disperse heat. In other cases, your fridge may feel warm if it's full of food that is blocking airflow inside the unit. Remember to leave a few inches of space around the sides of each shelf in your fridge. If your fridge seems to have enough ventilation room and it's not overfilled, a mechanical problem may be causing the evaporator motor or condenser to overheat.
3. A Clogged Drain Hole
Refrigerator condensers naturally produce condensation as moisture in the air comes in contact with the frigid coils. The fridge drain pipe moves condensation from inside your fridge to the evaporative drain pan at the bottom of the unit. If the drain is clogged, you may notice excessive condensation or water pooling in the bottom of your fridge interior.
DIY methods are sometimes enough to remove mild to moderate fridge drain clogs. To access the drain hole, remove the lower shelves and crisper drawers from your fridge and look at the back wall. You can try to unclog the drain with a wet/dry vacuum, a drain snake, or by pouring baking soda and hot water into the drain. If these attempts fail, contact an appliance repair technician to unclog the drain.
Knowing the signs of refrigerator problems is crucial to avoiding food wastage and extending the life of the appliance. Always have an appliance repair contractor on call so you can resolve refrigerator issues as quickly as possible.
Contact a local repair service, such as Northshore Appliance Repair Inc, to learn more.
Share23 February 2023
After I purchased my first home, I realized that there were a few issues with my kitchen appliances. It just seemed like nothing worked like it should, and it was really frustrating. To ward off problems in the future, I started looking around for an appliances repair services business that could help. I was able to find a great company that came out, evaluated our equipment, and made the necessary changes. This blog is all about the different things to look for if your appliances start to fail. You never know, you might be able to ward off some serious expenses in the future.