Refrigerators are built to last decades and decades. However, if you really want to get the most out of them, you have to provide them with adequate maintenance.
Wondering what types of maintenance fridges need? Then read on. Here are 7 fridge maintenance tips to keep your refrigerator running well.
Table of Contents
1. Inspect Door Seals
The door seals on a refrigerator are arguably its most important components. These seals keep cold in and warm air out, allowing the refrigerator to maintain temperatures with as little work and energy as possible.
If your refrigerator is opening unexpectedly without provocation, its seals are old and worn out. They should be replaced immediately.
But what else should you look for? The first thing is the residue of food. This can become stuck to the seals over time, reducing their effectiveness. As such, you need to clean off food particles periodically.
The other thing you should look out for is sponginess. Do the seals squish easily when pressed? If so, they’re starting to wear out and will likely need a replacement soon.
2. Defrost
Over time, a freezer is bound to incur thick swaths of frost on its interior walls. This frost will not only take up space within the refrigerator but it will also impair the refrigerator’s ability to operate. Energy efficiency issues are the result.
For this reason, when the frost within your freezer becomes thick, you need to defrost it. A good rule of thumb is to defrost after an inch of ice accumulation.
In order to defrost your freezer, turn it off and open it up. Remove all of the food items, put them on ice, and allow the ice within the freezer to melt away. Keep a bucket handy to drain the melted ice into.
Then, plug the refrigerator back in, wait until it’s returned back to your desired temperature, and restock it. You’ll generally have to do this twice a year, though you should just keep an eye on the ice levels over time.
3. Scrub the Condenser Coils
Over time, the condenser coils on a refrigerator will become covered in miscellaneous gunk. Unfortunately, this gunk will impair the coils, preventing the refrigerator from performing to the best of its abilities.
As such, every 6 months or so, you need to scrub down your refrigerator’s condenser coils. To do this, unplug your refrigerator and move it away from the wall. Then, take off the backplate and scrub the coils with a towel.
Note: The coils can be a little sensitive, so take great care not to damage them. If you need help cleaning the coils, call a repair technician for servicing.
4. Keep It Stocked
This may surprise you, but refrigerators actually perform better when they’re chockful of items. As such, if you want your refrigerator to operate to the best of its ability, you have to keep it stocked.
Curious as to why this is? It has to do with thermal energy. When the refrigerator cools milk and juice and other such items, they retain their coolness, taking pressure off of the refrigerator, and allowing it to expend as little energy as possible.
If you don’t keep your refrigerator stocked, it will have to maintain its coolness all on its known. As such, it will have to expend substantial amounts of energy at all times. This leads to energy-efficiency issues as well as a shortened lifespan.
5. Replace Your Filters
In order to operate at their max capacity, refrigerators require filters. These filters help to keep the refrigerator clean, maximizing energy efficiency and optimizing the refrigerator’s lifespan.
However, refrigerator filters cease to function and they do eventually need to be replaced, generally every 6 months or so.
As such, if you want to get the most out of your refrigerator, be sure to change its filter in a timely manner. Consider utilizing a Samsung refrigerator filter.
6. Clean the Interiors
If you ever stop and look, you’ll notice just how much food ends up caked on the inside of your refrigerator. Whether it’s ketchup or mustard or milk or otherwise, it tends to make its way outside of the bottle and onto a refrigerator’s interior.
For this reason, every few months, you should facilitate a full cleaning of your refrigerator. Take everything out, put it on ice, turn the refrigerator off, and wipe down its shelves and walls with a wet cloth. You might even need to use a degreasing solution.
Allowing spilled foods to exist inside your refrigerator over long periods of time can lead to staining. Not to mention, it can cause exceedingly foul odors.
You should also consider utilizing a fridge deodorizer. These are available for under $10 and can make a big difference when it comes to the smell of your fridge.
7. Utilize the Correct Temperatures
As you well know, you can alter the temperatures that a refrigerator produces. You have free reign to do what you want with that thermostat. That said, if you want to get the most of your refrigerator, you need to set its temperatures within certain parameters.
Whereas the refrigerator is best set between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezer is best set at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Setting the temperatures at these levels will ensure that the refrigerator can do its job, but without wasting substantial amounts of energy.
Fridge Maintenance Can Extend Your Refrigerator’s Life By Years
Fridge maintenance not only allows for a more energy-efficient refrigerator, but it also prolongs a refrigerator’s lifespan, sometimes by as much as several years. So, make sure to use the tips above, and keep your refrigerator running at optimal levels.
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