What lurks beneath your fridge?
When I returned from a quick shopping excursion on Saturday, the Englishman greeted me with the news that our refrigerator was not running up to snuff. The fancy numerical indicators located atop the inside of the fridge alerted him that the temperature was dropping fast.
Well, that and the quickly melting ice cream in the freezer below.
Fortunately, I've paid enough attention over the years both to my father
and to the team on This Old House.
and to the team on This Old House.
My suggested possible solution?
Vacuum the coils.
After removing the cover plate located at the base of the fridge, I was able to vacuum out the accumulated dust from the front section of the coils. Slowly but surely the temperatures in the fridge and freezer started to return to their correct setting.
Phew!
The Englishman and I were frustrated at not being able to reach and clean out all the dust. He did pull the unit out, removed the back panel and vacuumed what he could reach.
But there were still sections, way in the back....
Long story short, after literally jacking up part of the fridge/freezer, we came to the conclusion that what we had managed to clean was going to have to be sufficient. It was not worth risking personal injury to do a "perfect" job of it.
I'm happy to report - so far, so good.
Fridge/freezer is now running at correct temperatures.
Even better news? No ice cream was lost in the process.
(Hey, we all have our priorities, right?)
By the way, have you vacuumed your coils lately?
It is recommended that you do it at least twice a year. More often if there are pets in your home.
After removing the cover plate located at the base of the fridge, I was able to vacuum out the accumulated dust from the front section of the coils. Slowly but surely the temperatures in the fridge and freezer started to return to their correct setting.
Phew!
The Englishman and I were frustrated at not being able to reach and clean out all the dust. He did pull the unit out, removed the back panel and vacuumed what he could reach.
But there were still sections, way in the back....
Long story short, after literally jacking up part of the fridge/freezer, we came to the conclusion that what we had managed to clean was going to have to be sufficient. It was not worth risking personal injury to do a "perfect" job of it.
I'm happy to report - so far, so good.
Fridge/freezer is now running at correct temperatures.
Even better news? No ice cream was lost in the process.
(Hey, we all have our priorities, right?)
By the way, have you vacuumed your coils lately?
It is recommended that you do it at least twice a year. More often if there are pets in your home.
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