A refrigerator seems to be a costly piece of equipment that everyone uses without giving it much attention. Refrigerators, like most household equipment, require periodic maintenance.
Despite cleaning a dryer exhaust (that you might want to leave to a professional), these easy activities are doable by everyone. It makes no difference whether you possess or rent your house, or if you’ve got no prior expertise with home maintenance.
If you rent a property and do not own the refrigerator (and hence are not responsible for its upkeep), it is still beneficial to keep your fridge in good working order.
Why? The more efficiently your refrigerator operates, the more funds you will save on your electricity cost. Little savings accumulate over time and contribute to lowering your carbon impact.
By doing this guide to refrigerator maintenance, you can keep your refrigerator working like new.
Examine the Door Seals
A poor seal on something like the fridge door causes cool air to escape, wasting energy and making your refrigerator work even harder than necessary. To begin, ensure that the seals are clear of food residue.
You must clean it twice a year with a toothbrush and add baking soda and water solution. Then conduct the dollar-bill test: Shut the door on the bill so that half of it is in while half is out. If it readily slips out, you might require that the door seals be examined by a professional.
Maintain the Coils’ Cleanliness
The refrigerator cannot operate efficiently if the evaporator coils are dusty. Pull the refrigerator away from the wall twice a year to expose the coils in the rear (or snap off from the grille if somehow the coils are located on the bottom side), unplug your refrigerator, then vacuum the coils using the brush attachment.
Set the Appropriate Temperature
A refrigerator that is set to the improper temperature may either work too long or even not long enough. Maintain a fridge temperature of 37 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit as well as a freezer temperature of 0 degrees.
Most important technique to maintain your refrigerator at the proper temperature is to make sure the door sealing are in good working order (check step one).
Load It Up
Refrigerators require “thermal mass” (a.k.a. a lot of things) to keep the temperatures low while consuming less energy. Cold meals and drinks assist to absorb the heated air that enters when the door is opened.
If you like to dine out or if the refrigerator is too large for your purposes, keep a couple jugs of water into it. Just ensure you don’t overfill your refrigerator. There should be some air flowing around your goods.
Make Plans for Such a Power Outage
If the electricity goes out, pulling out the door each hour in a hurry to look at the food is a simple way to waste all that conserved energy.
Close the doors and utilize food from its pantry. Unopened refrigerators will keep food fresh for 4 hours; unopened freezers will keep food fresh for 2 days if filled and 24 hours if barely.