Refrigerator - Preventive Maintenance
- Thread starter Warstud
- Start date
Mine are underneath the Fridge ..... I'm thinking Air Compressor to blow out dirt because Vacuum wont work .
I think most are. I used the vacuum hose attachment - the compressed air would have blown the dust to the back of the fridge.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
It's messy, but I set my shop vac to blow mode to blast the dust/animal hair carpet off the bottom coils of our refrigerator every once in awhile. Then suck it all up. There's no other way to get in there aside from emptying the fridge and tilting it over.
mine are in the back wrapped in a box shape with a fan to cool the coils
Only other thing to check with refrigerators (freestanding models, not the built-in types) To make sure that they have enough air circulation around them, so that the heat which is being pumped out of them has a place to go. Some people make the mistake of “smothering“ their refrigerators which shortens their lifespan.
My main goal of cleaning the condenser coils on a refrigerator is to help it run more efficiently. But I guess it could help it last longer too.
Clean out the drip pan and hose also.
If it's not too inconvenient, you might consider "defrosting" a typical frost-free refrigerator/top-freezer once in a while. Remove contents, un-plug and let it warm up etc. Could be a good time for interior cleaning and inspection of the seals too.
A real appliance repair person will probably chime in - this is just personal experience fixing my own 'fridge': If the defrost cycle is not quite good enough, a tiny bit of ice might remain unseen behind the freezer back-panel. If that kind of cycle continues, over time enough ice may build up to clog the cold-path to the refrigerator or interfere with the evaporator fan. I now do it once every year or two.
A real appliance repair person will probably chime in - this is just personal experience fixing my own 'fridge': If the defrost cycle is not quite good enough, a tiny bit of ice might remain unseen behind the freezer back-panel. If that kind of cycle continues, over time enough ice may build up to clog the cold-path to the refrigerator or interfere with the evaporator fan. I now do it once every year or two.
I pull mine away from the wall, remove the cover panel, vacuum what I can get to, then blow everything else out with an air compressor. Makes a mess of the kitchen but it's gotta be done.
I would like to get my hands on the idiots who moved the coils to the bottom. The move was bad enough but they spaced them so that no brush or vacuum extension can be used to clean the coils. When they were on the back you could brush them and vacuum the crap up easily.
Got someone coming to look at my freezer column (built-in) next week. The ice maker drips into the bin, possibly the solenoid and the door frame feels hotter than normal but I’m not sure they are related.
I haven’t done anything in 10 years but I’m sure the coils could use a cleaning.
I haven’t done anything in 10 years but I’m sure the coils could use a cleaning.
My Mother owned a freezer that made popping noises . Defrosting it fixed the problem
Mine are underneath too. They make special long, pointy brushes just for cleaning fridge coils. The brush is inserted between the coils. That and a shop vac to pickup the loose dust is all that's needed.
Remove the water line before the eventual leak in the water dispenser / ice maker.
You cleaned out what you can and what I do is use my leaf blower
to blow all the dust and junk out of there. If you haven’t done it in a long time, it will be a real mess, but then after that will be easier to handle.Besides extending the life of your refrigerator, you will reduce your cost of electricity
