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Keep your Refrigerator and Freezer running efficient


In continuing with our theme of finding ways to save you money, Expert Home inspections is offering this installment of our blog with some tips and maintenance items that will help ensure your appliances are running as efficiently as possible.

Despite the fact that we all use our refrigerator multiple times a day, the care and maintenance is often neglected, and yes, there is regular maintenance that needs to be done to keep this important appliance running. The other items listed in this article are more along the lines of “best practices” on how to use the fridge and freezer properly.

For more tips and ways to save money, be sure to check out our other blog posts or check out our resources page at https://expert-home-inspections.com/resources/

Cleaning the Coils

Every fridge or freezer has a coil unit which is designed to dissipate the heat the refrigerant is pulling from inside.  You can think of these coils much like the radiator on your car.  The hot coolant runs through the coils and transfers to the air surrounding them.  Over time, these coils collect hair, dirt and lint, preventing efficient air movement and heat transfer.  This will cause the compressor in your fridge to run longer than necessary. Ultimately this will not only cost you more in electricity but will cause more wear and tear on your appliance, causing it to fail sooner.

These coil units are located either on the bottom, or rear of the appliance. For rear mounted coils, just carefully slide the fridge out to expose the coils on the back. For bottom mounted coils, they can usually be accessed by either removing the lower front cover, or from the rear of the unit by again just sliding the refrigerator out. Once you have access, use a soft flexible brush that will slide behind and around the coils. These are usually available at most home improvement stores for under $10. Using a vacuum and the brush, continually wipe down the coils and vacuum the dust until clean.
A final note …. if you have a rear mounted coil, be sure to leave at least 1” or 2” between the coil and the wall to allow for proper air movement.

Defrosting the Freezer

While most modern freezers are self-defrosting, if yours is not, this will also be a regular maintenance item you will need to perform. To determine if you need to defrost, the check is pretty simple… open your freezer. If there is a build up of ice on any of the walls or shelves, you need to defrost.

When it comes to defrosting a freezer, the list is far greater for the things NOT to do than the rules to perform the task. The biggest tool you need for this project is patience, that’s it. Simply turn off or unplug your appliance; empty the contents into a cooler; open the door and wait. When the ice has melted; use a mild dish soap to clean the inside.

The biggest mistake people make is getting impatient or rushing the job. There is probably a limitless list of shortcuts to make this project go faster, from hairdryers, hot packs and boiling pans of water to vehicle window scrapers and screwdrivers. Sure, these tips can cut minutes off the time it will take. But…plastic walls can melt, crack or deform and pics and scrapers can easily puncture soft freon lines, walls or seals. And any of these things can make your freezer useless. It is much easier to leave the freezer open and off and find another project to do while the ice melts.

One last tip - have a few towels on hand to keep the melting ice from making a mess on the ground.

Cleaning the Drip Pan

If your fridge/freezer is a self-defroster, then it will also have a drain hole and drip pan. In a frost free or self-defrosting freezer, the freezer will occasionally go through a warming cycle to melt off any ice, which then drains to the drip pan under the appliance. The drain hole and the pan itself can get built up with sediment and clogged over time and should be cleaned out regularly.

You can generally access the drip pan either by removing the front lower cover, or by sliding the unit out and accessing it from the back. If the drip pan is not easily identifiable, refer to the owner’s manual or search for the information online.

Level the Fridge/Freezer

This may seem insignificant but making sure your freezer is level can improve its efficiency and extend its life. There are two major systems that can be affected by the unit being level, the compressor and the sealing of the doors.  If the appliance is not level it can cause the compressor to experience excessive vibration or mix the Freon and oil in the system, ultimately shortening its life.  Additionally, if it is not level, it can put stress on the door and cause the door not to close or seal properly, causing the appliance motor to run more than needed.

Most units have at least two of the feet that can be adjusted up or down with a pair of pliers.  Check your user manual for the exact adjustment points.

Check and clean the door seals

Making sure that the doors seal properly is more than likely the single largest potential loss of energy efficiency in a fridge or freezer. The pleats in these seals can get caked with food crumbs and sticky bits of food effecting their position and flexibility.

Using warm water and vinegar will clean off all food residue, help prevent mold growth and will be safe for the seals. If any part of the seal is cracked, a new one should be ordered and replaced.

Best Practices for an Efficient Fridge/Freezer

Because of how a fridge and freezer works, and based on the laws of thermodynamics, simple science dictates that a full fridge or freezer will operate far more efficiently. As an example, for most freezers, if you fill it half full and turn it off, the food will stay frozen for about 24 hours. If you do this with a full freezer the food will stay frozen about twice as long.  A solid frozen mass will hold the cold temperature longer than that same cold temperature will hold in an empty fridge.  So, always keep your freezer/fridge full, even if that means filling some jugs of water.

To properly and safely store food, the refrigerator should be set between 38 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and the freezer set at 0 degrees. Using a food thermometer, make sure you are not cooling your food more than is necessary.

Finally, and while this may seem obvious, try not to stand in front of the fridge with the door open! There was a reason your mother used to yell at you about that!!

As always, we at EHI hope you have enjoyed our free tips and hope you have found some useful information to help make your home run just a little more efficiently! If you are looking for more ways to save money, check out the rest of our blog for more tips. And when you are really ready to get your home in shape, check out our home energy audits and see how you can maximize your energy savings with a plan tailored to your home. www.expert-home-inspections.com

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