To avoid hiring refrigerator repair technicians to repair your appliance frequently, you need to be cautious of the sanity of your appliance. To have an easy time, have a refrigerator preventative maintenance checklist with you.
The list protects your appliance from sudden breakdowns and ensures that your appliance lasts for a long time. Some of the things you should do to maintain the sanity of your appliance include:
If the fridge or freezer isn’t level, the doors don’t seal correctly, and in no time they warp out of place. To prevent this from happening, place a carpenter’s level on top of the unit. If it’s not level, adjust the feet using a hand wrench.
Defrost the unit
Many modern appliances have a self-defrosting mechanism that prevents ice from building up in the unit. If you have an old unit, it might be lacking this mechanism, so you have to defrost the appliance manually.
If the ice is over ½ inch, remove it. Start with turning off the appliance and let it defrost naturally. To speed up the process, turn on a fan facing the affected area. Avoid using sharp objects to remove the built-up ice as you can damage the appliance.
Change the water filter
If the refrigerator has an icemaker, it most likely has a water filter that you should replace. For best results, replace the filter every 6 months, or however often the manufacturer recommends. The purpose of doing this is to ensure that the ice made by the appliance is clean. Cleaning the filters also ensures that the appliance is functioning efficiently all the time.
Clean the appliance regularly
If you have a busy kitchen, the chances are that you don’t have enough time to properly get rid of food and beverage spills when they happen. When you go for a long time without properly cleaning the refrigerator, gunk is bound to develop.
To avoid this, make it a habit to clean the refrigerator surfaces at the end of every working day. When drips and splatters happen, clean them on time. When doing it, avoid using a ball of steel wool or other abrasives and chemicals such as bleach that can damage the finish of the appliance.
Remember, the longer you let a spill settle, the harder it will be to clean it without using a harmful cleaning agent. In addition to the uncleaned spills causing unpleasant odors, they significantly affect the quality of the refrigerator. Mold also tends to grow on the fridge jeopardizing the safety of the food.
Regularly inspect the seals and fix the leaks
When the seals or gaskets on the fridge doors are loose or ripped, air will escape. This results in the refrigerator working too hard; hence you have a high energy bill at the end of the month.
You can easily fix minor gasket leaks by yourself using silicone caulk. While you are at it, ensure that the refrigerator door hinges and latches are tightly secured.
Check the interior lights
Lights generate heat. In a properly functioning refrigerator, the lights should go off when you close the refrigerator door. Due to age and improper maintenance, the refrigerator lights might not be going off when you close the door. As a result, the lights heat the interior of the fridge, making the refrigerator work harder than it should.
To stop this, take the time to scrutinize the interior lights. If they don’t go off when you close the door, find out the reason and fix it.
Clean the condenser coils
The condenser coils allow the fridge or freezer to control its temperature, so you must keep them clean to ensure that the appliance is running efficiently and doesn’t overheat. When you go for a long time without cleaning the coils, dust, hair, and other grime build up on the coils.
To keep your appliance functioning efficiently, clean the coils regularly with a vacuum cleaner. For ideal results, do the cleaning at least once every three months. You can do the cleaning by yourself by following the owner’s manual or hire an appliance repair Alexandria professional to help you out.
When hiring a contractor, ensure the contractor is experienced enough. They also should be certified to work in your area.
