Introduction
Refrigerators are complex machines that have numerous components that all work together to preserve food in the best condition. If you don’t install, get it repaired, or use the refrigerator properly it may break down. If your refrigerator breaks down, you can search for “refrigerator repair near me” and hire a technician to fix it for you. Let’s check out some of the top asked refrigerator questions and answer them:
The Questions
- Is it okay to lay down a refrigerator to haul it? – Most electronic stores and online stores provide free delivery and installation. If your refrigerator breaks down, in most cases the technician will visit your home to diagnose and fix it. However, if that’s not the case or you’re moving homes, you may need to haul your refrigerator yourself.
In that case, it’s perfectly fine to lay down a refrigerator. However, make sure you let the refrigerator sit up for a few hours before plugging it into the wall. That gives the oil enough time to resettle in the compressor.
- How often should I replace the water filter? – Whether you have an internal or external water and ice dispenser you’ll have a water dispenser inside that unit to give you clean and fresh water. Most owners’ manuals recommend you replace that filter every 6 months. That replacement period works fine if you live in the middle of nowhere and use a pump to pull up water from the ground.
However, most people who live in the city and rural areas that have proper water supply systems get clean potable water supplied to their homes. In these circumstances, you can replace the water filter once every year.
- How to stop my refrigerator from making excessive ice that lifts up the top shelf? – That’s the annoying thing about these convenient ice makers. They are prone to such problems. The ice bin has a feeler arm that is supposed to cut off the icemaker when the bin is full. However, sometimes it doesn’t work.
Fortunately, most refrigerators that had these problems are old models and manufacturers sell replacement feeler arms for them. You can contact customer support and get the right feeler arm for your refrigerator model and install the arm.
- What should the refrigerator controls be set to? – In most parts of the world, setting the refrigerator in the middle setting works well. However, if you have a refrigerator that has a sensing bulb you may need to turn down cold controls further down if you live around 5000 feet above sea level.
It’s also important to note that if your refrigerator has been working well for the most part and suddenly you need to change controls there’s something wrong with the unit. You need to call customer support, or have it fixed by a certified technician so that the problem doesn’t get worse.
- How often should the condenser be cleaner? – Cleaning the condenser at the back of your fridge is pretty easy. You need a cheap tool like a long skinny brush and a vacuum cleaner. Run the brush through the condenser pipes a few times and extract the dust buildup. After that suck it all up with a vacuum cleaner.
The cleaning process is the same even if your refrigerator has a condenser under the refrigerator. Just make sure that you unplug the refrigerator before you do any cleaning. You should clean the condenser coils at least once a year to keep your refrigerator functioning efficiently. If you have fluffy hairy pets, make that twice a year.
- What should be the temperature in the refrigerator? – If you have bought a refrigerator within the last couple of years this may not be a problem since most modern refrigerators have smart sensors to automatically control the temperature in different zones. However, for old refrigerators with manual controls you need to set the temperature at different sections yourself.
For the fresh food section, set the temperature between 34 to 40 degrees. The optimal temperature for this section is around 36 degrees. For the freezer compartment set the temperature to around 0 to 10 degrees.
- What to do when the refrigerator doors won’t stay closed? – Make sure that items inside the refrigerator aren’t preventing the doors from making a proper seal. Anything from a food packet to an oversized bottle needs to be removed or stacked properly to prevent any interference. Rub a thin layer of petroleum jelly on the door gasket to make a proper seal. If that doesn’t work, you may need to replace the door gasket.
If the gasket isn’t the issue, there may be something wrong with the door hinge. Check if there’s a spacer missing on the door hinge. If you have a side-by-side refrigerator, there may be two cams under each door. If any of the cams are broken the refrigerator won’t close properly. Replacing those parts isn’t easy and it’s best to hire a professional for the job.
- Why does the food in the bottom of the fresh food section freeze? – If your refrigerator sits for a long period of time without the door being opened, the bottom section of the fresh food section can reach freezing temperatures. If you operate your refrigerator this way, it’s best to turn the temperature settings up a couple of notches.
This makes the refrigerator run for longer durations so that it can hit the desired temperature. However, it’s very counterproductive if the top portion of the fresh food section is getting frozen. It’s best to change your refrigerator’s operating ways a little bit to fix this issue. Make sure that you open the refrigerator door at least thrice every day.
Conclusion
As you can see, using a refrigerator isn’t rocket science and it will keep working well for years if you do routine maintenance and use it properly. If you haven’t had your refrigerator serviced or if it has broken down, you can get it fixed by a professional by searching for “refrigerator repair near me”.
