The refrigerator is most probably one of the essential household appliances at your home. Also, it is one of the most expensive home appliances. So why wouldn’t you take proper care of it?

When your refrigerator fails, it can mess up your day.

If you take good care of your fridge, it will run efficiently and last longer, so you don’t need to worry about repairing or replacement costs soon.

Are you wondering what is the proper way to take care of a refrigerator? Well, there are plenty of ways to go about it. Here are some of them as given by appliance repair professionals:

Set the right temperature

Keeping your refrigerator at a temperature between 30-45 degrees Fahrenheit will allow the internal environment to stay consistent, preserving your food quality. Maintaining the right temperature will also ensure that your food stays longer and better.  If you set your refrigerator’s temperature very low, it will have to run more to cool at a lower temperature; you will just be adding an extra run on the compressor that does not need to be there.

Clean out the inside

Food residue, frost or dirt can seem to take over your refrigerator after some time. If you are opening your refrigerator frequently, which is normal to most people, you might spill or forget to close the door. Especially kids forget to close the door and do not clean after themselves in case of spills.

It would help if you cleaned out the inside of your refrigerator two times a year. Do not buy any food to refrigerate the day you plan to clean your refrigerator. Allow the inside to defrost and then dry it up. After cleaning the inside of your refrigerator, look for a fridge aid to help deodorize and keep your refrigerator fresh.

Ensure the doors seal tightly

When most people take something from the refrigerator, they just shut the door and think they have fully closed it. You might often get back to the refrigerator and find its door slightly open, meaning the gasket has an issue. A gasket is a piece of rubber found on the edge of the refrigerator door to ensure the temperature stays consistent. Clean the gaskets twice a year using baking soda and water to clean any dirt or food residue. If necessary, you can seek help from professionals to replace the gasket.

Clean off cooler fan and condenser coils

Cleaning the condenser coils and the cooler fan is one of the most crucial things to maintain your refrigerator.  When dust or dirt cover the coils,this will reduce the energy efficiency. The compressor will run hotter than it would with clean coils. The extra strain on the compressor will reduce its lifespan, causing you stress to replace it.

You should remove the grate at the bottom of your refrigerator and clean it using a brush at least once a year. Condenser coils help in removing heat from freezers and refrigerators. Ensure you have unplugged your refrigerator from the power socket before you start cleaning.

Using a brush, remove all the dirt from the cooler fan, coil, and everything else around there. Use special brushes that help to make cleaning cooler fan and condenser coils easier. Check the manufacturer’s specific cleaning instructions manual in case you have any questions.

Keep your refrigerator full

The more food you have in your fridge, the better your appliance will maintain the proper temperatures. Keeping your refrigerator empty allows warm air to get inside the refrigerator every time you open it. Hence reduce efficiency. Keeping your refrigerator full will reduce the overall maintenance costs and usage of your refrigerator. Even if you mostly eat outside, at least fill your refrigerator with drinks.

Avoid putting warm food in your refrigerator

Always allow food leftovers to cool down before putting them in your refrigerator. This helps to reduce the amount of warm air inside the fridge and save some run time on the compressor.

Bottom-line

Your refrigerator is one of the most expensive appliances at your home so you should take proper care of it.  Ensure you set the correct temperatures on your refrigerator, clean the condenser coils and cooler fans to ensure your refrigerator operates efficiently. In addition, ensure your fridge is always full and avoid placing warm food in your fridge to avoid warm air getting inside. When you notice even a minor problem, don’t ignore it. Instead, get in touch with a refrigerator repair Alexandria expert to look into it.

The post What Is The Proper Way To Take Care Of A Refrigerator? first appeared on HVAC Repair, appliance repair. The post appeared first on Express Appliance Repair

Do you have a feeling that your ice maker has a problem? It could be true.

How do you know if your refrigerator ice maker is bad? Well, there are a number of things you can look out for. Some of these things as given by appliance repair professionals include:

The ice maker not making ice

The unit is supposed to make ice, so if it’s not, there is definitely a problem. The icemaker will fail to make ice for plenty of reasons, such as wrong temperature settings, dirty filters, blockages, and many others.

You should look into the unit and confirm whether the thermostat is set at the right temperature. As a rule of thumb, ensure that the temperature doesn’t exceed 5ºF.

While at it, check the arm lever and ensure that it’s pushed down. If it’s up, it might be the reason the ice maker won’t make ice, so you need to push it down.

How is the water stream? If the stream is weak or there is no water coming out, you might be having a problem with the waterline. Inspect it and if blocked or damaged, fix it.

Ice maker not making enough ice

Sometimes the ice maker will make some ice, but you can tell it’s not working at its capacity. In most cases, this will happen due to problems with the waterline. You need to access the line and find out whether it’s blocked or damaged.

Fix the problem and ensure that the stream has a steady flow with good water pressure (30-120 psi). When replacing the water line, ensure that everything is connected tightly and the water inlet valve is fully open and free of debris.

Ice maker making ice that is too small or has a weird taste

If the ice coming from the ice maker is too small, it could be due to water line problems. Does the ice have a weird taste or color? This might be due to food odors from the freezer.

Check the water line for any bulges, kinks, or damage. If you see any problem, fix it.

If the problem is too big that you have to replace the line, replace the line using a copper water line. This way, you have a durable water line that won’t give the water a weird taste.

To prevent the smell of the food in the freezer from getting into the water, make it a habit to cover the food with plastic.

Ice maker not dropping ice

If your ice maker isn’t dropping ice, you could be having a blockage in the ice tray, or the ice cube has jammed between the lever and bin. If this is the case, double-check and confirm that the lever is pushed down and/or the ice maker is switched on. If you aren’t sure about it, consult your owner’s manual.

Also, confirm if the problem is due to ice accumulation in the ice bin. If there is blocked ice, remove it by carefully chipping at it with a plastic knife.

Ice maker making loud noises

Although the icemaker should make some noise when working, the noise shouldn’t be too loud that it’s a distraction. So if your appliance is making constant or unusual noises, it might be having a mechanical problem that you need to look at.

In most cases, you can’t properly diagnose the noises and fix them on your own—you have to hire an experienced refrigerator icemaker repair Fairfax professional to help out.

Water leaking into the freezer or on the floor.

Two of the most common culprits for this problem are a faulty water line and an unleveled icemaker.

The first place to check is whether the refrigerator is leveled. If it’s not, level it. Once the fridge is level, check the inside of the freezer and ensure that it’s also leveled.

How is the water line? Check its condition and ensure that the fill tube is positioned properly. The tube’s location will vary depending on the ice maker model, but it should always be above the icemaker tray or inside the water fill cup.

The post How Do You Know If Your Refrigerator Icemaker Is Bad? first appeared on HVAC Repair, appliance repair. The post appeared first on Express Appliance Repair

If you are going on vacation for a month or more, you can’t keep your electric appliances running. One of the questions you must be asking is, should I turn off the refrigerator when not in use?

The answer to this question is a definitive yes. Appliance repair professionals recommend you turn off the fridge and unplug it at the wall.

The obvious reason you should shut the fridge is to save power. You don’t want to keep receiving high energy bills you aren’t consuming, are you?

The other reason you should shut the appliance is because you don’t want to keep worrying about what is going on at home.

Although, they are good servants, most appliances are ticking time bombs especially when they run unsupervised. They can fall, catch on fire, among many other things.

When you shut your appliance, you have peace of mind that none of your units can start a fire in your absence.

Besides shutting and disconnecting the fridge, there are several other things you should do when you will be gone for extended periods. Some of these things include:

Defrost and clean the appliance

If you don’t properly clean the fridge before storage, you will create a lot of mess that the fridge will be unusable by the time you are retrieving it from storage.

One major concern is mold that often starts from the food debris and spreads to the other parts of the fridge. There is also the pests concern. Ants and rodents can be attracted to even the smallest food pieces so when you don’t properly clean the fridge, these pests can get into your appliance and cause damage to the electrical components.

To defrost the fridge, remove all the food items and unplug the fridge. This will trigger the defrosting process and you should keep the refrigerator doors open so that moisture can escape from the fridge.

To avoid flooding your floor, strategically place a towel to catch the dripping water.

For peace of mind that the fridge is completely dry, defrost it at least a week before you leave for your vacation.

As the fridge is defrosting, you should clean both the insides and back of it.

Take out the drawers, shelves, and other removable parts of the appliance. Clean and soak these parts with mildly soapy water. For best results, ensure the water is warm. Avoid scalding hot water as it can damage the cold plastic or glass.

Using a mixture of baking soda and water, scrub away any materials that might have built up inside the fridge and freezer compartments.

As much as you want the fridge to be spotless, don’t use chlorine bleach, ammonia, or any other abrasive cleaning solutions as they can crack or even discolor the plastic and stainless steel.

Once the insides of the fridge are clean, turn your attention to the outside. Dust the coils using a brush attachment or run a vacuum cleaner. You can also use a dry cloth.

Store the fridge in an upright position

If you will be moving the fridge from its usual place, use a dolly or hand truck to move it. As a rule of thumb don’t move the fridge while laying on its side.

When you store it, ensure that it’s not in a slanting position—it should always be in a straight position.

The reason for this is to ensure that you come home to a properly functioning compressor.

Keep the fridge dry

The last thing you want is to reverse all the hard work you have put into cleaning and defrosting your appliance.

To ensure that your fridge remains dry and no moisture gets inside, remove the doors on both the fridge and freezer compartments.

According to refrigerator repair Springfield professionals, when you do this, you ensure no seal forms so your appliance is free from molds.

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of removing the doors, wedge an object between the door and the compartment frame so that the door remains open.

When choosing the wedging object, ensure that the object is tough and won’t bend or get indented over time hence close the door and cause the damaging seal to form.

The post Should I Turn Off Refrigerator When Not In Use? first appeared on HVAC Repair, appliance repair. The post appeared first on Express Appliance Repair