Your refrigerator is the house’s workhorse, keeping food chilled or frozen throughout the day and night. According to HomeAdvisor, hiring refrigerator repair professionals now and then to repair your unit can be expensive. The good news is that you can save money by fixing the problem yourself.

The most common refrigerator problems are leaks, loud noises, cooling troubles, and ice makers that don’t operate properly. As a homeowner, you can troubleshoot these frequent refrigerator problems with simple equipment such as a manual screwdriver and a cordless drill, as well as other readily available and inexpensive parts.

To shed more light on the issue, here are some of the most common refrigerator problems and how to fix them:

Leaking unit

Do you have water on your kitchen floor? What about pools that form on the interior bottom of the refrigerator? You have a leaking refrigerator. The good news is that leaky refrigerators are relatively simple to fix because there are just a few likely causes of the problem: door gaskets, defrost drains, and drain pans.

If the soft rubber-like door gaskets are the problem and they fail to seal properly, water may seep from the bottom. You need to use warm, soapy water to clean the seal and any refrigerator sections it comes into contact with.

If that doesn’t work, replace the door gaskets completely.

You also should check to see if the defrost drain leading out of the freezer is plugged. If this is the case, remove any obvious impediments. You should use hot water to break up any remaining obstructions in the tube.

The drain pan at the bottom of the refrigerator may also be so full that water is spilling out. If you are having this problem, you need to clear the drain pan of water. After removing the drain pan, clean it with warm, soapy water and a soft cloth. Do not use abrasives.

If the drain pan smells bad or has mold patches, mix a 1:10 bleach solution with warm water. Ensure that you rinse and dry the pan before replacing it.

Extremely loud refrigerator

Refrigerators generate sounds that often come from ice clattering into the storage bin and refrigerant hissing through lines. You should note that both of these sounds are expected and usual sounds. So, if you have them, you have nothing to worry about.

While this is the case, you should note that sometimes the unit makes weird noises. Many people have the impression that these noises are common with old appliances, but this isn’t the case. Even new refrigerators can make weird noises.

The most common noises are buzzing, humming, whirring, and vibrating noises. If your unit is making any of these noises, you should move with haste and fix them as soon as possible.

Your fridge has leveling legs. As your home ages and your kitchen floorboards sag, the refrigerator needs to be balanced again. The fridge might be making weird noises due to the legs being imbalanced.

You should use a wrench to turn the legs. For the best outcome, ensure that the doors close on their own when opened halfway (45 degrees).

You should adjust the legs with the door halfway open and continue until the door swings close.

You can also order special dense foam mats and place them under the refrigerator to reduce vibration transmitted through the legs to the floor. This repair is especially useful if the people below you complain about refrigerator noise. You’ll need to place anti-vibration pads under each of the fridge’s four feet.

Ask a helper to tip the refrigerator back while you insert the pads, and then repeat on the opposite side.

Do not stand on the tipped side, as the fridge may tip over on you.

The fan distributes air from the coils to keep the temperature consistent. In some cases, the fan may be rattling due to old or broken rubber grommets. Grommets are inexpensive, and you can buy them online. The evaporator fan is accessible from inside your freezer compartment.

What you should do is unplug the device and remove all goods and shelves from the freezer. Remove the fan from the freezer by opening the access door at the back with a screwdriver.

You also should remove the old grommets and replace them with new ones. Once you are done, replace the fan and tighten the screws.

The refrigerator is too cold or freezing over.

You want your refrigerator and freezer to stay cold. But is it becoming too much? After you’ve tried readjusting the thermostat, here are some alternative fixes.

Cold air may be constantly pouring into the chamber, unregulated by a damper that remains open. The thermostat controls the damper, which is placed between the cooling and freezing compartments.

You can easily buy refrigerator thermostats online. Find your model number on the inside or back of your door, and then order a compatible thermostat.

You should unplug the fridge first, then open the cooling compartment. Using a Phillips head screwdriver, remove the top cover of the cooling chamber (inside the box). Usually, only a few screws hold this in place.

Use the same screwdriver to remove the plastic control assembly cover.

The lid is fastened to the refrigerator with wires, so lift it cautiously. The thermostat will be a bronze-colored metal device connected by copper wires and a plastic capillary tube.

You can find it useful to photograph the wire arrangement so that you can replicate it with the new thermostat. Pull the wires straight out by hand, then remove the tube.

The new thermostat installation is a one-to-one replacement with two black wires doubled up. It is connected to one terminal, one orange wire, and one green ground wire.

You should attach the capillary tube and then replace the assembly covers with the appropriate screws.

Parting shot

These are some of the most common problems that your refrigerator might have. While you can fix some of the issues, you should note that sometimes the problems are complex. If this is the case with your unit, you should let experienced appliance repair Northern VA professionals handle it.

The post Common Fridge Problems and How to Fix Them first appeared on HVAC Repair, appliance repair. The post appeared first on Express Appliance Repair