How Cleaning Your Fridge Can Keep It Cool
For When Your Fridge Isn’t Doing Its Job
Have you ever wondered why your refrigerator fails to do its job? When you open up the fridge and you just find ice built up on the butter, but then the condiments on the door are almost room temperature? What about opening your freezer and finding that your ice cream is now soft-serve? We’ve all had it happen. The most common reason is that your fridge is facing one of three issues. It’s packed too tight, the vents inside are dirty or the condenser coils are blocked or dirty.
Table of Contents
Sections of Your Refrigerator
Let’s start off with a quick intro to the different parts of your refrigerator that actually make it, you know, work. This is the stuff most of us don’t look at, but it’s important if you want to figure out how and why things aren’t working right.
Compressor
Your compressor is where everything starts. You can find it at the back or bottom of your refrigerator. The compressor pressurizes the liquid refrigerant before it pumps it through the system, turning it into a vapor. It's now a hot gas!
Condenser Coil
Your condenser coils will be located on either the back or bottom of your refrigerator, usually hidden behind a grille if it's on the bottom. The refrigerant condenses into a liquid inside the pipes and releases heat that gets pushed into the outside air. So now it's still high pressure, but in a liquid state.
Expansion Device
The expansion device is located in between the two sets of coils. It acts as a barrier between the condenser coil and the evaporator coil. On one side, the refrigerant is in a liquid state at high pressure. On the other, is a low pressure area. The expansion device sucks the refrigerant from one side to the other, immediately boiling it and returning it to a vapor state, then flowing into the evaporator coils.
Evaporator Coils
The evaporator coils are where the actual cooling happens. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the surrounding air and releases cool air. Small vents on the inside of the freezer and refrigerator allow air to move from the freezer and into the fridge.
Cleaning Your Refrigerator
Now that you know what the different sections are, you might see that only a small section is available to access, that's the condenser coils, either underneath or behind the fridge. You might think that your refrigerator only needs to be cleaned once in a blue moon. In fact, you should consider cleaning it on a regular basis, especially if you have pets that traverse the kitchen.
Inside
Start the process by emptying everything out from your fridge and freezer. If you want to, you can allow your fridge to defrost while you're at this. Make sure to place everything into a cooler or on the counters while you move on.
Now remove all of your shelves and drawers that can be taken out. (This is one of the reasons we recommend purchasing refrigerators that have moveable shelves and drawers. It makes everything easier to clean and sort.) Important note: Before you clean the different pieces, you need to allow the shelves to come up to room temperature. If you don't, the sudden shock can cause the glass or plastic to shatter. No one wants that mess.
Go ahead and scrub everything down using a mix of warm water and dish soap, carefully drying it with a clean cloth. Take a moment to find the vents that are inside your fridge and freezer and take a close look at them. These are where the cooling air is forced through from the evaporator coils. Make sure that the vents aren't obstructed by any dust, grime or other detritus. You can also go ahead and give them a quick scrub while you have everything cleared out from your refrigerator.
Let's take a look back at the contents of your fridge. Are things covered in spilled condiments or last week's noodles? Give everything a quick wipe down, making sure to dry it thoroughly. Once you're done with that, consider how to best use the space within your fridge. Nothing says you need to do it the way the manufacturer or magazines show. The two rules we tend to go by are a) can we easily find what we need, and b) are the vents remaining unblocked. If the answers to both of these are yes, you're good.
Outside
Once the inside of your refrigerator is sorted, let's turn to the outside. Start by grabbing some cleaner that's relevant to what your refrigerator is cased in, be it stainless steel or cabinetry. Use a damp cloth and wipe it down. Make sure to use a non-abrasive sponge if there's anything that is sticky or gross. Rinse off the outside with clean, cool water, and quickly dry with a soft cloth. (This is especially important if your refrigerator is stainless steel so that you don't have any water spots or discoloration.) As a final step, if you have stainless steel, grab some polish and go with the grain to bring it back to a shine.
Condenser Coils
Before you decide to start messing with your condenser coils, make sure to check over your Use & Care Manual. Some makers prefer for only a certified technician to clean the coils. If that's not the case let's get things taken care of. Start by unplugging or disconnecting your refrigerator. Once that's done you can safely locate your condenser coils either on the back or base of your refrigerator. If they are on the bottom, they'll be behind a decorative grille. Now use a vacuum cleaner with an extendable attachment and a soft brush. Once you've got everything gathered up, replace the grille and carefully bring your refrigerator forward. Sweep and vacuum behind and under the fridge, making sure to clean your brush as needed.
And that's it! You've cleaned your refrigerator from top to bottom and reorganized it. Hopefully, this should help it 'breathe' more easily and keep everything nice and cold. If that hasn't solved it, you can reach out to us via Facebook, our website, or by calling us at ((214) 599-0055). We're here to help keep your home in shape, and that's especially important during the peak of summer! If this did help your refrigerator and freezer work, please let us know that too!