Kitchen appliances are a very expensive part of the home to replace, and there are few that are so important to daily life than the fridge. If you’re worried that your fridge has seen better days, you might be wondering what you can do to help it. Here are a few tips to make sure your fridge is fresh, working well, and ready to last a long while, yet.
Clean it out properly
Every now and then, you should take the time to make sure that you clean the fridge and freezer out fully. This means taking everything out, wiping it all over, and, most importantly, checking the drain hole and drip plan is clear. If your drain hole starts to get blocked, liquid can build at the bottom and, with all that food residue in it, it can start to make the fridge smell really bad.
Check the condenser coils
There’s one part of the fridge that is most important to keep them running well and these are the coils that are located often at the back of the fridge. They are visible in a lot of fridges but on some, you need to remove a panel. You can clean your fridge coils with a special coil-cleaning tool, but some people also find that a stiff brush to dislodge any dirt and a vacuum cleaner to suck it up can do a good job, too.
Make sure it seals up right
Do you find that your fridge often leaves leaks overnight or that your stuff isn’t freezing right? It could be that your doors aren’t sealing properly, and this is often due to the gaskets on the fridge door. These seals can loosen if any parts are cracked, damaged, or simply a little too dirty to seal properly, but you can easily clean and wipe these dry.
Get the parts for it yourself
If any of the parts named above are starting to wear and tear, then you don’t need to replace the whole fridge. You can often fix most fridge problems yourself with the right parts. You can find the owner’s guide as well as maintenance manuals for most appliances directly on the website of the manufacturer. They will tell you how to replace all kinds of parts. If you’re not confident in doing so, however, you might be best off calling for some help.
Know when to replace it
You can make a lot of fixes to the fridge yourself and keep it living for a lot longer. However, if it’s putting you out of pocket three or more times a year, then it’s a good sign that it’s starting to break down too quickly to keep up with and will get less cost-effective as time goes on. Find a good, energy-efficient fridge to save yourself some money in the long term.
The better you take care of your fridge, the better it’s going to take care of you, too. Be proactive, be regular, and be mindful and you can make sure you don’t have to go replacing it any time soon.
