One of the most significantly important appliances in a house is the refrigerator. It is constantly running keeping our food and frozen good cold and everyone who lives at home is constantly opening and closing it. The average lifespan of a refrigerator is about 17 years if refrigerator maintenance tips are conducted properly. If you’ve never witnessed a refrigerator lasting this long, then maybe some of these tips are missing from your maintenance routine.
Refrigerator Maintenance Tips - Professional Hacks
If you are renovating your kitchen, you may want to think about repairing or replacing your appliances. With the hacks below you will be able to maintain your refrigerator and not have to replace it.
Clean the Inside
Depending on who you ask, either this task should be done every week or once a month. Either way, it is agreed that cleaning inside the refrigerator is an important chore that should be done frequently. Doing this will help keep the freshness of food intact as well as eliminate any bad odor overall. Detox all of the food that has been forgotten and needs to be thrown out. Keep the remaining food in a cooler while you take out the shelves and drawers for a cleaning. Use a glass cleaner on glass shelves and let them dry over a night out of the refrigerator. Everything else can be cleaned with a sponge and warm soapy water. You can use liquid dish detergent, all-purpose cleaner or a DIY recipe of hot water, lemon and white vinegar.
Deodorize
The reason why many people have an open box of baking soda in their fridge is to absorb strong smells inside and keep everything fresh. The box of baking soda will need to be changed every 2 -3 months.
If you are looking for something that doesn’t need to be replaced as often, there are deodorizer packs that are specifically made for appliances like refrigerators.
Clean Door Gaskets
The rubber seal on refrigerator doors that keep cool air in and warm air out is the gasket. It is important to the efficiency of a refrigerator that the gasket is inspected for damage every 2 -3 months. Because the doors are in constant use being opened and closed, gaskets can become loosened, ripped, dented or grow mold and mildew.
One way to test the performance of the gasket is to put a piece of paper in where the door closes. If the paper can’t be pulled out from the closed door than the gaskets are still in good shape. In the case, that mildew has formed, use a microfiber cloth and some vinegar to wipe it down.
Clean Coils
Once a year, the coils behind or beneath the refrigerator need to be cleaned and inspected for damage. If the refrigerator isn’t cooling or stops working, it may have dirty coils. Keeping the coils clean allows then to fully and properly extract heat from the fridge and freezer. Situations in which pets are in the home, the coils should be cleaned and inspected more frequently like every 3 months. This will also assist in any bad compressor noise you may hear coming from your refrigerator.
Replace Water Filter
If you have a built-in water and ice dispenser, the water filter should be replaced at least every 4 months to prevent the build-up of bacteria, mildew, calcium and other debris that may be traveling from the water supply to the refrigerator. This will resolve the ice maker problems you may have.
The longer the lifespan of your refrigerator is dependant on how well you use these or any other refrigerator maintenance tips or checklists. Because it is the most frequently used appliance and uses the most energy, it is important to take great care of it.
