We all rely heavily on our refrigerator to keep our food cold and give us the ability to feed our families. We depend on our refrigerators to be there for us every day and for them to work properly. Many of us forget that even our refrigerator needs some standard preventative maintenance. For those of us that also make the wise investment in a home warranty that helps protect our appliances, it is crucial that we protect our investment and properly maintain our appliances.
While it is easier for many of us to have a mentality that “if it isn't broke don’t fix it” but some standard maintenance could extend the life of our appliances and keep them running properly. Maintaining our refrigerators will only pay off in the long run.
With refrigerator maintenance, one good place to start is safety precautions around the outside of our refrigerator. You should not place any plastic bags or paper on the top of the refrigerator. These items could fall behind your refrigerator and block proper air flow to the condenser coils. Additionally, with regard to the condenser coils, you can dust them off annually. To clean the coils you can buy a condenser coil brush or use the hose attachment on your vacuum. If you have pets consider cleaning your coils more frequently as pet hair can build up rather quickly. If you have dusty condenser coils it can cause your appliance to work harder, increasing energy bills and shortening the life of your refrigerator so maintaining your coils is an important place to start.
The next area you will want to check is the drain hole and drip pan. The drip pan is located at the bottom of many refrigerators. It collects any condensation and excess dirt. You will want to remove any food and thoroughly wipe down the drip pan.
Additionally, you will want to clean the door gaskets of your refrigerator. You can clean the gaskets with warm soapy water and dry them off. Over time, door gaskets can get dry, cracked, loose or torn. You will want to ensure that you have a snug fit all around and replace any gaskets that may have problems as this can allow warm air to get into your refrigerator and cause food to spoil. You can also rub Vaseline on the gasket once a year to keep it pliable and help prevent cracking and tearing.
Lastly, you will want to replace your water filter twice a year. This will help prevent a clogged line in your refrigerator, especially in regions where water is not as clean. By cleaning your refrigerator’s water filter you will also make sure your water and ice are clean and better quality.
When we spend a lot of our hard earned money on an appliance and rely on it daily, like we do with our refrigerators, following some simple yearly maintenance tips is a good protection of our investment and only takes very little of our time. By doing these annual and bi-annual checks we can greatly extend the life of our appliance and keep that extra repair money in our pockets.
The last thing anyone wants is to wake up to a refrigerator full of spoiled and wasted food. That is just money down the drain. By taking these preventative steps we can have peace of mind that our appliances will be there when we need them.