Fixing the "leaking" fridge
Puddles of water have appeared under and near our fridge for sometime now. Nothing too alarming. But these last couple of days, these puddles are just too big to ignore.
It is NEVER a good sign when water puddles near or under a fridge.
The fridge section does not seem to be as cold as it should be. I mean, leftovers will turn bad if left for more than a day in the fridge; not much better than if I had left them out.
Plus the ice-maker is taking longer than usual to fill up the ice compartment.
Do we need to buy a new fridge? I hated the thought.
We bought the fridge about 5 years ago. Surely, fridges are meant to last longer than 5 years!
So, to trusty Professor Google I went to seek wise counsel.
It wasn't long before it pointed me to dust collection around the condenser coils as a possible cause.
I dusted the ventilation window located on the lower sides of the fridge.
Peering in, I noticed there were LOTS of dust that I just could not get to with my trusted Dyson vacuum cleaner.
I studied the fridge and decided to unscrew the back panel, after turning off the power, of course.
True enough, the ridiculous amount of dust clinging on to the condenser coils and ventilation fins make me cringe. The cats fur, no doubt, must have contributed to this mess.
Spent a good 15 minutes sucking up as much dust as possible.
Closed up the back panel, turned on the power and hoped for the best.
It's been about 4 hours since I cleaned the fridge. No more puddles. The fridge feels cold (our thermometer died so no tool for an objective measure). The ice compartment is full again, yay!
So, it would seem that the dusting had worked!
As a fridge owner, I had been negligent in overlooking the simple maintenance act of dusting/vacuuming the ventilation windows to prevent dust build up around the condenser coils to ensure optimal performance and energy efficiency.
So, I've just added a monthly fridge-dusting reminder onto my iPhone calendar!
It is NEVER a good sign when water puddles near or under a fridge.
The fridge section does not seem to be as cold as it should be. I mean, leftovers will turn bad if left for more than a day in the fridge; not much better than if I had left them out.
Plus the ice-maker is taking longer than usual to fill up the ice compartment.
Do we need to buy a new fridge? I hated the thought.
We bought the fridge about 5 years ago. Surely, fridges are meant to last longer than 5 years!
So, to trusty Professor Google I went to seek wise counsel.
It wasn't long before it pointed me to dust collection around the condenser coils as a possible cause.
I dusted the ventilation window located on the lower sides of the fridge.
 |
| cleaned ventilation window next to the condenser coils |
Peering in, I noticed there were LOTS of dust that I just could not get to with my trusted Dyson vacuum cleaner.
I studied the fridge and decided to unscrew the back panel, after turning off the power, of course.
True enough, the ridiculous amount of dust clinging on to the condenser coils and ventilation fins make me cringe. The cats fur, no doubt, must have contributed to this mess.
Spent a good 15 minutes sucking up as much dust as possible.
Closed up the back panel, turned on the power and hoped for the best.
It's been about 4 hours since I cleaned the fridge. No more puddles. The fridge feels cold (our thermometer died so no tool for an objective measure). The ice compartment is full again, yay!
So, it would seem that the dusting had worked!
As a fridge owner, I had been negligent in overlooking the simple maintenance act of dusting/vacuuming the ventilation windows to prevent dust build up around the condenser coils to ensure optimal performance and energy efficiency.
So, I've just added a monthly fridge-dusting reminder onto my iPhone calendar!
posted by Ladybug @ Wednesday, August 31, 2016
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