Refrigerator giving you some trouble? Here are some expert tips on how to maintain your refrigerator and improve it’s life span, be it for personal or commercial use.

Clean the inside of your refrigerator

You may notice excess frost in your refrigerator at some point. When this happens, it is best to defrost your refrigerator and clean it. To do this, switch off the power supply, transfer all items to a cooler, and then wait for the frost to melt. Then clean the insides of the refrigerator and the freezer by using an all-purpose cleaner and a cleaning cloth. Leave the doors open, so you air out any strong odors, and then re-stock your refrigerator.

Clean or replace the gasket

The gasket is the rubber on the doors to your refrigerator which keep the doors sealed, allowing cool air to stay inside the refrigerator, and warm air to stay out. It is important to clean the gasket, to ensure that it’s allowing the refrigerator to function at full capacity. Give the gasket a good clean every now and then with a cloth and an all-purpose cleaner. If you notice any damage, or tears in the gasket, get it replaced with a new one.

Set the right temperate  

For your refrigerator to function efficiently, it needs to be set at the right temperature. Set the temperature to anywhere between 0° to 4°C for the refrigerator.

The best way to determine the temperature is by using a fridge thermometer. If you don’t have one, use a normal thermometer by dipping it in a glass of water and placing it in the fridge overnight.

For the freezer, set the temperature to -18°C.

It is recommended that you check the temperature from time to time, to ensure that your food is refrigerating properly and not going bad.

Don’t overfill your refrigerator

Your refrigerator needs to have enough air to circulate in order your food cold and fresh. If you don’t have enough space, you can move some items that are not regularly consumed to the freezer. You can also take sauces and other such items that don’t necessarily need to be refrigerated.

Some foods do not need to be refrigerated

Some foods do not belong in the refrigerator, against popular belief. For example, tomatoes don’t need to be refrigerated. In fact, they go bland and odourless if stored in the fridge.

Hot sauces, butter, cake, melons, bell peppers, hot peppers and tropical fruit are some examples of food that don’t need to be refrigerated as long as they are consumed within a reasonable amount of time, and not left outside for long periods of time.

Cover refrigerated foods

Cover all cooked food with a lid, or a plate if you are using a bowl. This helps keep the air in the refrigerator fresh and you don’t end up with a mixture of smells blended together.

Clean the condenser coils

Condenser coils are located at the back of your fridge or at the bottom. These coils cool and condense your refrigerator.

Over time, these coils tend to build up dirt and dust, which is likely to reduce its effect in losing heat easily, therefor causing overheating. Overheating is likely to impact the working of your refrigerator, which is why you need to clean out the coils occasionally.

To clean the condenser coil, you first need to switch off the power to your refrigerator to avoid risk and injury. You then use a vacuum cleaner and/or a duster to do the job. Having a torchlight to check the accumulated dirt is helpful too, so you know how much cleaning is required.

In a normal home environment, cleaning these coils is not necessary or recommended. This can be done during a routine maintenance check by a refrigeration specialist. If your home tends to attract a lot of dirt and dust, you can clean the coils once in 3 months or so.

Here is a helpful video link on how to clean a condenser coil – https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=152&v=b7DgJ2DlAAo&feature=emb_logo

Please note that we recommended getting a trained technician to do this.

Schedule maintenance

Refrigerators, especially commercial refrigerators need regular maintenance to achieve maximum efficiency, therefore reducing electricity costs. Make sure you get a refrigeration specialist to do this from time to time, to maintain capacity.