Americans love refrigerators. In fact, nearly every single home in the country has a refrigerator in it.
And this makes sense considering refrigerators help our food last longer and stay cool. Plus, some refrigerators make ice, dispense water, and do many other cool and nifty things.
But we also rely on our fridges. So if yours should break down, you will want to fix it immediately.
Don’t know how? Don’t worry. Continue reading and we’ll show you everything you need to know for how to fix a refrigerator.
Ice maker Malfunction
First thing’s first: always make sure that whenever you’re performing a repair on the refrigerator, it’s off and unplugged from power.
If your ice maker isn’t working, don’t panic. The first thing you will want to do is to check the water inlet tube and see if there’s any ice in there. This is the tube that brings water to the ice maker.
Sometimes that water can get too cold and freeze, thus plugging up the tube. If that’s the case, use a blow dryer and melt the ice that’s in the tube.
If that’s not the problem, then check the saddle valve. This valve connects the ice maker to your home’s water supply. The valve can clog easily and disrupt the flow of water.
To unblock the valve, turn it clockwise. Then tighten it firmly.
This will get rid of mineral deposits formed in the pinhole. Once you do that, reopen the valve and you’re good to go.
Leaking Fridge
A leaking fridge means that something is awry. Take care of this immediately so that your food doesn’t go bad and mold doesn’t grow in your home.
First off, check out your water supply line. If the refrigerator features a water dispenser or an ice maker, then pull back the fridge and check for a leak.
If you spot that the inlet valve is leaking, you’ll want to tighten the compression nuts. And if it’s the copper or plastic tube that’s leaky, replace it.
Remember that there’s a pan under the fridge that captures drained water. That captured water then evaporates.
Water sometimes spills out of the pan if the refrigerator is extremely tilted. You can solve this problem by making sure that your fridge is level.
You also might have to clear the refrigerator’s drain tube. Water might leak onto the floor if your freezer’s drain tube gets plugged up.
To unplug it, you need to remove the cover panel. You might even have to unscrew the floor panel too.
Take a blow dryer and melt away any ice that has built up. Clean up the melted water with a rag or sponge. Follow this by cleaning the drain hole.
You can also clear the tube by blowing air through it. You can use an air compressor or tire pump instead. Just make sure that the pressure is down to 30 psi.
Refrigerator Won’t Cool
A common reason a fridge isn’t cooling properly is because of an electrical problem.
If your fridge light isn’t coming on when you open the door, this might show that it’s not plugged in or there’s a breaker issue.
If that’s not the problem, check out the vents and thermostat inside the refrigerators. Children are common culprits when messing with the refrigerator thermostat.
The vents in your freezer and refrigerator are there to supply a flow of cold air. Make sure they’re not blocked by food.
You might also want to clean the coils. Air needs to flow freely across the condenser coils in order to keep the fridge cold.
These coils can be behind your refrigerator or underneath. Make sure that there are no boxes or bags that are blocking these coils from carrying air.
And even if you’re not experiencing any problems at all with your refrigerator, you should still pull out the front grille once a year and clean the coils. Those with pets that shed should do it twice a year.
Noisy Refrigerator
If your refrigerator is making an excessive amount of noise, that’s probably because of an issue with the evaporator fan motor that’s in your freezer, the condenser fan motor that’s under the refrigerator, or the compressor that’s also under there.
First off, you’ll want to pull out the refrigerator. Unscrew the back cover of your condenser fan motor and listen. You should be able to tell if the noise is coming from the compressor or the fan.
If you’ve got a loud compressor, it might be best to get a new fridge. If you’re looking to replace the fan motor, you just have to remove the mounting screw and install a new fan motor.
If your refrigerator woes still can’t be solved, it’s best to call a professional refrigerator repair service like DC Appliance Repair ASAP.
The Importance of Knowing How to Fix a Refrigerator
When your fridge isn’t working right, your food can go bad, leaks can happen, and other house problems may soon arise. That’s why it’s so important that you know how to fix a refrigerator.
But some problems are also too difficult or technical to do on one’s own. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to call in the professionals and get the job done right.
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