A Very Cool Appliance!

Question: We have a new home with a nearly invisible built-in type refrigerator. What should we be doing as far as regular maintenance for this nice appliance?

Steve’s Reply: Built-in refrigerators are great! They can be trimmed to look just like the surrounding cabinets, plus they don’t stick out into the room like a standard refer does.

For any refrigerator, good maintenance starts with a regular (once a year) cleaning of the condenser coils. The coils consist of delicate aluminum cooling fins just like on a motorcycle, only smaller. It’s important to keep the coils clean because they exchange the heat drawn out of the refrigerator interior and deposit it to the room air. Dust acts like insulation and slows down this heat transfer process, making the motor run longer. In a built-in unit, the coils are usually behind a grille at the top. In a standard model, the coils are typically located at the floor level behind a bottom grille panel. The coils can be cleaned with the crevice wand of a vacuum and a special brush made to clean dust out of tight places. The coils and fins are made of soft material, so be careful not to bend them.

The door seals can get sticky and, if not cleaned regularly, can eventually deteriorate. Wipe the magnetic rubber seals around the doors with a solution of a tablespoon of baking soda and one quart of warm water. Make sure you get into any folds and joints. Use the same mix to wipe down the shelves and interior occasionally. If mildew is showing up, wipe it with a solution of _ cup chlorine bleach with one quart of water.

If you keep baking soda in the refrigerator to absorb odors, change it every two months. It loses the ability to absorb odor after that.

If you have an icemaker, throw the old ice out every time you change the baking soda. When you do so, dump the ice and baking soda down the disposal and you’ll be giving your disposal a good cleaning at the same time.

Interior light bulbs eventually burn out, so keep a spare bulb on hand. If you have a door dispenser unit, you will need an extra bulb for that too. Make sure you get the right ones; some manufacturers use special bulbs.

Refrigerators typically have long, useful, trouble-free lives, but occasionally failures occur. A barely-cold interior that doesn’t respond to the adjustment of the temperature setting is a sign of trouble, as is a constantly running motor. If you find this happening, call a pro.

Now, go make a sandwich!

Steve Spratt is CEO of Home Preservation Services Inc. Click here to contact him.