Refrigerator Maintenance

Since ice became a mass-market commodity by the early 1830s, the household refrigerator has become one of our most desired appliances. While it's functioning normally we enjoy fresh and unspoiled food. When the fridge malfunctions we experience pooling water, mold, huge losses of energy, and a treasure trove of undesirable smells.

Proper maintenance will help keep the refrigerator our silent guardian of produce, as well as save energy, time, and frustration.

At the bottom of this page is how to defrost a refrigerator.

• Clear the shelves and throw away old food. This will prevent mold growth inside your appliance.
• Wipe clean drawers with vinegar or all-surface cleaner.
• Unblock air vents between the freezer and fridge. This is how cold air circulates.

• Replace the water filter, if you use it. These filters can be changed in the 3-9 month interval depending on how much water and ice you use. Your fridge may have a light that indicates the filter needs replacing.
• Deep clean fridge and freezer. Mopping out fluids and sticky residue keeps the issue from growing.
• Clean the drip pan. Underneath the condenser is an open-air drip pan which constantly evaporates condensation. Dust and other particulates gather on the pan and thus need cleaning to prevent overflows. Remove the backing panel and clean the drip pan with soap and water.

At the backside and bottom of your fridge are the condenser and its coils. The refrigerant passes through the coils which dissipates heat during the cooling cycle. As dust and debris pile onto the coils, the fridge becomes less efficient the fridge must work hard to cool down.

• Pull your fridge out and inspect the coils.
  • Your fridge may have an anti-tip bracket and can only be removed by pulling straight out from the wall.
• Clean dust off condenser coils and fan with a stiff coil cleaning brush and vacuum.
• Work carefully during this task and avoid bending or damaging the tubes.

This gasket keeps the cold air inside the unit and can become dirty, damaged, and dry. If the seal is very dirty, a vinegar solution can be used to remove grease and residue. Otherwise, wipe the seal down in place with warm water and detergent.

Verify that the door gasket isn't detached at any point.

• If it is detached, reattach it and monitor its position. When a seal constantly becomes detached in one location, heat the gasket with a hairdryer to reshape and reform.
  • Additionally, try using adhesive tape or gasket cement to adhere the seal.
    • If this doesn't work, the seal may need replacing.

Now it's time to test the door seal for an air-tight fit.

• Close the door on a dollar bill. Apply pressure to the door.
• Pull on the bill.
  • If you experience resistance when pulling the bill out, your seal is in good shape.
  • If the bill is easily removed, it's time to repair or replace the door seal.
    • Clean the gasket groove before the installation of a new gasket. Test the seal after installation.
  • Use waxed paper and silicone sealant to repair a tear in the refrigerator gasket.
    • Repairing torn door gasket. Also view Additional Resources.
• Apply silicone grease or petroleum jelly with a cotton swab into the groove underneath the loose seal.

A fridge out of level may refuse to cooperate and cool effectively.

• Start by adjusting the front feet. Use a bubble level and correct any side-to-side wonkiness in the fridge.
• Tilt the fridge back slightly. This will allow doors to close on their own, increase efficiency, and prevent ice maker issues.

This list is for every five years with the same appliance or the first year after inheriting an old appliance.

• Use a vinegar solution and flush the tubes that connect the fridge to the wall as well as the internal tubing through filters, ice makers, and water dispenser.

• The evaporator and condenser fans circulate air and perform all the cooling of the appliance. Verify these fans are running and consider replacing if poorly performing.

• This is a safety concern that is worth checking. Wire failure is often related to part failure or malfunction. An appliance technician will have more experience in assessing old and decaying wires.

By running a manual or forced defrost cycle you can melt a buildup of ice on the walls of your freezer, the defrost heater and evaporator coils, and the fan. A buildup of interior frost and ice can affect your unit's efficiency. Here are ways to perform a forced defrost.

Note: Some appliances will have both FD and RD settings for defrost, the difference being FD - Freezer Defrost, and RD Refrigerator Defrost. Depending on where you are defrosting, clear food out and store it in another cooler or fridge while the defrosting occurs.

• Press and hold FREEZER+LIGHTING or
• Press and hold the POWER FREEZE+FRIDGE buttons simultaneously for 8 seconds until the display goes blank.
  • Hit another other button until "Fd" appears.
  • The defrost cycle should kick on. The reset will take around 20 minutes.
  • After the defrost is complete you must unplug the unit to reset. Check the defrost thermostat and defrost heater while the fridge is unplugged.

• Press the refrigerator light switch 5 times within 5 seconds or
• Press and hold the UP and DOWN keys for 3 seconds while setting "2", and the control will display "d" or
• Press and hold the EXTREME FREEZE+TEMPERATURE ALARM buttons simultaneously for 10 seconds or more. A half-second beep will sound and "df" will appear for 3 seconds or
• Press and hold AIR FILTER+ALERT RESET keys for five seconds until a chime is heard and "dE" is displayed
  • The defrost cycle should kick on. The reset will take around 30 minutes.
  • After the defrost is complete you must unplug the unit to reset. Check the defrost thermostat and defrost heater while the fridge is unplugged.

Note: After several Forced Defrost cycles with no melting ice, run a refrigerator defrost (RD) cycle. Your fridge automatically defrosts several times a day, but there are cases when manual defrosting is necessary: when the fridge isn’t automatically defrosting, when there’s ice in or around the refrigerator fans, or when the ice maker is frozen over.

• Enter diagnostic mode again as you did with the Forced Defrost, but this time select RD.
• This cycle normally takes 20-30 minutes and may take longer depending on ice buildup.

• Unplug or power down your unit
• Unload the freezer and carefully remove the ice.
• Lay towels in the bottom of the machine, and then place bowls of hot water or use a steamer (as a hairdryer or heat gun may melt plastic) to melt the ice.
• Completely dry the freezer before powering back on.

If you have an auto-defrost unit, the accumulation of thick ice suggests some part of the defrost cycle has failed.

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