By Pang-Chieh Ho
I haven’t broken a fridge in my life yet, but I’ve come close.
A few years ago, the fridge I shared with my roommates he started making loud worrying noises and had trouble cooling down. To make matters worse, our landlord told us that he wasn’t buying a new refrigerator, so what was going on was a mystery we needed to solve. We had a refrigerator that seemed to be on its last legs and we needed to find out what was killing it. Fast.
The answer came later in the afternoon when one of us realized that the back of the refrigerator had been pressed directly against the wall. The fridge was malfunctioning because it couldn’t get rid of the heat. We immediately detached it from the wall, and then it miraculously came back to life.
Since that incident, I have become more aware that even a large and strong-looking appliance, such as a refrigerator, can be seen affected by something as small as a space. If you don’t want to risk your fridge breaking down, here are 6 things you should never do with it, according to our experts.
1. Do not put hot items in the refrigerator right away.
If you put food on the glass shelves when it is still very hot, the shelves could break. Hot things can also raise the temperature inside your refrigerator. That could put a load on the compressor because it has to run longer to bring the temperature down, says Larry Ciufo, a CR test engineer who has tested appliances, including refrigerators, for more than 20 years.
Just remember that if you leave food out at room temperature for too long, you could risk bacteria growth. So make sure you don’t leave the food out of the fridge for more than 2 hours. And if the room temperature is above 90 °F, food should not be left out for more than 1 hour, according to the Department of Agriculture.
To help food cool faster, you can divide it into smaller portions or place it in shallower containers before putting it in the fridge.
two. Do not block the vents inside your refrigerator.
The vents circulate air between the freezer and refrigerator compartment and are critical to the functions of cooling of this appliance. If the vents become blocked, it can cause a number of problems, such as the refrigerator freezing up or overheating and causing the motor to die, says Larry.
3 . Don’t forget to vacuum the condenser coils.
Once every 6 months, vacuum the condenser coils, located on the bottom or back of the refrigerator (or on the back of the refrigerator). top of cabinets) with a soft brush attachment, says Daniel Wroclawski, a CR writer who has written about how to make your refrigerator last longer.
If you don’t clean your condenser coils, dust and dirt can accumulate and limit the refrigerator’s ability to dissipate heat, eventually leading to failure.
4. Don’t let your children, or anyone, for that matter, hang on the handles.
They could break the handles or bend the hinges, causing the door to crash. your refrigerator will not close perfectly. If that happens, cold air could escape, forcing your fridge to work harder to keep the inside cool, says Larry.
5. Do not use aggressive materials to clean the gaskets.
The door gaskets are designed to prevent cold air from escaping, so it is important to clean them periodically to avoid food and dirt build up and break the seal.
But be careful not to use materials that are too aggressive, because it could damage the gaskets and cause a cold air leak, says Larry . See here tips on how to give every inch of your refrigerator a deep and proper cleaning.
6. Don’t forget to leave space.
And of course, don’t forget my personal lesson: always leave space between a fridge and its surroundings so that the hot air coming out of it has room to circulate and not overheat.
Alsoyou can also read: What is the best way to store food in the refrigerator?
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2022, Consumer Reports, Inc.
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with the advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works with consumers to create a fair, safe, and healthy world. CR does not endorse products or services and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2022, Consumer Reports, Inc.