What Problems Can A Dirty Refrigerator Condenser Coil Cause?
When was the last time you pulled your refrigerator away from the wall to clean the condenser coil? If you are having problems with your refrigerator and haven't cleaned the condenser coils in a while, you should now do so.
Why does a dirty condenser coil cause problems?
The condenser coil on your refrigerator provides the heat from the unit a way to escape. When the coil becomes dirty, the heat does not dissipate the way that it needs to for the unit to maintain its temperature.
What are the problems a dirty condenser coil can cause?
There are four main problems that can be caused by the dirty condenser coil. They include:
- Refrigerator light turns on, but it doesn't cool.
- Refrigerator kicks on and off more often than it should.
- Refrigerator doesn't maintain a steady, cool temperature.
- Refrigerator doesn't stop running.
If you are experiencing any, or all of these problems, your best first step in making the repair is to use the guide below to clean the condenser coil immediately.
How do you clean a condenser coil?
Get a helper to assist you with moving the refrigerator away from the wall. Without assistance, you could cause the refrigerator to fall over or damage your kitchen floor.
Tip: To make moving your refrigerator out a little easier and to decrease the chances of damaging your floor, use the plastic furniture moving pads. Tilt the refrigerator back towards the wall just enough to slide a pad under the two front feet of the unit. Then, when you move the refrigerator, try to pull some of the weight off of the back feet and onto the front. This should make pulling the unit away from the wall very easy without damaging the floor at all.
Once you have pulled the refrigerator away from the wall, unplug it. You don't want to mess around with any working parts of the refrigerator with power running through the unit or you could suffer an electrical shock.
Use your vacuum with a brush attachment on the hose to suck the dirt and dust off of the coil. If the dirt will not come off this way, mix some hot water with a few drops of dish soap to gently scrub the coils. Use caution not to drip water onto the working components of the unit.
Once the coil is dry, plug it back in and let it run for a little while. If the problem persists, contact a local appliance repair technician (such as one from 5 Corners Appliance Company) for further assistance.
