"The smartest thing you can do for your fridge is to keep the coils clean. It cuts electricity bills and repair bills."
Over the years, I've heard that a dozen times from a dozen appliance experts. Here's why: The coils' job is to dissipate the heat that's removed from the fridge. But gradually, dust blankets the coils, so the fridge has to work harder to shed heat. That means higher electricity bills; I've heard estimates as high as $10 per month in wasted energy. Dirty coils also increase your odds of breakdowns.
So last weekend, I finally gave my 8-year-old fridge its first coil cleaning. It didn't begin well; I couldn't even find the coils at first. They weren't under the fridge where I expected them to be, and they weren't on the back either. So I pulled out the fridge and removed and unscrewed a cover plate. Bingo. From there on, it was a simple matter of sucking up dust with a vacuum. A bendable dryer vent brush ($6 at my local home center) grabbed the dust that the vacuum couldn't reach. Overall, it was a 15-minute job with a huge payoff.
Manufacturers recommend cleaning coils twice a year. I can't promise I'll do that, but now that I know how quick and easy it is, I won't wait another eight years either.
— Gary Wentz, Senior Editor
DIY Refrigerator Maintenance Projects:
Clean coils that are below or behind the fridge
Fix the most common fridge repairs yourself
How to run a water line to your fridge
The problem with refrigerator coils is the location and shape of the coils. After many years of fighting this problem I finally found a frige where the coils are in the rear of the unit all neatly stretched out. Even if you only brush them lightly once every 3 or 4 years they work perfectly. Those coils in the bottom of the frige only add to the problem because there's usually a fan pulling air through them and the hot air adds to the load of the cooling system . Look into a unit where the coils are exposed at the rear of the unit and you will never be bothered by lack of efficiecy due to dirt and dust clogged coils.
MANSANITA
I have tried it first time 5 years ago. 5 years ago my Whirlpool refrigerator was not properly cold so I am trying to find out this problem and I open up the whole refrigerator and try to clean it even I have replace some <a href="www.pandorasoem.com/Refrigerator_c_1900.html">refrigerator appliance parts</a> and clean the coils. After that my fridge is okay. It has no problem any more and I do this job every 1 year.
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