Mandy's Appliance Maintenance Advice

What to Do If Your Freezer Fails Just Before the Holiday

You and your family may be looking forward to a major upcoming holiday event. As part of the celebrations, you may be inviting family and friends over for a sumptuous meal and are getting ready to go to the supermarket to stock up with all those perishables. However, you are facing a potential disaster as it looks as if your fridge freezer is "on the blink." What can you do to rectify the situation as the clock is ticking away?

How Does It Work?

You don't realise how much you rely on a freezer until moments such as this, and you also realise that you know very little about how it works. In essence, however, this appliance relies on two major internal components that help you to keep the temperature at just the right rate and preserve your expensive food. The evaporator and the condenser are involved in a quite clever process that converts hot temperatures to cold, and they both have to work in tandem and at the same level of efficiency, or everything grinds to a halt.

Condenser

Have a look at the condenser to begin with, specifically the coils. You're supposed to clean these regularly, and if you haven't, you may notice that there is a considerable build-up of fluff, hair, debris and dirt. Once you've pulled the unit away from the wall so you can get at it, try to remove this "gunk" with a vacuum hose, and this may be enough to do the trick.

Evaporator

The evaporator coils are equally as important even though they have a different role to play. They are responsible for circulating cool air through the freezer, and if you haven't checked these, you may notice that there is a sizeable build-up of frost. While you may be tempted to chip away at this with a hammer and sharp object, you should be very careful as you can cause significant damage to the surface of the freezer inadvertently. If you can, it's best to switch it off and let it defrost for 24 hours before booting it back up again.

Perhaps It's the Motor

If none of these issues seem to be the problem, you may have a faulty motor. You should be able to hear this work when you close the freezer door, and if you're sure that electricity is flowing to the unit, then you may have to replace the motor.

What to Do

In an ideal world, you should carefully clean the area in, around and underneath your freezer at least once per month. If you don't, condensation can build up, dirt can accumulate and your freezer may not comply. If it appears that you cannot immediately conquer your problem, then you may need to call out a service technician who offers freezer repair as soon as possible.


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