Maintaining Your Fridge Freezer

Whether you are a domestic homeowner or a commercial business working in the food and drinks industry, the refrigeration units you buy represent a significant investment in terms of cash. Fridge repairs and freezer repairs don’t come cheap necessarily either, and 24hr emergency call outs can be particularly expensive if you need your commercial fridge repairs at short notice to keep your business up and running. So in this article, we look briefly at what fridge freezer maintenance you can carry out at home or work, to prevent expensive bills, and what to do if you need professional chiller repairs.

Looking after your appliance properly will help prolong its life and therefore give you a better return on investment. Our first tip is to clean the inside of your fridge or freezer regularly. Not only do you – and your customers, if you’re a business – want to keep food storage places clean for aesthetic reasons, this can help prevent items being contaminated by other stale or rotting food. If you don’t do this, you’re asking to be ill.

Store all food wrapped or boxed, and remove food and drink that’s past its best as soon as possible.

How to Clean Your Fridge

• To clean the fridge, take out all foodstuffs and drinks, then remove shelves and plastic drawers. Make sure you let these settle to room temperature, then wash them in warm water with a mild detergent, rinse well and wipe or allow to dry.

• Cleaning the inside of the fridge can be done with baking soda mixed with a little water. You may find accumulated, rotting food particles in the drain hole at the back of the fridge. Use a small wire brush or coat hanger wire to clean this area well.

Defrosting Your Freezer

• Defrost your freezer on average once every four to six months. Unless you have a self-defrosting model, ice will start to build up as a result of opening the freezer door and allowing warm air in from time to time. This build-up of ice can stop the door closing properly if left untreated; and in any case, the thicker the layers of ice, the less efficient – and energy efficient – the freezer becomes too.

• To defrost your freezer, unplug it from the mains and remove all the food from inside. Use cool boxes or wrap the food in newspaper to keep it cold while you work. Remove any shelving or baskets from inside the unit and again, wash thoroughly with warm soapy water once they have returned to room temperature. Dry thoroughly before you put them back in.

• Before reinserting the drawers, though, all the ice should be removed from the freezer’s interior. However tempting it might be, don’t use knives or other sharp implements to chip away at the ice! This can cause damage to the freezer internally. You can, however, speed up the defrosting process by filling bowls with warm water and placing them inside. The steam will help melt and loosen stubborn ice. You can use your hands to pull chunks off as the ice becomes displaced.

• Once the defrost is complete, wipe the interior down with a baking soda or vinegar solution and allow to dry before placing the fittings back inside, switching on and filling with frozen goods.

• Never use bleach or other harsh cleaning agents on the inside of fridges or freezers!

At South Cold Refrigeration in Southampton, we carry out fridge freezer maintenance and maintenance contracts to keep your appliances operating at peak condition. We also handle American fridge freezer repairs, cooler repairs, chiller repairs, cold room repairs, drinks fridge repairs, display cabinet repairs, ice maker repairs and pizza prep counter repairs of some of the household names in cooling appliances like LG, SMEG, Samsung, Kenwood. Our prices are competitive and our services are professional, friendly and comprehensive.