3 Ways to Help Keep Your Fridge Running
September 22, 2014 | Kitchen Appliances Repair, Help & Advice | No comments
Winter, spring, summer or fall, your fridge plays an important role within your home helping to keep your vegetables fresh and your milk cool for your cuppa. But at the same time, despite being a trusted appliance, your fridge can occasionally fail you.
Thankfully there are steps which you can take, which will enable you to rely on your fridge for years to come; safe in the knowledge that the next time you go for a fresh pepper for your casserole it’ll be fresh and ready to use. These steps including….
Keeping it Clean:
From spilt milk, vegetables passing their sell-by dates and going soft / mouldy, through to sauces leaking, there’s a number of things within your fridge which can lead to a build up of dirt and odours.
Tackling such spills and a build up of dirt within your fridge shouldn’t be nor does it need to be difficult, and with a few cleaning tools from eSpares within your arsenal, your fridge will be looking spotless and smelling fresh.
Such fridge cleaning products to add to your arsenal include:
- Wellco Professional Fridge and Freezer Cleaner Spray – the non-foaming detergent when sprayed directly onto the surface eliminates food stains, killing bacteria and removing mould – and all it requires is a quick wipe with a cloth.
- Wellco Stainless Steel Cleaner – cleaning the inside of your fridge is only part of the job. It’s also important to ensure that the outside is sparkling, as a dirty fridge door can leave your kitchen looking messy.
The non-scratch stainless steel cleaner offers a water-resistant film to protect the surface, giving your fridge a shine and leaving your kitchen sparkling all-round.
- Anti-mould mat – how often have you been looking forward to cooking a certain meal, only to find out some of the key vegetables have gone-off? At eSpares we know this can be extremely frustrating, especially when you’ve not had the food for that long.
Unfortunately, it’s something which we all have to contend with, and one of the main reasons for fruit and vegetables within your fridge going off quickly is due to the air not being able to circulate correctly.
- Introducing an anti-mould mat into your salad draw will help keep air circulating, and the increased circulation in air will help prevent your vegetables from becoming victims of untimely mould and rot.
- Fridge deodoriser – With your fridge clean inside and out, and an anti-mould mat introduced to help keep your fresh produce lasting longer; all that is left is to keep your fridge smelling fresh – without the need for daily cleaning.
One of the best ways to do this is to introduce a fridge deodoriser, which neutralises various unpleasant odours, by simply sitting on the shelf of your fridge. The deodoriser will keep your fridge smelling clean and fresh for up-to three months before it needs to be replaced.
Keeping Cool & Working:
With your fridge cleaned inside and out, smelling fresh and products installed to help keep produce fresher for longer, it’s important to make sure that your fridge is not only keeping the products cool, but working to its full potential.
Your fridge should be kept no warmer than 5°C, and ideally it should be between 3 and 5°C. You should be able to check your fridge’s temperature by checking the inbuilt fridge thermostat; however if you’re fridge doesn’t have one or if the fridge thermostat does not appear to be working, at eSpares we’ll have the perfect fridge thermostat for your needs and requirements.
If you’ve found that your fridge isn’t keeping cool, then you may have a fault with the door seal, from a small split, through to it not sealing correctly against the door frame. For the latter, the best way to check is to see if you can run a £5 note between the seal and the door frame; if you can, you’ll need to replace your fridge’s door seal – and we explain how to within our “How to Replace a Fridge Door Seal” video.
Other faults which may occur with your fridge and prevent it from running to its full potential, and therefore running the risk of your food spoiling, include:
- The compressor motor running continuously
- The compressor becoming faulty
- Water accumulating within the base of the fridge
Thankfully, at eSpares we are able to provide you with the parts required to fix these parts yourself, meaning your able to save money on not having to buy a new appliance, at the same time as getting your fridge back up and running in no time.
Utilising the Space:
Fridge clean inside and out, all parts working as they should be, and with your weekly shop done you may find that you’re running out of space within your fridge. This may be due to a shelf being broke, a draw cracked or a tray missing. Alternatively, it could be due to the space available within your fridge not being utilised correctly.
For those of you who have broken shelves, missing trays or cracked draws you’ll find both genuine and universal fridge accessories, at a competitive price via the eSpares website. For those of you who have fully functioning shelves, etc but find you’re still running out of space within the fridge, you may benefit from purchasing additional storage options for the fridge, such as a bottle holder.
Utilising the space available within your fridge can also help your produce last longer, and below you’ll find a brief summary of where it’s best to store certain produce within your fridge…..
Starting from the bottom of your fridge, the draws should be used to store loose fruit and vegetables, whilst the shelf above should be where you store your chicken, fish and sausages before cooking them. On the middle shelf, store your yoghurts, cream and cartons, whilst the top shelf should be for your cheese and uncooked meats (other than those already mentioned).
As for the storage units within the door, the top shelf should be used for your eggs and butter, the shelf below for any condiments such as pickles, mint sauce and tomato sauce; whilst the bottom shelf should be used for your opened cartons of juice and milk.
By keeping your fridge clean, cool and in working order; as well as utilising it to its full potential, you’ll not only be able to see an improvement in the length of time that produce remains fresh; but you’ll also see your fridge working at its full potential for longer.
