Ways To Make Your Fridge Freezer Last Longer

Your fridge and freezer are important kitchen appliances and when it breaks down, it can be costly to repair or replace the unit itself along with the food inside.

Making sure you have cover in place before a problem develops is important, so you know you’re covered in the event of a mechanical or electrical breakdown or against accidental damage.

If you have Appliance Cover with Home Emergency Assist, we can help if one of your registered appliances breaks down, however there are some simple fixes you can do yourself before you call an expert.

Fridge not cold enough

There are a couple of things you can do in the event your fridge isn’t as cold as it should be:

• Check the doors are closed properly

• Make sure the door seals are clean and not damaged

• Check that your thermostat hasn’t been knocked and is still at the right temperature

• Ensure you haven’t overfilled your fridge

Food has defrosted

As well as making sure you don’t keep the door for any longer than it needs to be, there are some other checks you can do:

• If the temperature of the room you keep your fridge freezer in is below 10°C, the fridge may not operate and the freezer will defrost

• It sounds obvious, but make sure the power is still on – if it’s been accidentally disconnected, then your food will start to defrost

• Make sure the door seals are clean and not damaged and there’s no debris stopping the door from shutting properly

Fridge Freezer is too cold

We know this sounds like a strange problem to have, but while a little bit of water/ice in your fridge is normal, too much is an indication that there’s a problem. This is often down to the door seal needing to be replaced but if that doesn’t solve the issue, it’s a sign there’s something wrong.

There’s a bad smell

Cleaning your fridge regularly will stop bad smells from happening but putting a small dish of bicarbonate of soda will help to absorb any strong smells.

Keeping the door seals clean will also help. You can wipe down the seals on the fridge using kitchen cleaner or soapy water and use an old toothbrush to get into the hard-to-reach areas.

Unusual noises

You may be used to your fridge freezer humming, but if this suddenly stops, along with a loss of the internal light, you may have lost power. Locating the blown fuse and flicking it back on will usually solve the problem, but you’ll need to call your electricity provider if not.

If there’s no hum, but your light’s still on, it may be the sign of a bigger problem. You can try fixing this by turning the thermostat to its coldest setting, defrosting the fridge or turning it off and on again.

When your fridge makes any noises other than humming, it’s a sign that a part may be on its way out.

To find out more about our home appliances cover or other types of home care cover plans, such as boiler and heating insurance, plumbing and drainage insurance and Complete Home Emergency plan contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301 or get a free quote online in minutes.