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Hey Searchers! If you find your stored milk warm or sour when you usually take it out to make your morning tea. It would be a clear indication that your refrigerator is not cooling properly. Not only milk but your whole stored food.
So, what we should do now to fix this problem is the real question. Here’s this guide that comes into place to help you out. Today, we will discuss the 10 possible reasons, Why your fridge is not cooling, and their DIY solutions!
After diagnosing this issue in the refrigerator the first question that must arise in everybody’s mind is whether it’s time to buy a new unit. If, you also feel the same, then don’t worry you don’t need to buy a new refrigerator.
There are many cases when you just have to consult a professional technician for it instead of buying a brand-new fridge.
Even sometimes you just need to apply some DIY techniques, which you can do easily by yourself without hiring a professional or using any professional tools and knowledge for that. And this is what we are going to discuss in this article. So, let’s just start,
#1 – First of All, Check the Thermostat of Your Refrigerator, Is It Set Properly
If you don’t know what a thermostat is, then let me clarify to you first that a thermostat is a temperature regulator or controller. It allows controlling the temperature as per the requirement of the user.
If you detect a problem like your refrigerator is not cooling, then make sure that your thermostat is set on the optimum cooling temperature settings.
Solution:
If it’s not, then set it to the right or optimum temperature settings. According to the FDA, the Freezer temperature should be set to the 0°F (-18°C), and Fridge to 40°F (4°C) or less. You need to check your refrigerator’s temperature settings periodically and set them right if you found changes in them.
#2 – Over Filled or Stuffed Refrigerator Shelves
Overfilling of refrigerator shelves is one of the most common reasons behind the issue of your refrigerator cooling. What it does is actually, blocks the cooling vents situated backside on the internal wall of the fridge.
Your stored food containers or stuff restrict the cool air to spread all around the refrigerator, which leads to the spoilage of food.
Solution:
Always keep a minimal distance between your stored foodstuff and the refrigerator’s internal backside wall, it will ensure better cooling. But, the best advice is to always keep the vents clear and don’t overboard on the shelves. Always make sure that your fridge is full but not overfilled.
An overfilled or even an empty refrigerator always incurs insufficient cooling inside the refrigerator.
#3 – Faulty or Damaged Refrigerator Gasket
A gasket is like a rubber-type material situated on the frames of your refrigerator’s doors. It helps in keeping the cool air of the refrigerator inside so that the stored food items stay fresh longer. If you found that there is a fault in a gasket, then this might be a reason for insufficient cooling.
A faulty gasket lets the internal cold gas leak outside, which leads to the spoilage of your food.
Tip: To check the efficiency of your fridge gasket, we have a DIY test that you also can implement easily. Just take a piece of paper and place it between the frame and close the door on it. If you can pull out that paper with ease while the door is closed, then it means you need to replace your gasket. It is that easy!
Solution:
To replace your fridge gasket you can call a professional or even you can also do it by yourself. Nowadays, most refrigerators come with easy-to-remove and install gasket features. This feature lets everybody change their fridge’s gasket on their own.
#4 – The door Is Not Closed Properly
Sometimes you keep oversized items like wide food containers, which prevent your fridge door from closing. This lets cold air escape from your refrigerator and whereby, all your stored food is get spoiled.
Solution:
The one and only solution for this problem are to use stackable containers, instead of using one large container. You can stack these containers one over another, which also saves you space. But, as I said above in the first point, do not overfill your refrigerator.
Always maintain a decent distance from the internal back panel or wall of the fridge and don’t block the air vents.
#5 – Dusty Condenser Coil
This is a very common reason behind the insufficient cooling of your fridge. Condenser coils help in cooling down and condense the coolant or refrigerant during the process of refrigeration. But, due to the clogging of coils with dust and dirt, the refrigerator is unable to release the heat efficiently.
You will find the condenser coils on the backside of the fridge or across the bottom.
If your fridge has a clean back, then you have to remove the back panel before accessing the condenser coils, right? Now, let’s move to its solution.
Solution:
Take the right brush to clean the condenser coil of your fridge so that you will not damage the coil. You can also use a vacuum cleaner as a substitute for the brush as well. Keep your condenser coil clean and check it after every 6 months.
#6 – Stucked Evaporator Fan
The evaporator fan is responsible for the spreading of cold air inside the compartment of the refrigerator. If you have a direct cool refrigerator, then you have to check or locate the evaporator coil in the freezer compartment to troubleshoot the problem.
Solutions:
Check if your evaporator fan got stuck due to ice accumulation around it. To check it out we will guide you step-by-step,
Step-1: Firstly, take out the main plug of your refrigerator.
Step-2: Remove the internal back panel of your refrigerator carefully.
Step-3: Check the fan if it is stuck because of the frost accumulation. This issue occurs because of defrosting problem.
Step-4: Wait some time till the frost is melted or you can use here a hair dryer for fast processing and put all things back.
Step-5: Plug it on, and check if the fan is running perfectly. If it is not, then you need to change it.
#7 – Faulty or Dusty Condenser Fan
Along with condenser coils you also need to check your condenser fan. Check if there is a faulty or dusty condenser fan. Actually condenser fan helps the condenser coil in cooling down the refrigerant fast when it passes through it. Therefore, there is a big role of a condenser fan in keeping your refrigerator cool.
Solution:
As I said above, the Condenser fan assists the condenser coil which means it should be located in the same place. Make sure that the condenser fan is clean. If it is not, then clean it out carefully, but if the problem is not solved yet, then the issue must be in the fan motor.
Now, we have only two solutions for this problem, the first is to repair it and the second is to replace it. For this, we suggest you call a professional technician because this is a complex issue, which requires technical skills.
#8 – Refrigerator’s Location Affecting Cooling Efficiency
You must be thinking that how a refrigerator’s location can affect its cooling efficiency of the refrigerator.
But for your kind information, it really does. If you keep your refrigerator in a place where it comes under direct sunlight or any heated zone such as near a gas stove or any other heat-releasing appliance, then the fridge cooling will definitely affect it.
Solution:
Always keep your refrigerator in a roomy area, where the released heat from the unit can blow out easily. According to our suggestions, the corner area is the best place to set up any refrigerator. This will not disturb the walkway of your home and keep it away from direct sunlight as well.
Don’t assume that keeping away your unit from the kitchen means shifting it to any other room. A refrigerator is an appliance to store food and it should be near your kitchen, but not inside if you have a congested or compact kitchen area.
#9 – Not Maintained Proper Clearances Around the Refrigerator Sides
Check if there is proper clearance around your refrigerator unit. This can affect your refrigerator’s cooling because the lack of clearance between the sides of your unit can block the air and your appliance won’t able to release its heat, which will increase the heat of your refrigerator and may damage your unit too.
Solution:
Maintaining proper clearance from each side of the refrigerator is a must for better air circulation. The refrigerator unit releases heat from the backside when the refrigerant passes through the condenser coil, so there should be enough space for air to cool it down.
Our recommendation is to maintain at least (1.5-2 Inches) from each side, and (1-2 Inches) from the back.
#10 – Faulty Electricity Supply to the Refrigerator
Make sure that your fridge is in working or ON condition. If it is not working, check if there is a fault in the fridge’s chord or in a plug. Check if you are using a GFCI outlet. GFCI outlet or board cuts off the power connection to the fridge when suddenly a surge in voltage happened. It is very helpful in terms of fridge protection.
Solution:
If you found your refrigerator’s chord faulty, then you have to simply replace it with the new one. But, if the problem is with the plug such as it is not tight to the outlet, then you just have to bring a new plug-size outlet, which you can easily buy from any electrical local shop or online.
Faulty GFCI has to be replaced at the earliest.
Conclusion:
Here we have discussed 10 possible reasons of the fridge is not cooling which you have learned some amazing DIY techniques to troubleshoot your refrigerator’s cooling problem before calling any professional technician.
I hope you will find those DIY techniques helpful in troubleshooting your fridge cooling issues.
But if your refrigerator has some serious issues related to the cooling, then we will strongly recommend you call a professional for that. Also, before implementing the above-mentioned DIY solutions, make sure that you must have a little bit of basic knowledge about them.
You can grab that knowledge by watching some of our informative content and tutorials on the internet.
A query like “my fridge is not cooling?”, is a very common issue occurred in refrigerators. So we thought of writing an article on this issue and sharing some DIY solutions for the same.
Have a great day!
