Buying a new refrigerator

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With so many styles, options, and prices available, buying a new refrigerator is no easy decision. Here’s what you need to know to make the right choice.

Today’s refrigerators are the most energy efficient ever, and they’re loaded with cool technologies that can extend the shelf life of fresh foods. We’ll tell what you need to know so you can pick the best refrigerator for your home and budget.

First Things First: Refrigerator Types and Costs

The best refrigerator for your home is right-sized to your household’s needs. Here’s a breakdown of the standard refrigerator types, capacities, and price ranges.

Top freezer: This classic style offers homeowners the most bang for their buck. The freezer compartment is at the top of the unit, with the refrigerator below.

  • These unfrilly fridges pack lots of useable storage space for their size, especially compared with refrigerators with features, such as beverage dispensers and ice-makers, that eat up inside space. Average capacity is 20 cubic feet.
  • They’re some of the slimmest; typical widths range from 30 to 33 inches.
  • They’re the most efficient, and use 10% to 25% less energy than bottom-freezer and side-by-side door models.
  • They’re the least expensive. Prices start at about $500.

Bottom freezer: They’re convenient because they keep the refrigerator compartment at eye-level and contents within easy reach.

  • A double-door model has a single refrigerator door on top, and a large freezer door on the bottom. Their average capacity is 22 cubic feet, and widths range from 30 to 33 inches.
  • A French-door model has two side-by-side doors on top, and a single door freezer on the bottom. They’re generally wider than double-door fridges. Average capacity is 24 cubic feet, and widths range from 33 to 36 inches.
  • Prices start at about $700.

Tip: A fridge with 19 to 22 cubic feet of storage space is a good choice for a family of four.

Side-by-side refrigerator: These are ideal for households that don’t mind sacrificing some fridge space for a lot more freezer space.

  • They’re split in two vertically; one side of the appliance is a freezer and the opposite side is the refrigerator.
  • Typical widths range from 32 to 36 inches.
  • Although average capacity is about 24 cubic feet, they may be short on utility when equipped with a beverage dispenser and ice maker that eat up interior space. The center divider between freezer and refrigerator also takes away storage space from the middle of the unit.
  • Prices start at about $900.

Four-door refrigerators: These are ideal for large families.

  • They’re loaded with compartments that can keep groceries fresher longer. Average capacity is 28 cubic feet.
  • They’re equipped with a French-door-style fridge on top, a middle door that conceals a drawer for the items you reach for most, and a bottom freezer.
  • They’re equipped with temperatures controls and beverage dispensers.
  • Prices start at about $2,000.

Tip: Homeowners can expect about 80% of a four-door fridge’s total cubic square footage to be functional storage space.

Cabinet-depth and counter-depth refrigerators: These have a shallow profile (depth front to back) so they won’t stick out beyond standard cabinets and counters.

  • They come in two styles: bottom freezer with French doors and side-by-side.
  • Both styles offer about 28 cubic feet of storage.
  • Many models include features like compartment temperature controls, and water and ice dispensers.
  • To create a built-in seamless look for the fraction of the price, theses fridges can be customized with an overlay cabinetry panel.
  • Prices start at about $2,000.

Tip: Not sure which way your refrigerator door should open? A unit with a reversible door will allow you to change the swing direction.

Tip: If your refrigerator is being squeezed into a predetermined spot, here’s how to get a perfect fit:

  • Measure the height, width, and depth of the area. Plan a clearance of at least 1 inch at the sides, back, and top. If it’s being placed next to a wall, the two sides will need at least 2 inches of clearance so the door can fully open.
  • Keep door clearance in mind. An obstruction like a sidewall or counter may determine if your new fridge’s door should swing left or right.

The Facts About Energy Efficiency

As of Sept. 15, 2014, both Energy Star and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) upped the ante on energy-efficiency requirements for refrigerators (standards set by the DOE are mandatory; Energy Star is a voluntary program).

DOE’s new minimum standards require top-freezer, bottom-freezer, and side-by-side refrigerators to be 20% to 30% more efficient than previous generations. The Appliance Standards Awareness Project, which champions improved standards for appliances and lighting, estimates the energy savings between 1990 and 2014 models this way:

•    Top Freezer: $80 per year

•    Bottom Freezer: $100 per year

•    Side-by-side refrigerator: $130 per year

New refrigerators that meet the current standards set by Energy Star are 10% more efficient than their earlier counterparts. They also must be at least 9% more efficient than DOE standards.

FYI: The bigger the fridge, the more energy it may consume. The most energy-efficient models you can buy have 16 to 20 cubic feet of capacity, according to Energy Star. Compare that with the size recommended for a four-person household: 19 to 22 cubic feet.

Tip: Got a second fridge in your basement or garage? If it’s more than 10 years old, it could add as much as $100 to your yearly utility bill. You could cut that cost by 40% with a new Energy Star-certified model.

Want to Color Your World?

Refrigerators sold in big-box stores are available in staid shades like white, black, gray, and stainless. You’ll have to compromise on fridge type to get one in an eye-popping color like red, orange, or green. Jazzy units like these are typically available only in retro styles that mimic refrigerators from the 1950s and 1960s; you’ll find them through specialty retailers or appliance dealers.

A colorful 9.2-cubic-foot, single-door retro-style refrigerator costs about $2,000, while a 20.6-cubic-foot, two-door fridge can cost $3,000 and more.

Features and Functions You Should Have

Lots of storage compartments and flexible storage options. You can’t go wrong with storage features like gallon door bins that free up interior shelf space, split shelves that create room for tall bottles, adjustable shelves that make room for oversized things, and flexible bin dividers that make it easier to group items.

Humidity-controlled compartments. Leafy greens typically require a much higher humidity level than apples or figs. This feature allows you to store produce at the appropriate humidity levels so they stay fresh longer. A refrigerator with humidity-controlled compartments starts at about $1,200.

Enhanced lighting. Energy-efficient LED lights placed in corners and over bins make it easier to find what you need.

Door alarms. It’ll beep or chime when the fridge door isn’t fully shut, helping to prevent energy and food waste.

Tip: Once you’ve found the perfect fridge, don’t be afraid to haggle over the price. Doing so can save you up to $100.

Features and Functions You Shouldn’t Pay More For

Automatic water, beverage, and ice dispensers. Although features like these boost convenience, they increase yearly maintenance costs. On an annual basis, expect to pay about $20 or more for electricity and up to $100 for water filter replacements. Dispensers also raise the purchase price for a new refrigerator by as much as $250 while reducing storage space.

Fast-cooling compartments like a blast chiller. When activated, the feature chills lukewarm beverages. It takes about eight minutes to get two cans of soda or a single bottle of wine icy cold. Because using a fridge’s automatic ice dispenser can boost energy costs by up to 20%, we suspect that a feature like this can also increase electricity use especially if used on a daily or weekly basis.

Wi-Fi enabled. Although a touchscreen with apps or a TV sounds nice, the technology won’t enhance performance. They’re usually found on models that cost more than $3,000.

REFRIGERATOR CLEANING TIPS

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Don’t be afraid — cleaning a refrigerator (and keeping it clean) isn’t a herculean task if you follow these tips:

  1. Create a homemade all-purpose cleaner by combining the following in a gallon of hot water: 1 cup clear ammonia, ½-cup vinegar and ¼-cup baking soda. Pour into a spray bottle, or use from a bowl with a sponge. This no-rinse formula is a degreaser that prevents mold and mildew. Wipe down the entire refrigerator with this solution, including the drawers and shelves.
  2. To prevent grease and odor buildup on top of the refrigerator after you’ve cleaned it, just buff some paste wax into the surface.
  3. Use toothpaste to remove tough stains. It contains a gentle abrasive and has a pleasant odor.
  4. To get those dust bunnies out from under the refrigerator, remove the grill and run a yardstick covered with a pair of pantyhose underneath. Also check the pan of water under the unit, since it can hold unpleasant-smelling water.
  5. To combat household odors, fill a clean old sock with activated charcoal from an aquarium store, tie a knot in the top and place it in the back of the refrigerator. This will last a month or two, depending on the size of your refrigerator and how heavily you use it.
  6. For a faster fix for odors, sprinkle vanilla extract on some cotton balls, place in a shallow dish and put in the refrigerator. Orange extract also works.
  7. Eliminate lingering odors in your vegetable bins by putting a crumpled piece of a brown paper grocery bag inside and leaving it for 48 hours. The paper will absorb the odor.
  8. Check for adequate tightness of the insulating seam around the door by placing a lighted flashlight inside the refrigerator and closing the door. Turn off the lights in the room (this should be done at night) and see if any light escapes from the seams. This will help you pinpoint any leaks.
  9. If you don’t keep your refrigerator full, fill a large bottle (at least a gallon) with water and leave it in the refrigerator. It helps keep the refrigerator cool and running efficiently.
  10. Keep your refrigerator at 37 degrees.

Call Absolute Appliance Repair NOW if you have any problems with your Refrigerator or Freezer!

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Help Your Appliances Last Longer

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Do your appliances die before their time? Here are ways to keep them humming longer. Is it just me or does it seem that appliances don’t last as long as they’re supposed to?

Our dryer died after 11 years (two years before a typical dryer’s lifespan is up), and we repaired our refrigerator three times before it reached its 12th birthday (it’s supposed to live for 13 years).

Full disclosure: I wouldn’t give myself an A in appliance care. But in the future, I vow to keep up on regular maintenance that’ll keep my new dryer running longer than my last one.

Rob Carpenter, owner of a Mr. Handyman franchise in Maryland, shares some insider tips about how to extend the life of home appliances.

Refrigerators That Last

Refrigerators break down when doors don’t close tightly, forcing motors to work overtime to keep food cold. To test your door seal, close the door on a dollar bill: If the bill slips, you’ve got a problem that requires refrigerator maintenance.

Magnetic strips embedded in gaskets around refrigerator doors make doors close snugly, but they routinely wear out and should be replaced or re-magnetized every couple of years. If you’re handy, re-magnetizing is a DIY job — just run a powerful magnet along each side of the gasket, in the same direction, about 50 times.

If messing around with the refrigerator door is beyond your pay grade, call a professional. Pros typically charge around $242 to repair door problems.

Washing Machine Endurance

Loose change banging around your washer drum can cause dents, chipped paint, and rust, so make sure to empty pockets before washing clothes.

Also, maintain your washing machine by regularly cleaning or replacing filters that trap water sediment before it enters your machine. Filters, which look like thimbles, are located in the back where supply hoses attach to the machine. Remove hoses and either poke out debris with a tip of a flathead screwdriver, then remove and wash the filter, or replace it.

Dryers That Keep on Drying

In addition to regularly cleaning out your dryer’s lint trap and exhaust hose, inspect the exterior vent — hot air must escape your house unimpeded.

Make sure the hinged exterior vent pops open when the dryer runs. If it doesn’t, open the cover and scrape out lint with the end of a hanger or dryer vent brush ($13). If your vent is louvered, clean slats with an old toothbrush.

When my dryer recently lost its heat, we called a repair guy who discovered a family of sparrows living in the vent. He sucked the birds out (poor birdies), and then we covered the vent opening with a wire mesh.

Dishwasher Extenders

Here are ways to keep your dishwasher stress-free and long-lasting:

  • Prime your dishwasher by running the hot water in your sink before you begin the cycle. This will clean your dishes with hot water from the very start of the cycle.
  • Once a week, run your dishwasher empty except for a cup of vinegar, which will keep it shining and smelling fresh.
  • Clean out food traps regularly.
  • Wipe clean the seals around dishwasher doors.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/blog/appliances/make-appliances-last-longer/#ixzz43OUtmhUK

First Truly Smart Resfrigerator

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According to Samsung, the Family Hub name was chosen because the refrigerator “reconnects families.” I’m not so sure about that, but it is very cool with plenty of useful features.The 21.5-inch, 1080p touch screen on the right door is powered by Samsung’s Tizen operating system, though given the styling of the buttons below the display, it sort of looks like a gigantic Android phone. Unlike the older Samsung refrigerator we reviewed, the display doesn’t seem like a tablet that just happens to be tacked on. Instead, it looks and feels like an integral part of the experience.

Using the touch screen, you can post notes for your family, share calendar reminders, display art, or pin photos, just like you would on a real fridge, only without the wrinkled edges. But it also does a lot more than that. With a screen this large, you can basically use it like a TV (there’s a built-in speaker, which the earlier Samsung smart fridge we tested lacked), so you can watch along with a cooking show while you’re actually cooking.

Family Hub Refrigerator

But here’s the coolest part. There are three cameras on the inside of the refrigerator door (pictured above), and they capture an image every time the door closes. Thanks to built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, you can access see the most recent picture from the inside of the fridge no matter where you are (like the grocery store) through an app on your smartphone, which can help prevent you from buying more of something you already have (or forgetting something you need). Check out the picture below.

Family Hub Refrigerator

You can just drag and drop time stamps to keep track of how long things have been sitting, which will give you a much better idea of when it’s time to chuck that old pint of milk.

And if you don’t feel like going out for groceries, you can use the refrigerator itself to order what you need, which might just be the most meta thing I’ve ever heard. It comes loaded with a MasterCard shopping app that lets you order what you need from FreshDirect or ShopRite to start, with more retailers promised for the future.

In addition to the touch screen, the refrigerator will also work Alexa, the voice assistant, though it isn’t clear how advanced the integration will be just yet.

The fridge itself is a four-door model, with the top two doors for refrigeration and the bottom two for freezing. If you don’t need all that freezer capacity, Samsung’s FlexZone feature lets you switch between freezing and refrigeration to suit your needs.

Family Hub Refrigerator

The Samsung Family Hub Refrigeration is expected to start at around $5,000 when it becomes available this spring. It will come in counter depth and full depth models, in stainless or black stainless color options. I’m looking forward to getting one in our test lab for a full review. I’m not sure if it will make the PCMag editorial crew feel like an even closer family, but it will make it easier to look inside the fridge from afar to see if anyone has left their lunch inside a little too long.

SHOPPING FOR REFRIGERATOR

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1 Take a look at whatever you currently have inside your kitchen area.

Look at everything – how significant the area do you have inside your home? What do you intend on installing right there? Do you have any kind of ideas to finally alter? These are typically important items that you have to remember before buying your freezer or fridge. It will also help you actually when you shop. Be sure to take measurements of your own freezer or fridge for those who have definitely unmovable space which you won’t be able to do anything with. It will help a good deal when you go buying.

2 Have an idea what kind of fridge you need

Will you need something like 20 different smaller crisper compartments? Or maybe are you basically satisfied with one particular modest ice-cubes creator? These are everything to consider before you purchase something at a electronic devices vendors or maybe home appliances provider. You have a great deal to be aware of with what you wish to get, the idea will aid you to complete the ideal acquisition afterwards. Plus, let’s admit it … precisely how is it possible to make a mistake with simply figuring out just what you would like?

3  Take the time to have a look at an actual unit

Absolutely. Even if you get it on the internet, you have to just be sure you know very well what your own refrigerator needs to have or even feature so you find out what just you need for your family fridge prior to buying this. Speak with a marketing associates in the retail outlet that you simply examine and enquire  whatever they would certainly suggest and after that compare prices. You undoubtedly will not regret it in the long run! That’s beyond doubt!

4 Have fun buying new refrigerator or freezer

Deciding on a family fridge won’t really need to be a critical challenge. Yet, it really does should be finished with feeling of pleasure as well as feeling of ” This is the thing that I really want / absolutely need, i would buy it! There is hardly ever anything wrong with confidence, plus a electronics distributors and also kitchen appliances vendor undoubtedly won’t have any qualms over it! Take the time to choose something that you may absolutely love!

5 Purchase On the web!

If you buy your refrigerator online, you are going to be able to not simply save a certain amount of money, yet you’ll likewise be able to quickly and easily receive what you want, plus can be sure when will get present. It’s actually much better than impulse buying now with impulse buying, shoppers don’t have time so you can get your current cooking area set up! These are simply a few things that you need to take into account with regards to hoping to get a new fridge. You can find tons of great deals and also other fantastic points such as that if you just take some time to check on all of them out on the web nevertheless, be sure you see them personally first. Shoppers wont be sorry!

Refrigerator Problem?
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Refrigerator of the future

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Cooling is a hugely important process in today’s world. But how can cooling be carried out in future in a way that does not harm the climate and that helps to conserve natural resources? The approach taken by Professors Stefan Seelecke and Andreas Schütze from Saarland University focuses on systems that use shape memory materials, also known as ‘metal muscles’ or ‘artificial muscles’. Working together with researchers in Bochum, they are developing a new method of cooling in which heat and cold are transferred using ‘muscles’ made from a nickel-titanium alloy. Extensive series of tests have yielded results that are now being used to develop a prototype cooling circuit that will be used to further increase the efficiency of the process. The German Research Foundation (DFG), which has been funding the project for the last three years, has agreed to invest a further 500,000 euros. In total, the project has brought around 950,000 euros in funding to the region.

Cooling is carried out in all parts of the world. Refrigerators operate around-the-clock, air conditioning units cool offices, cooling systems help to keep computers and motors running smoothly. And the demand for cooling is being driven both by climate change and global population growth. But more cooling systems come at a price – and not just a financial one. Increased cooling means increased consumption of electrical power and therefore higher emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, driving global warming even faster. A more environmentally friendly cooling method has been developed by the research teams led by engineers Stefan Seelecke and Andreas Schütze in conjunction with the materials scientists Gunther Eggeler and Jan Frenzel at Ruhr University Bochum. The cooling process that they are developing does not require climatically harmful refrigerants and should consume less energy than the conventional cooling technologies used thus far.
‘In our systems, shape memory alloys (SMAs) are used to remove heat,’ explains Stefan Seelecke, Professor for Intelligent Material Systems at Saarland University. ‘Shape memory means that wires or sheets made from a nickel-titanium alloy have a certain ability to remember their original shape: If they undergo deformation, they will return to their earlier shape. So they are able to tense and flex like muscles. The fact that they absorb and release heat when they do so is something we exploit to achieve cooling,’ explains Seelecke.
If a nickel-titanium wire or sheet is deformed or pulled in tension, the crystal lattice structure can change creating strain within the material. This change in the crystal structure, known as a phase transition, causes the shape memory alloy to become hotter. If the stressed sample is allowed to relax after temperature equalization with the environment, it undergoes substantial cooling to a temperature about 20 degrees below ambient temperature. ‘The basic idea was to remove heat from a space – like the interior of a refrigerator – by allowing a pre-stressed, super-elastic shape memory material to relax and thus cool significantly. The heat taken up in this process is then released externally to the surroundings. The SMA is then re-stressed in the surroundings, thereby raising its temperature, before the cycle begins again,’ explains Seelecke.
In the experimental and modelling studies carried out so far, the researchers at Saarland University and the Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology (ZeMA) in Saarbrücken have demonstrated that this type of cooling works and that it can be used in practice. They used a model system to determine how to optimize the efficiency of the cooling process, examining such factors as how strongly the material has to be elongated or bent in order to achieve a certain cooling performance, or whether the process is more effective when carried out slowly or more rapidly. A thermal imaging camera was deployed to analyse precisely how the heating and cooling stages proceed.
‘We’re currently using these results to construct an optimized prototype for an air-cooling system. We are creating a cooling cycle in which hot air passes over one side of a rotating bundle of shape memory wires. Multiple wires are used in order to enhance cooling power. The bundle is mechanically stressed on one side as it rotates, thus heating up the SMA wires, as it rotates further the SMA relaxes and cools. The air to be cooled is guided past the cold wire bundle, thus cooling an adjacent space,’ says Professor Schütze from the University’s Measurement Technology Lab. The team of engineers are currently fine tuning the process to optimize its efficiency. ‘Further optimization of the cooling process will involve modelling all component stages and then refining these models by comparing the predictions with experimental results. The data from the modelling and experimental work should allow us to determine the ideal number of shape memory wires for our rotating wire bundle as well as the optimum speed of rotation,’ explains Schütze.

SIMPLE FIXES FOR YOUR APPLIANCE PROBLEMS: REFRIGERATOR

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Appliance not working? Try one of these simple fixes before you call the repair service

If your refrigerator conks out on a hot day and you have a cat or a dog, immediately check the coils for pet hair. Service pros find this problem on half of their refrigerator calls. The coils are the black tube-and-wire grid that cools the fluid in the compressor. A buildup of hair will cause the compressor to overheat and trigger the overload switch. On many fridges, you get to the coils by opening the grille at the bottom of the refrigerator. Then push a coil cleaning brush (sold at home centers) into the coils, pull it back and vacuum it clean.

If the coils are located on the back, pull out your fridge (it’s often on rollers) and brush them off.

Bonus: The clean coils will cool more efficiently and save you money on your utility bill!

Once the overload switch is tripped, you may have to wait a few hours for it to cool. It will reset itself and turn the refrigerator back on.

Call Absolute Appliance Repair NOW if you have any problems with your Refrigerator!

 

RIGHT HAND REFRIGERATOR

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Question: What is a Right Hand Refrigerator & How Does the Door Open? What way does a right hand refrigerator door open? How do I know which door opening to buy?

Answer: You will most often see right handed standard refrigerators on appliance displays. Unless the refrigerator has a built-in water or ice dispenser in it or through the door unit, the door is probably reversible, but you should confirm this before buying if the displayed door configuration is not suited to your kitchen format.To simplify the set up of your new refrigerator, you can look for one that opens on the side that would be the most convenient for your kitchen area. Otherwise, you can follow the steps in your product manual for reversing the door. This is usually a simple procedure.Side by side and french door refrigerators do not have reversible doors, and bottom freezer models may also not have this option.

A right hand refrigerator opens left-to-right with door hinges on the right. You would probably use your right hand to open it.

A left hand refrigerator opens right-to-left with door hinges on the left. Typically opened by the left hand.

To save steps and provide quick and easy transfer of food in and out of the refrigerator, always install the appliance with the door opening to the counter, workspace or range.

At Absolute Appliance Repair Service we have experience with all different refrigerator brands and models. If you have a problem with your fridge, we certainly have a solution for you; our trained technicians are certified and specialized in all major home appliance repairs, services & installation.

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The cool physics of ice makers

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You might think that making ice is a simple business: just throw water into the freezer and it turns to ice. Simple, right? That’s true if you just want to make a single tray of ice, but most of us prefer to have ice available on demand. That’s why we have ice makers, devices that can make ice consistently for the many years that you will own your fridge. That takes a bit more engineering than a simple ice tray. Let’s take a closer look at how the humble ice maker creates the ice to keep your summer drinks cool.

The basic ingredient of ice is, as you might expect, water. But you can’t just throw any old water into an ice maker: good ice needs clean, fresh water. So, the first part of the ice maker is a filter that removes all of the solids (dust and dirt particles) and most of the dissolved chemicals as well. What comes out of this filter is crisp, clean, clear water that will make crisp, clean and clear ice. Assuming that you remember to change the filter, that is…

Now that we have clean water, we can start freezing it. Most ice makers are built around a tray that has semicircular or rectangular depressions in it. A valve above this controls the flow of water, filling the tray with enough water to fill the depressions, forming the shape of the ice cube. Because this tray is inside the freezer, it gets cold, and the water begins to freeze. Nearby is a sensor which is measuring the temperature of the water, waiting for it to reach a certain temperature (usually about -12°C/10°F).

Once it reaches this temperature, the water is solidly frozen and ready to remove. Ice is tricky, though: it sticks tightly to most surfaces, so you can’t just tip it out. Instead, ice makers use heat to loosen the ice. Under the ice tray is a small electric heating element, which is triggered to heat the the tray slightly, creating a very thin layer of water between the ice and the tray. This is not enough to melt most of the ice, but the thin layer of water provides enough lubrication to allow a motorized arm to push the ice out, into the ice holding bucket.

The tray is then filled again, and the cycle continues until the ice bucket is full. On most cheap refrigerators, a wire pokes down into the bucket, and the ice piling up pushes this triggering a switch that stops the ice maker cycle. When you remove some ice, the wire falls down again, disengaging the switch and restarting the ice maker cycle. More expensive refrigerators will use infrared or other sensors that don’t need a wire, but the principle is the same: they detect the level of the ice and disable the ice maker when it reaches a certain level.

Most of you will also be familiar with the curse of the cheap ice maker: you get a big block of ice because the ice cubes have stuck together. On the lower-end models that just dump the ice into a bucket, the ice cubes will stick together over time, eventually forming a solid lump of ice. This is a phenomenon called accretion, where the moisture in the air passing over the ice cubes bumps into the ice, and joins it. It’s the same phenomenon that makes icicles on tree branches on a cold night: moisture in the air freezes and sticks together, forming ice crystals that then pick up more moisture, and so on.

Inside your ice maker, the ice cubes that are in contact will join together as they accrete new ice, forming a solid block. If you have a particularly bad refrigerator (or an old one), the ice cubes may also be melting slightly as the temperature of the freezer compartment rises. This creates a thin layer of liquid water on the surface of the ice cubes, which flows together, only to be refrozen when the freezer.

More expensive fridges deal with this problem by including a stirrer, a metal rod that is turned occasionally inside the ice bucket, separating the ice cubes. This also explains the mysterious noises that you may hear from your expensive fridge in the middle of the night: it isn’t haunted, it is just stirring the ice. These more expensive fridges also separate the freezer and ice maker compartments, limiting the flow of cold air into the ice bucket so there is less moisture in the air to be captured.

So consider this the next time you grab a chunk of ice to chill your soda: the ice that you take for granted is the result of some sophisticated engineering and some basic science.

LEAKING REFRIGERATOR

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Most homeowners’ first reaction to a leaking refrigerator is to call in the services of an appliance repairman. If you don’t count yourself among the legions of do-it-yourselfers out there, this is still a good idea. Your fridge isn’t going to fix itself, and any leak is a sure-fire sign of something gone wrong. If you’re game for a little fridge repair 101, however, here’s a few tricks of the trade to try before you call in the experts.

Make Sure Your Fridge is Properly Sealed
One of the most common causes of a “leaking” fridge isn’t a leak at all. It’s the direct result of your fridge not sealing properly, and as a result running overtime to keep things cool. A fridge that runs excessively will build up extra condensation on the coils, which in turn can lead to the pool of water on the floor that’s causing alarm. Check the rubber door seals on your fridge and freezer to make sure you’re getting a proper seal. If you find a problem, wash the seals with warm water and soap and apply a thin film of lubricant (petroleum jelly works best). If this doesn’t solve your problem, you may need to replace the gaskets. Also, check the adjustable legs on your fridge and make sure the fridge tilts a little to the rear. If it’s leaning even a little bit forward, a proper door seal can be compromised.

Check the Drain Pan
Your leaking refrigerator may just have a cracked or damaged drain pan. Your fridge regularly drains water into this pan to prevent water pooling in the fridge itself. Evaporation takes care of the rest. Look underneath your fridge where the drain pan sits and pull it out for inspection. If it has a crack or is otherwise damaged, contact the appropriate retailer about getting a replacement as soon as possible.

Check the Defrost Drain
If your leaking refrigerator is draining inside as opposed to onto your floor, you’re probably dealing with a clogged defrost drain. Your fridge is constantly producing condensation inside the freezer, and that condensation drips down the defrost drain into a drain pan underneath the unit. This defrost drain can become clogged with debris or, more often, it freezes shut. Look in your refrigerator manual to locate your defrost drain, and take the appropriate steps to unclog it (inundating your drain with warm water will often do the trick).

Check Your Ice Maker for Leaks

If none of these other quick fixes solve your problem, check your icemaker for leaks. It’s a bit unusual, but sometimes the water line to the icemaker fails or comes loose, letting water into your freezer. Try tightening all connections, and if necessary, replacing the line that feeds the icemaker.

When In Doubt . . .
If after performing these basic inspections you can’t find the source of your leak, or if you think you’re getting in over your head, be sure to contact an appliance repairman immediately to come fix the problem. A leaking refrigerator is usually an indication of a bigger problem, and it needs to be dealt with. Finally, if you suspect your fridge is leaking refrigerant rather than water, call an appliance repairman immediately. Refrigerant is a toxic material and you need to address this issue as quickly as possible in order to avoid subsequent health risks to you and your family.