Found out the hard way that fridge coils matter a ton

I was messing with my old Whirlpool fridge last weekend because it was running nonstop and not cooling right. Pulled it out to find the coils caked with dust and pet hair, like a solid 1/4 inch layer. Cleaned them off with a brush and the compressor cycle dropped from 45 minutes to about 15 minutes. Has anyone else seen that big of a difference just from cleaning coils?

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2 Comments

shah.olivia5mo ago

Honestly I think people make way too big a deal about cleaning fridge coils. My parents have a 20 year old fridge that's never been cleaned once and it runs fine. Sure maybe it runs a bit longer but that's not going to kill it. The real issue with your fridge was probably something else like a bad start relay or a failing compressor that just happened to get a little help from the cleaning. I've seen plenty of fridges with absolutely filthy coils that cool perfectly fine. Plus think about how often people actually do this - once a year if they're ambitious. That tiny efficiency gain isn't saving you enough on your electric bill to justify the hassle of pulling the fridge out and getting dust everywhere. Doesn't it seem like people just want to feel productive by doing this while ignoring the real problem?

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christopherwilliams5mo ago

20 years without a single cleaning?

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