Overview Of Common Fridge Freezer Issues
A fridge freezer is very much the kind of thing that many of us take for granted in our homes… right until the moment something goes obviously wrong with it. All of a sudden, you might no longer have that easy means of keeping your food fresh. But what can you do to tackle the problem?
Various common fridge freezer problems can occur from time to time, such as the freezer failing to freeze properly, the fridge being overly warm, or water accumulating in the fridge’s base.
As trusted providers of West London repairs and maintenance services, we have encountered – and fixed – a broad range of common fridge problems down the years. Below, then, we have set out some of the most frequently seen issues that could happen to your fridge freezer, and how to combat them.
Importance Of Regular Maintenance
Many of the most common fridge problems can, of course, occur even if you are very proactive and diligent in looking after this appliance in your property.
However, as experts in residential and commercial property maintenance and repairs, we would recommend the following maintenance actions to help minimise the likelihood of future issues with your fridge:
- Cleaning the fridge freezer regularly, including removing stains, marks, and food debris from both the inside and outside. This will help reduce the chances of mould and unpleasant odours developing.
- Routinely defrosting the fridge freezer, to ensure ice does not get out of control and your appliance remains efficient.
- Keeping a close eye on the temperature of the appliance. Your fridge should remain at a temperature below 5°C, so that food does not go bad too quickly and there isn’t too much chance for harmful bacteria to grow.
Safety Precautions
Electrical Safety
There are various electrical safety precautions that you can take to help lower the probability of both lesser-spotted and common problems with fridge freezers. Some of these include:
- Ensuring the fridge freezer is in a safe location. There should be no flammable materials, cookers, or radiators located near your fridge. Enough space should also be left behind your fridge freezer for the circulation of air.
- Defrosting the fridge freezer at least once a year. This will help ensure the appliance continues to work properly. However, it is crucial to avoid using a heater to defrost the inside of the fridge freezer.
- Only ever plugging the fridge freezer directly into the wall, instead of using an extension lead.
- Keeping a lookout for any signs of wear, damage, or malfunction. If you do see any such worrying indicators, arrange to have the appliance inspected by experts in electrical faults and repairs, such as our in-house contractors at Essential Repairs.
Handling Refrigerants
It is of the utmost importance to be careful with your handling of refrigerant. In today’s fridge freezers, refrigerant is used only in very small quantities, to extract heat from the device. It is, though, highly flammable, so you will need to be careful when transporting your fridge freezer, and you shouldn’t plug in the appliance if there is any discernible damage.
Although the once-popular refrigerant, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), is now banned, some of today’s fridges still contain fluorinated greenhouse gas, otherwise known as F-gas.
If you are intending to get rid of an old fridge, you will need to check whether F-gas is contained inside. If this is indeed the case, it will be necessary for your local council to collect the appliance and recover the F-gas.
Diagnostic Checklist
Initial Inspection
You should be keeping a close eye on your fridge freezer in general – as well as an ear, for that matter, as any changes in the noises emerging from the appliance could be telling.
Such outward signs as the fridge being too warm, the light in the fridge not working, the door seals being torn, or the fridge freezer ceasing to work after defrosting, will merit further investigation.
Identifying The Problem
Paying close attention to the specific “symptoms” shown by your fridge freezer, will allow you to begin narrowing down the possibilities for what the underlying problem could be.
Unusual noises coming from your appliance, for example, could be an indicator of a problem with the compressor, condenser fan, or condenser coil. You might also have reason to suspect the compressor is damaged if your fridge freezer is completely silent.
Tools And Equipment Required
You can use an external thermometer to check your fridge and freezer’s temperature. You should expect the fridge to be set at approximately 3°C to 5°C, while a properly functioning freezer is normally around -18°C.
Common Issues and Solutions
4.1 Fridge Not Cooling Properly
A fridge failing to cool properly can be caused by a variety of factors. If, for example, dirt, grease, and dust are allowed to accumulate on the coils, this could prevent them from cooling the refrigerant properly. In that case, you’ll need to unplug the appliance and clean the coils. A faulty evaporator fan could also be to blame, given that its purpose is to circulate cool air.
4.2 Freezer Over-Freezing
Again, there can be a range of possible causes of over-freezing freezers. These can include the door seal being faulty, damaged, or deformed, or the defrost system having failed. Signs of the latter having potentially happened include frost on the freezer’s back wall, or a clicking sound being audible when the circulation fan turns on. So, it may be necessary to arrange for the defrost heater, defrost control board, and thermostat to be replaced.
4.3 Fridge/Freezer Not Defrosting
This is another one of the most common fridge freezer problems, which can occur due to a faulty defrost timer, heater, or thermostat. An iced-up evaporator can also bring about this problem, given that the effect on airflow could prevent the temperature from falling low enough for the appliance to defrost.
4.4 Unusual Noises
The exact nature of the unexpected sound coming from your fridge or freezer, could provide a clue as to the source of the problem. A loud buzzing or knocking sound, for example, could be caused by a worn-out or damaged compressor. It could cost you more than £170 to purchase a new compressor, and you’ll need to account for the further cost of arranging an engineer to fit it.
4.5 Water Leaks
If your fridge freezer is leaking, it’s most likely to be blocked drain tubes that are causing the problem. If so, you can begin to tackle it by removing any food from the appliance and turning it off. The drain cover is typically at the bottom or near the front of the appliance. So, removing drawers should enable you to reach the blockage. If the drain has frozen over, you should be able to defrost it by pouring hot – but not boiling – water on it. Hopefully, it won’t be long before you’ve cleared the tubes out.
4.6 Ice Maker Not Working
The most frequent reasons for a refrigerator failing to make ice include the water fill tubes being blocked, the water inlet valve being blocked or frozen, or the water filter being dirty or clogged. So, to begin diagnosing and fixing the problem, you’ll need to take steps including checking the water fill tubes, inspecting the water inlet valve, and cleaning the water filter.
Preventative Maintenance Tips
Cleaning And Care
The thorough and regular cleaning of your appliance can help reduce the likelihood of common fridge and freezer problems.
To clean your fridge, first remove all the food, shelves, drawers, and bins from the device, and throw away any spoiled or out-of-date food. Make sure you’ve also unplugged it prior to cleaning, especially if you will be cleaning the coils.
For the cleaning of the inside of the fridge, you’ll simply need to wipe it down using a soft cloth and a food-safe cleaner. Don’t forget to also use a soft cloth to wipe down the door seals, followed by drying with a clean cloth.
Regular Inspections
You can check over your fridge freezer yourself from time to time, to help stay alert to any potential issues. One thing to keep checking is the temperature – to reiterate our statement earlier, in the case of the fridge it should ideally be around 5°C, while the freezer’s temperature ought to be approximately -18°C.
Be sure to check the doors, too – they should close evenly and tightly. Listening to your fridge can also help draw your attention towards any emerging problems.
Older fridges do usually make a louder, almost buzzing sound compared to the near-silence of most modern fridges. However, you will probably already instinctively know the normal sound of your fridge. So, it should be obvious if any particularly strong and unusual noises begin to emanate from the device.
Prolonging The Life of Your Appliance
The correct stocking of your fridge freezer can have an impact on how long it lasts. The freezer will typically work better with more food kept in it, as this will allow it to retain the colder air more easily. In the case of the fridge, though, overstocking might be a problem, as this could hamper the circulation of cold air inside this section of the appliance.
Such other measures as cleaning your fridge freezer often, and defrosting it at least once a year – perhaps even every four to six months – will further help bolster the appliance’s longevity.
When To Call a Professional
Indicators Of Serious Issues
There are various potential signs of fridge freezer problems that might necessitate you calling a professional. If, for instance, your fridge isn’t sufficiently cold, this might be an indicator of a broken motor fan, so you’ll need to have an expert look at it.
If your food is going off in your fridge freezer before you would ordinarily expect it to expire, this may be a sign of the device failing to keep its temperature down. So, again, you are advised to seek out people who have expertise in tackling common problems with fridge freezers.
Finding A Qualified Technician
If the problem you have with your fridge freezer doesn’t seem to be one you can fix independently, don’t be afraid to reach out to our certified electricians at Essential Repairs. We will be able to carry out quick diagnosis and repairs if required – so, feel free to book with us online today.
Conclusion
Summary Of Key Points
As we covered in this article, there are various common fridge freezer problems, ranging from cooling difficulties and over-freezing woes, right through to water leaks and the ice maker failing to produce ice. There are, though, steps that you can take to begin diagnosing and fixing the issue with your appliance, even if a technician’s assistance may eventually be needed.
Final Tips and Recommendations
If remedies such as those outlined above are still leaving you puzzled as to how you can fix the problem you have with your fridge freezer, it is best to avoid any unnecessary risks. Reach out to a company that has expertise in tackling common problems with fridge freezers, such as Essential Repairs, to ensure your appliance is safely and efficiently repaired.
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Far beyond the mere chic “trend” they might have once seemed to be, eco-friendly house materials have become much more of a “standard” in recent years. Indeed, given the severity and fast pace of climate change, and concerns about resource depletion, it has never been of greater importance that we build homes using materials with minimal environmental impact.
So, what do you need to know about eco-friendly building materials? Below, our experts in residential and commercial property maintenance and repairs at Essential Repairs have outlined the key details.
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Understanding Eco-Friendly Building Materials
Eco-friendly construction materials can be defined as materials – used in the construction of buildings – that do not have an adverse impact on the environment.
Such eco-friendliness may be apparent in how the material is produced, used, and/or disposed of. A material being easy to recycle, for instance, is one way in which it could be described as “eco-friendly”.
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Importance Of Sustainable Construction in Modern Homes
Amid the intensification of the climate crisis, it is becoming ever-more apparent what a profound role the use of eco-friendly building materials could play in achieving sustainability objectives.
The World Green Building Council has estimated that approximately 40% of global carbon emissions can be attributed to the construction of buildings and the energy required to run them. In light of this, there is clearly considerable scope to optimise “green” practices in the building of contemporary homes.
Benefits Of Eco-Friendly Building Materials
Environmental Impact
The “headline” benefit of eco-friendly materials for building is, of course, their gentleness on the only planet Earth we have. Such materials typically require less energy to be consumed in the process of making and transporting them, which helps reduce overall carbon emissions.
Health And Wellbeing
The best eco-friendly building materials also tend to contain zero or low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These human-made chemicals are found in many traditional building materials, and can evaporate into the air. When buildings contain low levels of VOCs, this can help ensure better indoor air quality and improved health.
Long-Term Cost Savings
The lower energy consumption required to make them in the first place, means the use of eco-friendly house materials can contribute to reduced costs for the construction sector – and the eventual buyers of the houses – over time.
Furthermore, energy-efficient windows and insulation – once installed – will help reduce energy consumption and energy bills for the occupant of the property.
Key Factors to Consider When Choosing Eco-Friendly Materials
Material Sourcing and Sustainability
When you are assessing the degree to which a given building material can be considered genuinely “eco-friendly”, you will need to give careful thought to where it is sourced from. Is the material recycled, for example, or recyclable? Does it come from a renewable source?
Energy Efficiency
The true eco-friendliness of a given construction material will largely hinge on how energy efficient it will be across the building’s lifetime, rather than merely how energy-efficiently it was produced in the first place. You might consider, for instance, what impact the material will have on the building owner or occupant’s need to use artificial heating and lighting.
Durability and Longevity
The most eco-friendly building materials for houses should be able to stand up to the conditions – in terms of temperature, pressure, or the elements – to which they will be subjected over the home’s lifespan. This will help minimise the need for later (energy-consuming) repair or replacement work on the material.
Recyclability And Waste Reduction
If a given material can be recycled or reused, this will be a big tick in the “eco-friendly” box. You will also need to consider the impact the material might have on the household’s generation and management of waste over the years to come.
Types Of Eco-Friendly Building Materials
4.1 Natural Insulation Materials
Wool, Cotton, And Hemp
These three materials all have strong credentials as natural forms of insulation, derived from renewable sources. They can deliver impressive performance, as demonstrated by the fire resistance of wool, and hemp being mould resistant, sound-absorbing, and non-toxic.
Cork And Straw Bales
With cork not only being renewable and biodegradable – derived, as it is, from the bark of cork oak trees – but also offering low thermal conductivity and good sound absorption, it should be no great surprise that cork insulation has become an attractive option for many.
Straw bales, too, deliver excellent performance as a form of insulation. Their air pockets create a thermal break, so they insulate in a similar way to sheep’s wool.
4.2 Sustainable Wood Products
FSC-Certified Timber
If a house builder chooses timber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), this signals a strong commitment to using wood that has been harvested and managed in as environmentally friendly and sustainable a manner as possible.
Bamboo
Not only does bamboo absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) through photosynthesis – with this being stored in the material for the product’s lifetime – but it locks in a greater amount of CO2 than wood. What’s more, its fast growth enables it to be harvested in just three to five years, compared to the 25-year wait typical for wood forests.
Reclaimed Wood
When wood is taken from its original application and repurposed, there isn’t such a great need to cut down new trees. It is also a more energy-efficient process to source and transport reclaimed wood, than it is to mill raw wood.
4.3 Recycled and Reclaimed Materials
Recycled Steel
Less energy is used in the recycling of steel than in the production of new steel from raw materials. The use of recycled steel also helps drive down the amount of steel waste in landfills, and the need for further mining.
Reclaimed Bricks and Tiles
The tendency over recent years to place greater emphasis on the reuse of existing bricks and tiles has helped reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. It has also lessened the need to extract new raw materials.
Recycled Plastic Composites
Again, the recycling of plastic composites can be integral to efforts to reduce waste, save energy, and lower emissions among house builders. It can also help conserve forests, given that the incorporation of recycled plastic into wood composites reduces the need to extract timber and other natural resources.
4.4 Innovative Eco-Friendly Materials
Green Concrete
As the term suggests, “green” concrete is produced from recycled materials, including slag, fly ash, and aggregates. This allows for carbon emissions to be reduced, as the waste materials used are less energy-intensive to produce than cement.
Mycelium Insulation
Mycelium-based materials are derived from renewable resources, with mycelium being the “root” of mushrooms. As an insulation product, it uses much less water and electricity than polystyrene.
Solar Panels and Photovoltaic Glass
As a renewable and infinite energy source, solar power allows homes and businesses to run on clean energy. Solar panels don’t produce greenhouse gases, unlike the carbon dioxide and methane released into the atmosphere as a result of the burning of fossil fuels.
Certifications And Standards for Eco-Friendly Materials
LEED And BREEAM
Standing for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, LEED and BREEAM are green building certification frameworks for the evaluation of a building’s environmental and social performance.
Cradle To Cradle Certified
C2C, or Cradle to Cradle, is a science-based standard by which the sustainability of products and materials can be measured.
Energy Star and Other Relevant Labels
Run by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy, Energy Star is a government-backed symbol for energy efficiency. If a given product is Energy Star certified, this indicates it meets higher standards for energy use and emissions.
Case Studies: Successful Eco-Friendly Homes
Examples Of Homes Built with Sustainable Materials
Eco-friendly building materials are used in the construction of a broad range of types of home. These include “earthships”, which are off-the-grid and self-sustaining homes built using such natural and recycled materials as old tyres and glass bottles.
Earth-sheltered houses, meanwhile, are properties built into the side of a hill, which enables them to make the most of the natural insulation from the earth.
Lessons Learned and Best Practices
A range of sometimes surprising lessons have been learned from the use of eco-friendly building materials for houses. These include that reclaimed materials not only tend to be eco-friendlier and cheaper than new materials, but can also often be more durable and require less maintenance over time.
Concepts such as passive solar design also underscore that a building’s materials aren’t the only factor shaping its true energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. Such aspects as the orientation of the property, as well as how the windows are placed to maximise natural heating and cooling, can also have a great influence.
Tips For Incorporating Eco-Friendly Materials in Your New Home
Working With Architects and Builders
If you are seeking to have eco-friendly construction materials incorporated into your new home, it can be a good idea to hire architects and builders who already have considerable expertise in sustainable architecture. This will enable them to spot opportunities to deliver a home that meets even very ambitious sustainability goals.
Budgeting For Sustainable Materials
As we referenced earlier, the use of eco-friendly materials for building can help save costs over time in the running of a property. However, depending on the specific products and solutions you are considering, you might need to budget for slightly greater initial expense, in order to take advantage of the most sustainable options.
DIY vs. Professional Installation
The DIY installation of certain eco-friendly house materials – such as insulation – may seem an attractive option at first for saving money. However, with a view to achieving the best possible result and unlock the greatest possible sustainability benefits, you might ultimately decide in favour of hiring professional installers.
Conclusion
Recap Of Key Points
To bring us back to a point we made at the very top of this article: the recent greater prominence of eco-friendly house materials isn’t merely due to them being a “chic” trend (if they could even be described as a “trend” at this point).
Instead, the incorporation of such sustainable materials into all manner of types of houses across the globe, is becoming more and more of a standard. Furthermore, eco-friendly construction materials take a hugely broad range of different forms.
The Future of Sustainable Building Practices
There is a wide range of ways in which the world of sustainable construction is expected to continue evolving. We can expect, for example, the introduction of increasingly stringent building standards, as governments seek to nudge architects towards using the optimal eco-friendly building materials for houses.
We can also anticipate that certain still relatively new materials – such as photovoltaic glass, self-healing concrete, and hempcrete – will gain in popularity and widespread use.
Encouraging Eco-Friendly Choices in Home Construction
So, there you have it! If you are looking to have a new home constructed, there are many great reasons to embrace the leading eco-friendly building materials and other sustainable practices. These include the chance to save money over time, as well as – in many cases – to boost the durability and longevity of your home. You will also, of course, be playing your own small part in saving the planet.
Are you on the lookout for West London repairs and maintenance services that you can trust? If so, book with us online today. Whether there are issues with your property’s plumbing or gas systems, or you could benefit from our expertise in electrical faults and repairs, we can help make the management of your property easier.
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