# Do You Clean or Vacum The Back Of Your Refrigerator? Trouble free no matter?



## WhatInThe (Aug 27, 2014)

I usually vacum the back of the refrigerator including the condenser coils and fan area to allow the heat and fan carry off the moisture. But I hadn't cleaned the drain tube and fitting for a few years which clogged and cause a small leak which dripped through floor. It's fixable/usable- but not pretty.

Point is do you take the time to vacum off the back of your refrigerator a couple times a year? Usually there is a cover with a few screws. The whole point is to remove dust from the condenser, coils and fan area to allow circulation and stop heat build up. The drain tube to the bottom of the fridge should be cleaned occasionally as well. Many refrigerators have a small cover in the front at the bottom that is easy removal to clean and/or replace a filter and vacum the coils from the front.

Do you take the time to pull your refrigerator away from the wall and clean it?

People with built in or enclosed refrigerators. Any problems with a shorter life span because to me enclosing it would limit circulation/cooling and/or promote moisture build up.


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 27, 2014)

I do, I pull it away from the wall and take off the back cover, and vacuum at least once a year.  A lot of fine dust does accumulate back there for sure!


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## Falcon (Aug 27, 2014)

No. no, no and no, even though I should.    If I see that it isn't operating properly, I'll let a service man
come and do it.  I'm getting too old for that sort of thing + OTHER things also.


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## Jackie22 (Aug 27, 2014)

My fridge is in a very tight spot, no way that I can pull it out by myself, whatever is behind there will just stay.


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## Meanderer (Aug 27, 2014)

Yeah it's a good idea.  There are people who would clean the bottom if they could turn it over....and probably a few who never clean the top!


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## Kitties (Aug 28, 2014)

I move mine and clean the floor and the back of the fridge. I usually do this about twice a year. I never remove any backing off the fridge though. I didn't know you should. Next time I clean I'll look into that. Luckily my refrigerator is easy to move.


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## Pam (Aug 28, 2014)

No, I don't. What's a bit of dust between friends?


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## WhatInThe (Aug 28, 2014)

Kitties said:


> I move mine and clean the floor and the back of the fridge. I usually do this about twice a year. I never remove any backing off the fridge though. I didn't know you should. Next time I clean I'll look into that. Luckily my refrigerator is easy to move.



The big thing always clean anything that affects air flow. If there are vent holes and/or a filter there it should be clean.

Here are some tips

http://fixitnow.com/wp/2012/04/04/h...ne-maintenance-that-anyone-can-and-should-do/

Even if you don't want to take those covers off vacuum the openings  free of dust and use computer/micro vacuum attachments to get in some of those spaces.

 Note I don't always unplug the refrigerator although I should for safety reasons. But be aware unplugging or powering off any appliance with high voltage motors, condensers, pumps etc can damage them with the surge of power that comes when they are plugged back in. Vacuuming shouldn't take that long so it would be powered up with warm components & circuit. Powering up a cold circuit/component is where most normal wear & tear damage occurs.

This explains the necessity a little better.

http://fixitnow.com/wp/2012/04/04/h...ne-maintenance-that-anyone-can-and-should-do/

Again at least get the obvious nearby dust/balls for they are is what is pulled into the fridge and start affecting efficiency. 

BE SAFE


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## GeorgiaXplant (Aug 28, 2014)

Well, yeah. I do vacuum/clean over/under/around the fridge but don't take the back off. Mine is metal, not like the cardboard stuff from the olden days. I have a cat so it's a real necessity to keep the cat hair from gumming up the works. And I'm a cleaning lady so do this for all my clients every couple of months. In between times, I reach under and along the sides with my long-handled duster or reach back on the sides with the crevice tool that attaches to the wand on the vacuum.

And Meanderer? Show me a house with a clean fridge top, and I'll show you a house with a tall housewife. Or a cleaning lady.


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2014)

LOL my fridge top is very clean...but No, I only pull the fridge out of it's verrrry tight space if it starts making funny noises then I'll vacuum it out, otherwise I don't do it.


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## atwhatcost (Sep 12, 2014)

Hubby was a HVAC mechanic, so he knows about refrigeration. The second to the last time we bought a new frig, he bought the type that says you don't have to clean the coils. The reason I'm answering this question so late is because that frig lasted a whopping eight years. Two weeks ago, our refrigerator stopped working, but the freezer kept working. He went into HVAC mechanic mode, pulled it out, got the steamer out, pulled off the panel, steam cleaned, and then I saw how dirty the side we rarely see was, we ended up spending two hours cleaning the refrigerator. Too tired and hot to clean the top. He put it back where it belonged, and it still didn't work.

We bought another one, and, since it takes 3-10 days to deliver (Thank God they were delivering on Labor Day), he took the time to investigate what went wrong. (After loading up our tiny frig, and eating a whole bunch of fresh produce bough the day before the frig died.) Ends up, the only way the frig ever cooled was through a fan coming out of the freezer. That fan died. (That also explained why our produce drawers never kept produce fresh.)

And then, I decided I couldn't stand strangers coming into my house with the top of the frig that dirty. (Hadn't cleaned it in six years, we're both smokers, and the frig is right next to the stove, where hubby does his gourmet dinners all the time, so it was bad. lol) And that's how a useless refrigerator got it's first through cleaning.

Hubby says frigs aren't made like they used to be made. Used to be, they build frigs to last. That caused the same problem as the first light bulbs. The first light bulbs never died. (Occasionally, there are still some around, but they tended to break from people moving stuff under them.) That doesn't bode well for people manufacturing them, so they built in breakability. Your frig won't die from dirty coils. It will break down before that.

Now, I have a different problem. We keep our soda cans on top of the frig, to refill the cold ones in it. Dang top of the frig is so clean the soda cans slide wherever, every time we open and close the frig. It's too clean! LOL


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