Fridge Condenser Coils - Does Cleaning Really Matter

[launderess]

Had been told for ages that one should clean fridge condenser coils routinely to enhance performance and lower energy use. In aid of sorting out my recent GE refrigerator woes was doing some research and came upon various bits of information that stated cleaning condenser coils isn't the huge deal everyone else makes it out to be.

Apparently energy use saved is < 5% by cleaning coils, and performance while may improve, won't be anything drastic.

Coils for ours are on back of unit, so am rather lazy about cleaning. It requires taking everything off top of fridge, removing some shelving on opposite wall, then shoving the thing far enough out to get back there with a vacuum. Needless to say the job isn't on one's top ten things to do list. *LOL*

 

[gusherb]

Probably depends on the design of the fridge. If it’s a convective coil on the back, or pulls air in the back and blows it out the front you probably never need to clean it. However if the condenser fan pulls air in the front it’s guaranteed to pull in dirt from the foot traffic of the kitchen. Our Maytag pulls air in the front and exhausts it out the back. Every year I notice it start to run longer and longer until I finally get around to pulling the grille off and sticking the crevice tool in there to suck out the clumps of dust plugging it up.

 

[supersuds]

The owner's manual of my 2015 GE fridge actually has some language about how cleaning the coils isn't necessary. I don't remember the exact wording. I expect it won't last long enough to be an issue.

 

[DADoES]

 
My 2004 GE says the same thing (has a jelly-roll condensor with the fan pulling air through it and exhausting out the front grille) but I clean it occasionally anyway.

 

[askolover]

When I clean under the SxS Whirltag I usually vacuum the equivalent of another whole cat out!  Parents have the same fridge as I do and it's the same way.  My previous one (basically same fridge) had the coils underneath in a straight pattern that I could fit the plastic Kirby crevice tool in between to clean.  My parent's and my current one have the coils in a zig zag formation...but not positioned the way to easily slide a vacuum attachment through.  So there's really no way to clean them aside from turning the fridge on its back and getting it from the bottom...not happening.

 

[DADoES]

 
Air compressor with a blow-gun nozzle.

 

[eronie]

I take screen out of the kitchen window put my big fan in and blow it out with comperssor hose. Big mess. It's a Roper with the z folded coil.

 

[oliger]

+1 on the compressor air gun. My old refrigerator was running all day once, and I blew out the coils, (HUGE MESS.) Afterward, it only ran 15 minutes at a time.

I don't think it matters as much if your coils are on the back of the refrigerator. If they are underneath, they need regular cleaning.

 

[rp2813]

Effective as compressed air may be, the mess it causes is simply not worth the huge clean-up effort that would involve every last inch of my kitchen.   As Letterkenny hero Wayne would say, "Hard no."

 

Our 2009 KA Architect SxS has the Z-fold condenser, which KA/WP claim never needs cleaning/vacuuming.  I don't buy it, and once or twice a year I do the best job I can with the crevice tool.  I can see how the Z-fold arrangement causes the front of the condenser to capture most of the dust, leaving the portion behind it fairly clear of any accumulation, so that may be the reason for advising the coils never need cleaning, but reduced air flow is an inevitable side effect.   Another more likely reason would be that WP wants to sell more refrigerators.

 

With the fridge now ten years old, I feel that staying on top of the condenser's dust accumulation is a good way to keep the compressor from working any harder than it has to.  I like the fridge and its features too much to replace it sooner than is necessary.

 

My sister had to replace the compressor on her Maytag Wide-by-Side due to never vacuuming the condenser that supposedly never needs vacuuming.  The problem is, she almost never has fewer than two cats living with her.  She killed the original compressor by following Maytag's advice.  Her home warranty coverage took care of the repair, but I think she learned her lesson.  The fridge is still running.

 

For a fridge with coils on the back, I'd not ever bother cleaning them.  That's a passive system that doesn't attract anywhere near the amount of dust a forced draft system does.

 

 

 

[circlew]

My friend Jay has a Frigidaire, which he says he bought sometime in the mid-late 80's. It has the coils on the back, and a while back he said it wasn't keeping things frozen as good it should, and was running a lot. He thought it was going bad, and was thinking he would have to have it fixed or get a new one. I asked him if he had cleaned the coils recently, and he said no, that he'd never done so in all the years he'd had it. In fact, he said he'd never moved it out from the wall since it was installed. I told him to try cleaning it, so he moved it out and vacuumed the back. He said dust was caked on the coils, and he had to use a brush to get it all off. He also said there was a lot of dust under the appliance. He told me the next day the frozen food was back like it should be, and it wasn't running as much. That was about a year ago, and it still seems to be working good.

 

[rp2813]

Good point, Tom. 

 

If a fridge with coils on the back is shoved into an enclosure (with clearances that allow for circulation), I can see how dust would accumulate more readily.  In that case, it makes sense to vacuum once in a while.  That your friend's fridge had been running since the mid-'80s without ever having been vacuumed seems to suggest that every 20 years might be enough.

 

[launderess]

Cannot say for certain

But fridge does seem to run less often (now that things have settled down), and keep temps better on a slilghtly higher setting (to "cold" from "coldest") after cleaning back coils.

Again given the goings on of past week or so cannot say what is exactly what, but will take the win anyway can get.

Used an Endust treated dust mop to do the floor behind fridge as vacuuming just wasn't getting job done. Was actually easier to use DM starting from walls and working down to skirting board then floor. Know people like Swiffer things, but a property treated dust mop still has much to offer.

Someone needs to bring back fridges with built in roller mechanism. Think some places still offer, but should be standard equipment. *LOL* Not only saves effort in shifting, but floor as well.

 

[donprohel]

Sometimes the solution is simple...

...my Electrolux fridge-freezer does not have any condenser coil: it uses the cabinet to dissipate the heat.

Simple, effective, and problem solved

 

[rp2813]

My vintage Penncrest upright freezer also uses the cabinet instead of a condenser.  I had never heard of such a system until I bought the freezer last year.

 

[iowabear]

I have a basic top freezer Whirlpool model, about 9 years old.  I had to replace the compressor start relay this summer and cleaned the coils for the first time.  They were filthy and I immediately noticed that the refrigerator ran less.  Of course Whirlpool would rather people just buy new ones.

 

I wish they had some kind simple air filter like dehumidifers and window A/Cs that could be easily removed and rinsed off.

 

[DADoES]

 
Common design that chest freezers use the outer cabinet as the condensor.

 

[deltablu]

If you have the room,

(assuming coils underneath the fridge) pull the fridge out into the room and surround the perimeter of the cabinet with damp bath towels before blowing off the coils with compressed air. They will either collect the dust and hair that comes loose or at least prevent it from becoming airborne.

 

[estesguy]

to add to reply #16

I do the towels, but also put a vacuum cleaner hose on the opposite side of where you will be blowing from and just gently use short 'puffs'at first, until the heaviest of the dust is off the coil. This way the vacuum can suck up a lot of the dust, instead of having it in the air.