How often should you defrost and clean your refrigerator?

How often should a refrigerator be defrosted is a question that ordinary consumers regularly ask. Even if a household refrigeration unit is equipped with a No Frost system, it periodically needs to be turned off and washed. Refrigerators with such a system should be defrosted at least once a year, and simple units should be turned off as frost forms on the walls of the freezer. Also, the frequency of defrosting depends on the intensity of use. So, for example, if the refrigerator is used in production and it is opened several times a day, then it will have to be defrosted more often than usual.

Proper care of the refrigerator ensures long and trouble-free operation of this type of household appliance. However, due to the fact that refrigerators use different freezing systems, the approach to defrosting the equipment differs from each other. The master-na-dom-msk company recommends defrosting in a timely manner to prevent equipment breakdown.

Naledi formation

Periodic defrosting of refrigeration units is carried out to remove ice that has formed on the evaporator housing. The rate at which frost forms in the freezer depends on:

refrigerator models;
presence of the “No Frost” system;
degree of fullness of the freezer;
frequency of opening and closing the refrigerator door throughout the day;
lifetime.

The formation of ice is also affected by the temperature of the room in which the refrigeration equipment is installed.

Defrosting 2-chamber refrigerators

Only time and the amount of melt water. The larger the refrigerator and the more chambers it has, the longer it will take for all the ice to melt, as in a two-chamber refrigerator. Accordingly, if the refrigerator is single-chamber - smaller, then it will be freed from ice cover faster and with less water.

But it is very convenient to defrost two-compressor two-chamber refrigerators - their operating principle resembles two different devices in one case. You can turn off the freezer separately from the refrigerator and vice versa. While the freezer is defrosting, the food is placed in the refrigerator; when the refrigerator is defrosting, some foods can be placed in the freezer.

At the end of defrosting, the refrigerator should be washed with water and a small amount of vinegar added to eliminate the smell. Place all trays back and turn on. After letting the device work for a while, you can put food there.

Defrost frequency

The frequency of defrosting the refrigerator depends on the defrosting system. Equipment with a drip and mixed defrosting system requires periodic manual defrosting for 3-4 months. If there is a No Frost air system, defrosting is carried out automatically, however, manual defrosting is still necessary every six months.

Typically, manufacturers of climate control and freezing equipment indicate in the product data sheet the need and frequency of defrosting the refrigerator. However, if the deadline has not arrived, and there is already a lot of ice, then it is worth defrosting the chamber without waiting for the scheduled date.

Defrosting Features

The nuances of the process depend on the defrosting system (No Frost, drip technology), the design of the refrigerator (number of chambers and compressors) and the type of installation of the device (free-standing or built-in).

Built-in

When defrosting a built-in refrigerator, you need to pay special attention to ensure that water does not get on the furniture.

This causes swelling and deterioration of the chipboards from which kitchen units are made.

Penetration of moisture onto metal surfaces leads to corrosion and rust. The rest of the procedure depends on the defrosting system installed in this model.

No Frost System

Devices using this technology provide automatic defrosting of the freezer and refrigerator compartment. The evaporator is located behind the back wall or above the freezer. Air circulation inside the chamber is ensured by an integrated fan. Ice and frost do not appear on the walls, but only on the evaporator. The fan stops periodically to defrost the freezer. The heater turns on, and the melt water flows through the grooves into a special container, where it evaporates from the heat of the compressor.

Still, such refrigerators need to be defrosted at least once every six months. Water accumulating in the lower pan rots and becomes moldy, causing an unpleasant odor in the chamber. To clean and wash the internal surfaces, you need to disconnect the device from the power supply and defrost it. Models labeled No Frost are made by leading manufacturers of electrical appliances: Electrolux, Virpul, Stinol, Samsung, Bosch.

Double chamber

Let's analyze the process using the example of defrosting an Atlant refrigerator with a two-chamber design.

Step-by-step instruction:

Before defrosting, the Atlant refrigerator is disconnected from the network. Products are removed from the chamber. All removable equipment (containers, boxes, grilles) must also be removed.
Cleaning the internal surfaces is done with a hard sponge moistened with hot water. Unmelted ice shards are removed manually. The main attention should be paid to the upper chamber. In the lower compartment the ice falls off on its own. To speed up the process, you can lightly tap the camera body.
When there is no ice and frost left, dry the surfaces using a hairdryer. Hot air is directed evenly onto the inner walls. Hard-to-reach places can be wiped with a cotton napkin.
The thermostat is set to zero position. The device connects to the network. When the air cools to the required temperature, products are loaded into the chamber.

It is most convenient to defrost two-compressor, two-chamber refrigerators. They are 2 separate closed loop devices combined in one housing. You can turn off only the freezer while leaving the refrigerator compartment running, and vice versa. This solves the problem of food preservation. When defrosting one compartment, supplies are transferred to another. Thus, for example, you can defrost a two-chamber Indesit refrigerator with 2 compressors.

Manual defrosting of the refrigerator

A refrigerator repairman in Moscow advises that before defrosting the refrigerator, it must be disconnected from the power supply. After a power outage, all food and removable parts must be removed from the chambers. Since the evaporator has fragile elements, you should not use cutlery when defrosting in order to quickly remove ice from the freezer. It is worth waiting until the ice crust has completely melted and remove the resulting moisture with a dry, clean cloth.

Removable elements are washed with running water and dried well. For sanitization, the inside of the refrigerator is washed with warm water with the addition of baking soda, and then thoroughly wiped with a dry cloth. After defrosting and washing, reinstall all removable parts.

Before loading the refrigerator again with food and plugging it in, you need to leave it with the door open for 1.5-2 hours, reinsert the plug into the outlet and let it idle for a while. After the required temperature has been established in the freezer, you can reload the refrigerator with food.

Preparing for the defrosting process

Defrosting a refrigerator is a fairly lengthy process.
But, if you do everything correctly, you will be able to get rid of the ice coat that has formed and remove the unpleasant odor. A very important step when defrosting a refrigerator is its preparation. Do not neglect this stage, otherwise you risk getting a broken unit and spoiled products.

Before defrosting the refrigerator, it is necessary to cut off large chunks of ice.

How to prepare your refrigerator before defrosting it:

First of all, you need to turn the temperature indicator to minimum. Then you should unplug the refrigerator from the socket.
Remove absolutely all foods from the refrigerator. In the winter season, everything that you took out of the freezer can be taken to the balcony. To preserve food during the hot season, place it in a bowl and cover it with pre-prepared ice. Place the bowl of food in a dark place, such as a pantry.
Remove all shelves and vegetable trays from the refrigerator.
If your old refrigerator does not have containers for draining water, place a tray or basin at the bottom of the refrigerator compartment. Place a rag next to the basin. It will need to be squeezed out periodically.
If you have such an opportunity, then you can purchase a hose to drain the liquid. It is installed in a hole from which melt water pours out and placed in a basin. This way, you won't have to constantly wipe up the defrosted liquid.

In summer it is more difficult to defrost the refrigerator, since if there are perishable foods in the refrigerator, this process will have to be postponed. In winter, you can move the contents of the refrigerator to the balcony.

Also, do not defrost the refrigerator on hot days. The fact is that at elevated air temperatures, the unit will begin to fulfill the specified parameters too quickly, which can lead to damage to the compressor and thermostat. By following these simple preparation steps, you will be able to defrost your refrigerator quickly and correctly.

After you have removed the ice and snow from the freezer, you cannot immediately turn on the unit. First, it is necessary to carry out simple but very important finishing work.

After defrosting, the refrigerator must be washed

The last stages of defrosting the refrigerator:

Once you have completely removed the snow and ice from your refrigerator, you need to clean it of dirt and food debris. Manufacturers recommend using a special spray for this, but you can make an inexpensive DIY product. Mix half a glass of baking soda with the same amount of table vinegar. Add 2 tbsp to the resulting mixture. l rosemary ether. Treat the walls of the refrigerator, as well as all shelves and drawers, with the resulting solution. Leave the device like this for half an hour.
Wipe off any remaining solution with a dry cloth. Mix half a liter of warm water and two packets of vanillin. Use the resulting product to wash all components of the refrigerator.
Wipe all parts of the refrigerator with a dry soft cloth. Particular attention should be paid to seals.
Using a hairdryer or fan, dry all the shelves and drawers of the refrigerator completely.
Put all the shelves and drawers back in place and leave the refrigerator open for at least an hour.
Close the appliance door, set the temperature setting and turn it on.

Wait until the refrigerator has completely cooled down and place food on its shelves.

The frequency with which the refrigerator needs to be defrosted is directly related to the installed defrosting (thawing) system. The type of defrosting is indicated in the technical data sheet of the device, where you can easily find out the recommended defrosting frequency.

Refrigerators with a manual defrosting system have to be defrosted most often - at least once every six months, and preferably more often. Manufacturers recommend defrosting devices with a drip system approximately twice a year, additionally as needed.

Owners of units with the “No frost” system were the luckiest. Such refrigerators do not require special care, but manufacturers still recommend defrosting them once a year for cleaning.

Manual defrost

Used in freezers and low-temperature cabinets. All processes in such a system are performed manually: disconnecting from the network, heating frozen surfaces with a hairdryer, hot water or steam from a pressure cooker, removing melt water and connecting to the network.

Drip system

Found in most inexpensive modern refrigerators. Such models are also called “crying”. In them, periods of freezing and thawing alternate by turning on and off the compressor at certain intervals.

Ice forms on the evaporator, which is located on the rear wall. After the compressor is turned off, the temperature rises, condensation forms on the surface of the evaporator, which flows into the pan through special drains, where it then evaporates.

This is a more modern technology that protects walls from freezing. “No frost” involves automatic defrosting: a built-in fan distributes cold air currents throughout the refrigerator chamber, the moisture contained in them condenses in the form of frost on an evaporator hidden from us, which then heats up and drains the water into the tray, where it evaporates. In this case, no frost remains on the walls of the chamber.

How many hours it takes to defrost a refrigerator depends on the defrosting method. The natural thawing process takes from 3 to 12 hours.

Before you start defrosting your refrigerator, make the following preparations:

Do not start the procedure if the room temperature is too high - the device will take a long time to dial in the selected parameters, which may affect the service life of the compressor and other parts.
It is better to defrost when there is little food in the refrigerator (especially perishable food). If there is a lot of food and you have nowhere to put it during the procedure, put this idea aside.
Unplug your refrigerator before you start removing food - this will save time.
If the refrigerator model does not provide a container for draining thawed ice, install a tray or bowl under the refrigerator to collect water.
It is better to remove all shelves and drawers in advance so that they do not interfere with cleaning.

Some models, for example, Atlant and Liebherr, are equipped with two compressors at once. Each department in such refrigerators can be turned off independently of the other by setting the chamber switch to zero. This allows you to defrost the freezer separately from the main one. However, experts recommend completely defrosting the device at least once a year, regardless of the model.

In principle, any type of refrigerator is defrosted according to the scheme that we will describe further.

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There are small differences between No Frost and conventional refrigerators, but we will look at them separately below. Now, please familiarize yourself with the basics.

As you know, over time, a small layer of ice can form on the inside of your refrigerator. This reduces the efficiency of the device, adds money to your energy bill, and makes it difficult to turn on and off.

As we already wrote above, you need to put it in a basin, having previously wrapped it in fabric.

It's best if you put food that doesn't last long next to frozen meat or something that doesn't lose temperature for a long time. Then you don't have to look for the coldest place in the kitchen or

Take it out onto the balcony. Be sure to place foods that have a strong odor away from each other. For example, fish should not be placed in a common container at all, otherwise there is a high risk that all products will have a fishy smell.

Before defrosting your refrigerator, you need to think about whether you have cleaning supplies on hand. If there is nothing special to disinfect it and remove the smell, then you can use regular dish gel.

Do not wash the refrigerator with washing powders or other chemicals that smell strongly. Keep in mind that the smell will not disappear soon and you will have to eat cutlets with a chemical fragrance.

Our article has come to an end. We recommend that you do not neglect our advice, since the durability of the equipment directly depends on the frequency of defrosting.

Malfunctions due to snow crust inside the refrigerator

A thick snow crust that forms on the walls of the refrigerator can cause serious damage to it:

The internal heat exchange regime is disrupted, as a result the quality of freezing products deteriorates, and the entire cooling system may fail.
If the snow layer grips the rubber seals, the doors will not close well. Warm air getting inside will provoke the formation of even more frost, and also force the motor to turn on more often or even work continuously, which can cause it to overheat or wear out individual parts.
When trying to remove food frozen in ice, you can damage the plastic elements of the freezer or pierce its walls.

An ice crust appears in the refrigerator when hot foods are placed in it: this disrupts the temperature balance inside the chamber and provokes the formation of condensation. Before loading food, you must wait for it to cool to room temperature.

Proper defrosting of the Atlant two-chamber refrigerator will extend its service life and protect against unpleasant odors.

Do I need to defrost a refrigerator with No Frost?

Discussions about whether it is necessary to defrost a dry freeze refrigerator stop the moment it comes to the need to wash kitchen appliances - doing this with the appliance plugged in is simply unsafe. In addition, disconnection may be necessary in the following cases:

the need for service inspection of the device systems;
cleaning refrigerator ventilation systems (they are the basis for the operation of the dry freezing system);
Troubleshooting minor equipment problems.

Refrigeration service technicians disagree on how often a No Frost refrigerator should be defrosted. But most agree that a thorough inspection of equipment and cleaning of the device must be carried out at least once a year.

Note. It should be remembered that the refrigerator space, in which there are crumbs or leftover food, is a favorable environment for the development of microorganisms, so the cleanliness of the equipment must be monitored especially carefully.

When answering the question of how often to defrost a No Frost refrigerator, some housewives rely on the time of year: they turn off the unit once every three months in warm weather, once every six months in cold weather.

How to defrost an Atlant freezer

Despite the presence of a drip system in the refrigerator compartment, defrosting the Atlant freezer must still be done manually. Cleaning the coldest chamber of the device from excess ice is necessary in the following cases:

the layer of ice on its walls exceeds 3-5 mm;
A red light with an exclamation mark is on on the refrigerator control panel - a warning about the increase in temperature inside the device.

The instructions for defrosting the Atlant freezer are similar to the procedure for cleaning a two-chamber refrigerator. When tidying up your freezer, it is important to know that its top shelf is designed for quick freezing of food and is the coldest place of the entire appliance.

The lower tiers are designed for long-term storage and the temperature is higher. The chamber levels are separated by partitions through which cooling tubes pass. The most ice freezes on them. Therefore, in order to speed up the defrosting process, you should first remove the ice from the partitions.