How to Manually Defrost Your Refrigerator / Freezer
If your refrigerator has just stopped chilling things, it’s time to take immediate action! Instead of calling a service technician and paying up to $200 or more, do it yourself! I will explain how in this easy-to-follow how-to guide….
My Refrigerator Problems
About two months ago I noticed that my refrigerator didn’t seem to be chilling things very cool. Instead of getting really cold drinks out of the frig, it seemed as if they were just a little chilled. This caught my attention, because I personally prefer very cold drinks, etc. However, being as busy as I am, I hoped to find a quick solution and move on. So, I decided with some advice that perhaps I just had too much stuff in my refrigerator and freezer and that this was preventing enough cool air from the freezer getting to the refrigerator section. This seemed like a good solution. However, I had some problems again a couple of weeks later, and so I turned my refrigerator to the coldest setting.
Two weeks ago, I noticed that although my freezer was working fine, my refrigerator was not. Nothing was chilled at all in there! Additionally, I noticed that the back inside wall of my freezer had a one inch coating of what looked like shaved ice! I don’t have a lot of technical knowledge, but I knew this wasn’t good.
Checking for Solutions
Because I am on a tight budget, I instantly decided I would have to find an inexpensive solution to this problem. I didn’t want to have to buy a new refrigerator! This would have cost a minimum of $400 and about a $50 monthly payment to pay it off in one year. If you read one of my other articles, you’ll see that I am already paying for this computer and a new washer (hopefully being paid for by the writing of my articles), and so I can’t afford to add anything else.
The first thing I did was to look online to see if I could find a solution. What I found, from some articles, was that most likely I had a problem relating to the defrosting of my refrigerator. My refrigerator had failed to defrost as of late, and so the system was frozen and not working properly.
What’s the Problem? I also found out that certain things could have caused this problem. It could be a defrost problem caused by a certain component of the defrost system not working. This would usually either be the defrost timer or the defrost heater. Otherwise, it could have been that I just left open my refrigerator door, and the system went on overload and everything froze up. Finally, it could be that when I turned the setting to the coldest, it froze everything.
So, basically, if it were either of the two latter, that I left open the door or turned the setting too cool, it might be something that could be fixed without any new parts. If a component was broken, this would require replacing that part.
Fixing the Problem
This article will focus on the first two issues, where no extra parts are needed, and show you how to fix the problem. Because I am not technical and hope this information will provide useful to others who also may not be technically oriented, the explanation will be as simple and straightforward as possible. The one thing to keep in mind is that this is truly a relatively simple process that you can do yourself, if you are careful and exert the effort…..
1. The first step is to take everything out of your refrigerator and freezer. I would suggest finding a neighbor to let you put your things in their refrigerator/freezer while you undergo this defrost process. The process does take about two hours to complete. You could, as an alternative, just take things out of your freezer and leave them in the refrigerator. Just be aware that during the defrost the ice will melt into the refrigerator and cause a puddle on the bottom level. You could cover things up with a towel or plastic bag.
2. Put some towels down behind your refrigerator on the ground as well. Most likely, the pan underneath will not hold all the water that melts from the defrost.
3. Unplug the refrigerator/ freezer. Once you have everything out of your freezer, you will see a back panel that is screwed in about four places. It covers the whole back wall of the freezer. At one spot, there will be a little window/door with a fifth screw. On the bottom of the freezer, there is a panel covering the bottom also. This should have two white fasteners at the front of the freezer.
4. Start by pulling out the white fasteners, by hand. This should free up the bottom panel for you to remove it.
5. Then, unscrew the five screws on the back panel. You may wish to use a screw gun to do this for you, especially if the screws are tight or stuck.
6. Remove the back panel once you have removed the screws.
7. Once you do this, you should see a frozen block of ice across the whole back of the freezer. Depending on how long the problem has existed, you may or may not be able to see the coils of the refrigerator.
8. Your goal is to melt all of this ice. It doesn’t happen quickly. It takes about two hours with a hair dryer or more. If you don’t have anything you need chilled soon, you could let it melt naturally by having the machine unplugged for a couple of days. If not, you just start moving the hair dryer back and forth along the ice.
9. As you are working, it can help to get a knife or somewhat sharp object and start breaking away at the ice. You want to make sure not to break the coils, as they are flimsy somewhat. Also, be careful not to cut yourself on the edge of a coil (I did this myself so beware!). Move the dryer back and forth so you don’t melt any plastic pieces or the coils.
10. Once you have melted all the ice and removed it, soak up the water with towels.
11. Put the back panel back on, lining up the areas where the screws will go.
12. Put the screws back in and screw them tight.
13. Put on the bottom panel, and stick in the two white fasteners.
14. Plug the refrigerator backin.
15. Make sure you have the coldness setting to medium, to make sure you don’t create the problem all over again.
16. Wait and see. If in a couple of days, both refrigerator and freezer are working, this probably solved your problem. You will need to check for an ice buildup along the back of the freezer wall again, as well as for the refrigerator not cooling properly, for about another month.
There you are! You did it all yourself and saved yourself a service call!
If it turns out that the problem returns, you may have a problem with either the defrost timer or the defrost heater. If it’s the defrost timer, it needs to be reset or replaced, but that’s for another article. If its the defrost heater, it needs replaced. The defrost heater works to warm up the freezer every so often so that the frozen mess doesn’t happen. The defrost timer is what tells the heater when to do this. For more, read this article. Good luck!
