Dealing with a broken refrigerator is a major pain, especially during bad weather when you can't necessarily get out of the house to buy food or call for delivery service. Knowing both the subtle and the more obvious signs that your refrigerator is starting to fail can help you to take care of the damage before the appliance totally breaks and you lose a fridge-worth of food.
Unusual Noises
While refrigerators do make some level of noise, you need to know what's normal and what's not. Pay attention to any changes in the noise patterns of your refrigerator. Also, be aware of any unusual sounds. Of course, do check to ensure that the sound is not easily solvable. For example, some people don't realize that their refrigerators beep when left open for too much until the first time this situation occurs. When you buy a new refrigerator, ask about this feature so that you aren't startled.
Warm Food
Warm food inside of your refrigerator is a sure sign that the appliance is not cooling properly. For example, if you take the meat out of the freezer, that food should be frozen. If the food is simply a bit chilly or warm in any way, then either your fridge isn’t running or something is wrong with it. Once you become aware of how warm your food is, it’s probably best to throw it out as soon as you can. Since the food wasn’t being kept cold and depending on how long that was the case, it’s very easy for you to get sick should you try to eat it. After that, it’s important that you call for sub zero refrigerator repair right away.
Strange Smells
Of course, rotting food could lead to an unusual smell in the refrigerator, as could failing to clean it regularly. However, a device could also be malfunctioning. You might, for example, smell smoke or electrical burning coming from the fridge. These situations are serious and potentially deadly. You must call the emergency services and get yourself, your family, and your pets out of the house.
Tripped Breaker
A refrigerator is supposed to be on a dedicated line in the house. A variety of reasons exist as to why the breaker that the appliance is on could trip. However, you should have the issue checked out by both an electrician and an appliance repair person. By doing so, you can make sure that no issues exist with the breaker, the electricity in the house, or the refrigerator itself. If this issue keeps happening, however, you will need to hire professionals who can investigate further.
Your refrigerator is a critically important appliance in the house. Without this appliance, you won't be able to keep the food you need for the week cold or properly feed yourself or your family. Thus, you want to respond as soon as you notice a problem might exist, as the sooner you notice the less time your food has to go bad and the problem has to get worse.
