Question: Do I really need to vacuum my refrigerator coils?

So you cleaned out the veggie drawer, and the suspicious liquid pooled on the second shelf of your refrigerator. There are no more translucent lettuce leaves or suspicious leftovers in your refrigerator, but is it really clean? Unless you regularly vacuum your refrigerator coils, your cleaning isn't done.

Answer: First, it's helpful to understand what job your refrigerator coils do. A refrigerator pulls out all the hot air from the inside of the refrigerator, but it has to do something with that extra heat. It releases the heat slowly into the kitchen at a steady rate through the refrigerator coils. If a thick layer of dust forms around the coils, they will not function properly. Instead, the heat will be retained, shortening the life of your refrigerator as it struggles to release the hot air through coils insulated with dust and dirt.

Refrigerator coils are often located at the bottom of the refrigerator under a grill. Sometimes they may be located at the top or on the back of the refrigerator.

For most residential areas, vacuuming the refrigerator coils at least twice a year, is plenty. Areas with more dust and/or heat may need more frequent cleaning.

Before you begin cleaning the refrigerator coils, unplug the refrigerator. To vacuum the coils, use a crevice attachment on your vacuum cleaner. There are even specialty refrigerator crevice tools available that can be bought at home supply stores.

Doing this simple chore seasonally can extend the life of your refrigerator and protect your food.

 

Source: About.com