7 Ways To Make Your Fridge And Freezer Last Longer

How To Know If Your Fridge-Freezer Needs Replacing

“There are definite tell-tale signs that a fridge has passed its use-by date, and the most obvious is if it stops keeping your food cold,” says Peter Simic, The Good Guys Buyer – Refrigeration and Laundry. “It’s also worth considering an upgrade if your fridge is leaking, rattling excessively or struggling to regulate temperature in either the fridge or freezer.”

Wondering whether you should repair or replace your broken fridge? Peter has this golden rule: “Some fridge problems can be very expensive to fix. So, if the cost of the repair is more than half the cost of a new fridge, you’re usually better off replacing it.”

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Best New Fridge-Freezer Features

Opting for an upgrade? Great! Now you can take advantage of all the next-gen fridge tech and stylish design features that make the latest fridge-freezers the coolest yet. As a matter of fact, have you seen the new customisable fridges by Samsung? Très chic!

If it’s smart tech you’re after, you’ll want a fridge with Wi-Fi connectivity. It lets you check your inventory from your smartphone, crank tunes in your kitchen and even auto-fill your water jug. Cheers!

Need flexibility? Look for a model with reversible doors, adjustable shelving, and convertible cooling that lets you switch the temperature in a drawer between cooling and freezing at the touch of a button.

Want a fridge that impresses even the experts? Here, Peter Simic shares the fridge features he can't live without.

Top Tips For Making Your Fridge Last Longer

Whether you’re wanting to keep the shine on a brand-new fridge or eke more life out of a veteran, these are some simple steps you can take to keep your ace appliance working at its best.

#1 Clean It Inside And Out

Wiping up sticky milk spills, rinsing out produce drawers and binning funky-smelling food isn’t just a big tick for hygiene – it will keep your fridge happy too. A regular wipe-down of internal and external parts will keep seals holding strong, which is essential for keeping cool air in.

#2 Keep The Top Of The Fridge Clear

It’s tempting to store bits and bobs on the top of the fridge, but this can actually trap hot air, forcing it to work harder to maintain optimum temperatures inside – which spells greater wear and tear over time.

#3 Dust The Coils

Condenser coils at the back of your fridge cool and condense refrigerant to keep things chilly inside. They’re also prone to collecting dust, dirt and grime since they’re tucked away and not within easy reach to clean. So, make sure you get in there every so often and give them a gentle wipe to keep them performing their best.

#4 Don’t Over Or Under-Stack It

Pack in too much food and you restrict cool air from flowing throughout the cavity; not enough, and your fridge is working hard to cool food that isn’t there, wasting energy and costing you money at bill time. See here for how to pack your fridge for maximum freshness.

#5 Keep It Away From Heat Sources

This is a big one for enhancing energy efficiency and lifespan. Where possible, install your fridge away from the stove, oven and dishwasher. It just makes sense that it will have to work harder if it's battling against the heat to stay cool.

#6 Give It Breathing Space

“Hiding your fridge away inside or behind custom cabinetry is a sleek look for your kitchen, but you don’t want it to suffocate in the space,” says Peter Simic. “To avoid overheating, leave at least 5cm of space on each side, 10cm on top and 5cm at the back.”

#7 Stay On Top Of Small Maintenance Issues…

…before they become big (and expensive) problems! Leaky seals, dodgy temperatures and strange noises should be checked out as soon as possible. Some Wi-Fi-connected fridges will let you monitor remotely via an app to address maintenance or troubleshoot issues.