Unless you’re okay with your food spoiling, a working refrigerator should be an indispensable part of your home. Fortunately, high-quality refrigerators can even last up to a decade. However, this can make it hard to tell when it’s time to take it for maintenance—or even replace it with a new unit. Indeed, you shouldn’t hesitate to go get a new fridge when your old one its clearly on its last legs. Luckily, it’s even easier now to get new appliances without leaving your home, with plenty of reputable online appliance stores now in business.
Today, we even have easy access to great references that point us to a wide variety of shopping options, like this article here: https://www.homestratosphere.com/online-appliance-stores/. However, prematurely disposing of your fridge might just end up being an unnecessary cost to you. That’s why it’s also important to be sure that moving on to a new one is the best choice to make. To help you decide, here are five telltale signs that you should consider before replacing your refrigerator with a new one:
The Motor Has Become Noticeably Noisy
When performing at its best, a fridge’s motor slows down and speeds up accordingly to best regulate its internal temperature. Sound-wise, this translates to an overall steady hum with some bursts where it gets louder. This is when the motor tries harder to regulate the temperatures. But when your refrigerator starts sounding like it’s running at full speed all the time, then it might be time to have it looked at.
Unfortunately, a busted motor is something you can’t and shouldn’t fix on your own. What’s more, it can end up causing other issues if left unfixed. If having this problem addressed will end up causing more headaches than just getting a new unit, then it’ll definitely be time for a replacement.
Your Freezer is Frosting Up Too Much
Another common sign of a declining refrigerator is an increased amount of frost buildup in the freezer. This is usually a common thing that happens and will require a defrost in most cases. For older fridges, you’ll need to unplug the unit until the ice in the freezer melts. Once you turn it back on, you should then observe whether it will continue to happen. And if the same issue continues to show up with more and more frequency, then it might be more convenient to get a new fridge. What’s more, most new refrigerators now come with a built-in auto-defrosting feature to prevent frost buildup from happening in the first place.
You’re Starting to Notice Some Condensation
When moisture begins to collect on the outside of your refrigerator, then it’s a definite sign that there’s something wrong. This is sometimes described as appearing like the fridge is “sweating.” Most of the time, this is caused by the degradation of the rubber sealings around the door.
Sometimes, this is an issue that you might be able to fix on your own. You can try reinforcing the gaskets or perhaps replace the sealing with a similar kit from a nearby hardware store. When left unaddressed, this issue can encourage the growth of mold and make it harder for the fridge to regulate the temperature. This then might lead to the next sign of a malfunctioning refrigerator.
Food Has Been Spoiling Faster
Once you’ve noticed that your food is going bad faster, then your fridge may be having a harder time keeping itselft at ideal temperatures. This might also result in drinks taking longer to get cold. Whether the cause is a bad motor or faulty gaskets, this also has the added negative effect of decreasing the fridge’s overall energy efficiency.
A refrigerator that has become bad at storing food while also unnecessarily adding to your electricity bill might not be worth keeping around. Indeed, if it’s no longer accomplishing its main purpose, then getting a new unit should be heavily considered.
Simply Put: Your Fridge Has Become Too Old
Any machine slowly breaks down over time. When it comes to refrigerators, this can result in many of the signs that we’ve just discussed. But these days, it’s just also faster for appliances to get outdated due to continuing technological developments. Indeed, they get more and more efficient almost every year, with some smart features also added to make life more convenient. So if you see a deal on a new feature-packed fridge with a higher Energy Star rating than the one you currently have, don’t hesitate.
If your old refrigerator has been exhibiting a lot of troublesome signs or has required more visits by a technician lately, then it might be time to move on. It’s best to remember that newer appliances are always more efficient than older ones—even in their original brand-new state. So if you’re seeing more and more signs that your fridge is getting worst at doing its job, then it might be the ideal time to get it replaced.
