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Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Housekeeping

Please help - my fridge is no longer cold!

19 replies

gilmoregirl · 10/08/2012 12:41

Last night I noticed that my fridge was not as cold as usual. Checked the thermometer and it was showing 11 degrees. I got out the manual and tried to reset temperature.

This morning it showed 13 degrees....

It is a John Lewis Fridge Freezer (luckily the freezer still seems to be working) 1808.

Of course it is no longer under guarantee. The cannot send an engineer out until Tuesday.

Does anyone have any idea what I can do?

Thanks a lot

OP posts:

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savoycabbage · 10/08/2012 12:42

Is there enough space around it? I mean, is it to close to the wall?

headfairy · 10/08/2012 12:43

Are you getting lots of water collecting at the bottom? Could the drainage valve at the bottom be blocked? It doesn't usually cause my fridge to go warm, but maybe your fridge is different. You need to get a cotton bud and dig out all the goo in there if it is blocked.

Obviously you can't eat anything that's been kept in a fridge at 10 degrees all night. It won't be safe to eat any more.

Maamekin · 10/08/2012 12:46

Is the door shutting properly - is there anything stuck in the door seal or any gaps that would be letting air in (sorry if this is really obvious and you have already looked!)

I would automatically throw away any raw meat, but I would have thought most other things would still be safe to eat (depending on what they look/smell like).

gilmoregirl · 10/08/2012 12:51

Thank you!

The door is definitely shutting ok. Will try pulling it a bit further away from the wall when I get home.

There was water leaking out of the back for a few days but I worked out where it was coming from and wiped it with some kitchen roll. I will try again with a cotton bud.

In the manual it says there is a temperature alert alarm but that had not gone off and it is now at 13 degrees - how much higher can it get - that is practically room temperature (in my house!)

The only meat in there at the moment is bolognaise sauce which is defrosting so hopefully ok. The milk smells ok but the fridge itself no longer smells right.

Oh dear. Will have to cancel my tesco order as no where to store food until engineering can come

OP posts:

soaccidentprone · 10/08/2012 12:53

Ours does this too. I thought at first that maybe the thermostat has gone. heating engineer came out. Told us to turn the whole thing off and defrost the freezer as too much ice was building up in the back of the fridge! Leave it for a couple of days clean out any water in the bottom and then plug it in again.

We have to do this once a year now and it works fine.
Hope this works for you?

gilmoregirl · 10/08/2012 13:08

thanks soaccidentprone, think I should try that before I pay for an engineer....that would make total sense. I cannot see any frost but have not defrosted for two years.

Only problem is my freezer is full to bursting point and is still working. hmmm maybe a need to have a party and get lots of people round to eat everything ot try to find someone willing to store a freezer worth of food for a day or two!

OP posts:

PigletJohn · 11/08/2012 12:07

You can cook thawed meat and fish, and re-freeze the cooked dish.

Put it all, double wrapped, in a big pile or preferablr a big cardboard box, and wrap that, and it will stay cold for longer.

Melted ice cream is no good, so eat all that.

Pick your most expensive items if you are going to ask friends and neighbours to store a bit.

If you are doing a manual defrost, then unless you have a frost-free freezer (which may have the internal ducts at the back blocked with ice) it should only take a couple of hours.

If you can, pull it away from the wall and clean out the evaporation dish on top of the motor, and the plastic drain tubes. Turn off the power first and do let let water splash or drip onto any electrical part.

Keep it open until no more water drips, inside the cabinet or round the back.

PigletJohn · 11/08/2012 12:13

p.s.

check your House Contents insurance for "loss of frozen food"

it might only apply in the event of a power cut. List the contents as you take them out and phone the insurers to see if they want to inspect it.

ILoveOnionRings · 11/08/2012 12:17

Ours has done this before and it is because there has been too much ice built up at the back of the bottom drawer of the freezer - we have to regulalry get rid of the ice built up (maybe exaggarating every 2 - 3 months) and the fridge works fine. DH looked up the problem on the internet as we thought at the beginning we would need to get a new fridge/freezer and it is a common fault with the model that we bought.

workhomelifebalanceisrubbish · 14/08/2012 16:09

Similar thing happened with ours..turned out it needed re-gassing after 2 failed engineer visits-
Was 5 years old-hotpoint.

meep · 14/08/2012 16:22

We had this too. DH found a video on YouTube on how to defrost the fridge. Turned out the fan was encased in ice. It is now working perfectly!

Mins · 27/07/2013 10:02

Hi gilmoregirl just found this thread as we have the same problem with our fridge which is also a John Lewis fridge freezer. It's been on 20 degrees for the last day or so - should have rung for service yesterday but was out all day and now of course can't even get in touch with anyone until Monday. Am going to have to throw out everything in there I think - smells bad. Problem with fridge but freezer Ok - was just wondering how you sorted out the problem with yours?

Twostep · 27/07/2013 10:06

What type of thermostat setting is it? Could be something be knocking it or turning it to another setting? We had this with a bottle of soya sauce that was on the top shelf and kept knocking the settings. DH then decided it wasn't cold enough so turned it full blast. I turned it down and we had snow all down the back.

Ours is rammed too. And in this hot weather I'm assuming the poor motor is working extra hard.

Mins · 27/07/2013 11:01

Thanks twostep but our thermostat setting is on the outside at the top so that's not a problem. Smells bad am now going to have to throw contents of fridge away!

whatshallwedo · 27/07/2013 20:40

Have you checked the fan isn't iced up? Our fridge freezer outside did this and I thought we would have to get a new one but it seems as though the heat has defrosted the fan before I had a chance to look at it and now it is working again.

dandydorset · 28/07/2013 20:30

totally agree with he de icing had this to,suppose to be a frost free fridge/freezer but defrost ever 7months or so,now no problems

how did you get on op

LORNA1961 · 10/11/2016 15:51

Bosch KSR38N11GB/01 fridge temperature is always WARM and hardly ever COLD. Recently purchased and not happy. Would like to resolve situation has anyone else had such issues?

lythewood · 23/01/2017 00:37

I have JLFF2007. I searched the internet for a solution to the problem of the fridge not remaining at 6 degrees.
I defrosted and left to dry out for three days with all the inconvenience that caused in the kitchen. It started up again and was fine for several months and then it happened again. It has now happened 6 times three times in the last 2 months. I have finally lost patience and have decide to buy a new fridge of a different make. There is, it seems to me, a design fault with this fridge freezer. It's a shame because I am a great fan of John Lewis products (this model made by AEG I think).

Likefootball · 03/06/2020 13:10

As it's out of gaurantee , it may be more cost effective to replace, repairs are expensive.

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