White goods don’t tend to be front of mind until they’re causing problems, but an expert has warned that you ought to be mindful of one in particular during a heatwave.
Fridges work by creating controlled internal environments with a vacuum-like seal provided by the door. Over time, those seals can start to degrade and the vacuum effect may fail, making the fridge work doubly hard to maintain their cold internal temperatures.
While temperatures have briefly dropped, it seems that we’re in for a very hot summer in the UK. Temperatures have already exceeded 30 degrees centigrade in some parts of the country, and we’re not even into July yet.
With that in mind, external temperatures combined with worn fridge seals mean there’s a higher likelihood of your fridge either failing to keep your food cold, or burning themselves out altogether.
Even if your fridge can overpower the outside temperature and maintain a cold environment, doing so without a vacuum is very power intensive and will likely send your energy bill soaring.
Speaking to the Express, Beko UK’s head of product management Salah Sun has shared a tip for checking whether your fridge’s seal is strong enough to maintain the vacuum.
“One issue that may arise with your fridge is wear and tear on the door seal,” said Sun.
“A worn-out door seal can prevent the refrigerator door from closing properly, causing the cooling system to work harder to keep your groceries fresh. This can lead to increased energy consumption and potential damage to your fridge and its temperature settings.
“Heat entering your fridge can overwhelm its cooling capabilities, especially during blazing summer days.”
If your fridge is a couple of years old, it’s worth checking that the seal is forming properly. Sun shared a simple trick for checking just that.
“To check if your fridge door is functioning correctly, use a piece of paper,” he said.
“Place the paper against the door seal and close the door. When you try to pull the paper out, you should feel some resistance. If the paper slides out easily, your door seal may need replacing.”
It’s a simple hack that’s worth a try even if your fridge is relatively new. As with the temperatures, the cost of living isn’t showing any signs of dropping. With that in mind it’s a case of being better off safe than sorry, and if you’re unsure whether your energy usage makes much sense then a dodgy fridge seal could be the root of your problems.
Featured Image Credit: onurdongel/Getty Images
Rachael Davis