What you and your staff can do

While professional maintenance is important for the health of your commercial fridges and freezers, it is often the regular actions of you and your staff that have the biggest impact on your appliance's operational efficiency and lifespan.

Embedding good practise into your staff training is an effective way to ensure everyone is taking responsibility for keeping your fridges and freezers in excellent working order. For example, make sure everybody who opens a fridge or freezer door:

• Wipes up any spillages and excess moisture to minimise mould growth and ice build-up.
  Checks for frost build-up.
• Checks there is space between stored items and the sides and back of the appliance.
• Feels the interior temperature and notes if it seems too warm or cold.
• Listens carefully and reports any unusual sounds or silence.
• Reports back any concerns.
• This vigilance will help you to spring into action at the first sign of any problems with your appliances.

Regular cleaning is the second aspect of fridge and freezer maintenance that you and your staff can control.

We have written several articles on how to clean your fridges and freezers in our blog (so review them for specifics), but here is a brief summary:

• Take out all removable shelves and trays. Wash them in the sink with some warm water and detergent. Dry them thoroughly afterwards.
• Wipe down the interior of the fridge and freezer and dry thoroughly. Again, a cloth with warm water and detergent is often sufficient, but you may want to use a soft toothbrush to dislodge stubborn debris.
• If water and soap isn't working, try a vinegar solution. Never use harsh chemicals (e.g., strong bleach or ammonia) in your fridge or freezer.
• Don't use sharp or abrasive materials to clean your appliance.
• Pay attention to your fridge's condenser coils (these are usually exposed to the air at the back, bottom or top of your fridge). Regular dusting, vacuuming and wiping these down will help keep your appliance working efficiently, keeping bills down.
  

Twice yearly servicing: what you can expect

We recommend you set up a professional maintenance contract with your appliance provider or a third party with at least one visit every six months. Ask your service team for a detailed break down of what they will do.

This will usually include:

• Checks for refrigerant leaks and to ensure the levels are optimal. By law, this must be carried out by an F-Gas certified technician.
• Deep clean of condenser and evaporator coils.
• Inspection of fan blades and motors, replacing any that are not working properly.
• Thermostat calibration.
• Checking controls are functioning.
• Checking and clearing air filters and valves. Replacing faulty parts.
• Draining pans and tubes of excess water.
• Checking door seals (gaskets).

How to maintain your fridge and freezer seals

You do not need to wait until your six-monthly service to check the integrity of your fridge and freezer door seals. We recommend you inspect them every time you clean your appliances because a faulty seal will quickly lead to warm air entering your fridge or freezer interior. This will force your compressor to work harder, pushing up bills. It will also introduce humidity that will turn to ice and provide ideal conditions for mould growth.

Carefully inspect the entire length of your door seals for cracks, debris and areas where there are gaps between the seal and frame. Dirty gaskets can often be revived with a thorough clean, and twisted gaskets can sometimes be manipulated back into place with some gentle heat from a low-powered hairdryer. But if your gaskets have become too rigid to move or have tears or splits, you will need to order a replacement.

For more advice on caring for your gaskets, see our door seal maintenance page.