Why is My Refrigerator Noisy?

refrigerator noisy

Strange sounds coming out of a refrigerator is one of our most common customer calls. That means our technicians know exactly how to diagnose the issue and correct it. Call Five Star Appliance Repair today! The #1 Yucaipa refrigerator repair service.

A loud refrigerator is extremely annoying. If the refrigerator in your house is a little louder than normal there are some easy place that you can check while attempting to find a solution. There are a lot of fans on a refrigerator that might create strange sounds. The appliance might also not be level too. Or you might have a compressor wearing down. If your refrigerator is louder when the ice maker is working, the noises could be a broken a water valve.

There are one or two obvious components that need to be checked. Like is the refrigerator too full? A refrigerator that is too might cause glass bottles and other food items to clink together. This will create a lot of unpleasant sounds inside the refrigerator that’s not ideal because the refrigerator is on and naturally producing a minor vibration.

If you own a model of refrigerator that has a water dispenser or ice maker but don’t have the water hooked up, be sure you turned off the water dispenser and the ice maker. There is typically a button on the dispenser on the refrigerator that can be used to turn off the dispenser. And with the ice maker, you simply need to lift the bar inside of it. If the refrigerator was installed very close to a wall in the kitchen, it will cause the standard running sound to seem louder. This is a result of the echo of the sound of the refrigerator. Pull the refrigerator out a bit from the kitchen wall and see if that helps at all. A refrigerator needs to be about 2 inches away from the back wall to lower the noise.

If it’s not one of these basic and easy fixes, it is time to explore the issue further. Most of the time, the refrigerator fans are the cause of a refrigerator that’s loud. There are fan blades that sometimes get dirty and clogged. There are times the fan motors do as well. There is a condenser fan in the refrigerator and an evaporator on refrigerators too. Sometimes the condenser fan gets a coating of dust on it and needs to be cleaned on a regular basis. If it builds up and gets too heavy it might wear out the bearings inside of the refrigerator fan’s motor.

Clean the Fan & Refrigerator Condenser Coils

First, the refrigerator. A lot of the time you will want to have a wrench or screwdriver to remove the back panel from the refrigerator. As soon as it is exposed you’ll notice a fan inside. If it is full of dust and dirt, find a cloth and gently wipe it off. While you are in there check the coils too. These are usually near there and covered in the same dust and grime that the fan is. Wiping down the coils only takes a couple of minutes and it will certainly help the refrigerator run efficiently. This is a very common issue that causes a refrigerator to run non-stop.

Spin the fan blades. Do they spin freely? If not the fan motor bearings are broken. This is an easy repair, as the fan assembly is usually a component that can be purchased online and can be replaced by simply disconnecting it. But, before doing this, be sure the refrigerator isn’t plugged in. Do the same process for the evaporator fan, which is typically located behind the freezer unit. This isn’t typically the issue, as this fan is concealed by being inside the walls of the refrigerator. But, if the sounds are coming from the top of the refrigerator that is the place to look.

If you think it might be the compressor, the large, typically black or gray object beneath the refrigerator near the coils, we recommend calling Five Star Appliance Repair. That’s not a repair a homeowner should try.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES