Fridges & Freezers

The ideal temperature to keep your fridge at should be between 3°C and 5°C. This will keep all your food in the best condition, helping them to last longer. Just keep in mind that any changes you make to your fridge’s temperature take 24 hours to fully adjust.
If your fridge is set between these temperatures and you start to notice issues such as food being frozen or too warm, ice forming on the fridge’s walls, or condensation, then it may be time to look for a replacement.

If your fridge doesn’t have a temperature dial, then chances are it has temperature settings ranging from 1 to 5 – the higher the number, the colder the fridge.
Knowing which level is best for you depends on how full you keep your fridge. If you pack it full during a monthly big shop, then colder settings like 3 or 4 are ideal. But if you tend to not keep much in there, anywhere around 2 should suffice.
If you start to see ice forming, then that’s usually a good sign to lower the setting as it could cause an issue with the fridge’s internal thermostat.

If your fridge is freezing your food, then it’s a sign that it could be feeling a bit poorly. But, before you start looking for a replacement, there’re a few things you can check for a quick fix.

The ideal temperature for a fridge is between 3°C and 5°C. So, if it’s any lower it could be why everything is freezing. A handy way to check is to pop a glass of water on the top shelf for 24 hours. After that, take it out and pop a thermometer in. If it doesn’t read within two degrees of your chosen temperature, then the temperature sensor may need replacing.

Your fridge uses vents to circulate cold air through the cabinet. If there’s no room for proper airflow, then your food could be exposed to lower temperatures than intended. Luckily, you just need to rearrange your shopping to make sure nothing is blocking these vents.

Your fridge door has seals around it that keep cold air in, this means the fridge doesn’t have to work too hard to keep things cool. However, if this is damaged, then your fridge will be working overtime to try and maintain the temperature. Unfortunately, this can lead to an overcorrection that leads to your food being frozen.

To check for a leaky door seal, we recommend the paper test. Simply pop a piece of paper between the door and the fridge and close it. Then try to remove the paper, if it comes away easily, then an airtight seal hasn’t been formed and you should look to repair the door seal.

If you’re looking to dispose of an old fridge freezer, then it needs to be taken to a house waste recycling centre. This is because the gases kept within the appliance need to be safely extracted before it can be recycled. Definitely not a job for the bin men!
Fortunately, if you’re ordering a fridge freezer from us, we’ve got a handy collect & recycle service. Our drivers will take your old appliance away and take it to our recycling centre and feed it to Bertha - she eats about 100 fridges in an hour and recycles 700,000 every year. So, find out more about our recycling service and let our team save you a trip to the tip.

Defrosting a fridge is as simple as turning the appliance off at the wall and propping the door open – just make sure you take any food out first. Frosty build-ups can lead to bad odours and even affect the efficiency of your appliance, so defrosting every now and again can save you a few pennies.

You can find out how much electricity a fridge freezer uses every year by looking at the product data sheet. For example, one of our A-rated fridge freezers uses approximately 109kWh per year.
If you want to know how much this will cost you, the YourEko energy-saving tool compares our products to help you see how much you could save. You can even estimate how much it’ll cost by adding your current tariff and how many years you plan on using it.