silly question but how do you defrost a fridge freezer?

leanne_1987 | 12:22 Wed 20th Jul 2011 | Home & Garden

14 Answers

my freezer has been making a loud buzzing noise for about a week now so thought i'd try defrosting it, but what have you actually got to do other than take the food out and opening the door? do i turn the whole thing off? if so wont the food in fridge go off? and roughly how long will it take?

weird fuchsia

Broken washing machine?

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cupid04

Have you got some cold bags? that will keep it frozen for a couple of hours while you defrost it.

plautus

Being a helpless male, defrosting the fridge freezer ranks second in the tasks from Hell, surpassed only by having to change the duvet cover.

razza

When I used to defrost a freezer,I used hairdryer and pans of hot water,did the trick quite quick so there was no need to panic about the contents.My last 2 fridge freezers have been those frost free ones,brilliant.

leanne_1987

Question Author

ive put all my frozen stuf into my other freezer, ust wondered if i turned it off at wall will my fridge stuff be ok?

whiskeryron

if you have room stack everything tight in Fridge & don't open door 'till freezer running again ( leave milk out for cups of tea)
Ron.

Barmaid

Keep your fridge door closed and don't open it unless necessary and the food should maintain a reasonably cold temperature.

chelle7272

I use the steam cleaner on mine, melts away in no time. If it's going to take longer maybe wait until you can run down the contents a bit, or use cold bags as cupid says. then yes switch it all off while it defrosts.

leanne_1987

Question Author

thanks all, wasnt as bad as i thought, it is actually a frost free one turned out if was a big block ice stopping the fan from working properly so ust chipped that away although its still making a slight noise

Clanad

Actually, I suspect your problems are just starting rather than being solved...
A "frost-free" freezer/fridge combo (at least here in the U.S.) is, in reality, an automatic defrost type. It goes through a cycle every so often wherein a heating device installed in the freezer section (you can't see it, it's behind a panel) comes on and melts any ice accumulated on it. The melted water runs down to a drain in the bottom and out into a catch pan. From there it simply evaporates, and cycle starts all over again.
Thing is, if you truly have a "frost-free" model and you had to chip away ice, then the auto defrost function has gone t.u. I could explain how to fix it, but it would exceed the 4,000 word limit here... call a repairman... it shouldn't cost much. Often the "heating devices" are nothing more than small (about an inch in diameter, longish (5 inches) tubes that look like the skinny desk light bulbs... sometimes they just wear out...