How do I clean coils?

It is very important to clean condenser coils on forced-air refrigerators such as side-by-side and built-in models at least twice a year (if you have a refrigerator with the black coils mounted on the back, these coils don't require semi-annual cleaning). Here's how to do it: 1) Pull the refrigerator away from the wall and unplug it or, if it's a built-in model, turn off its circuit breaker. 2) Remove the cover panel to reveal the coils. On most models, the kick plate or top trim plate simply lifts off. You may have to remove a few screws to remove a back cover. 3) With a long, narrow nozzle on your vacuum, clean out all of the dust and debris (at an appliance parts store, you can also buy a special, long-handled brush that looks somewhat like a bottle brush for this job). 4) Replace the cover, and then plug the electrical cord back in or turn the circuit back on.

I\'ve been struggling trying to keep our 2 goldens dog hair from the coils of our 8 year old Kenmore side by side with "W" compressor coils, but like everyone else was unable to clean past the first set of coils.



I came up with this solution that worked to get much of the big stuff, hair and bunnies, off of the further back coils. Not perfect but much better than nothing.



Removing the back lower panel I was able to snake a crevice attachment from our vacuum down the right side of the coils (left side looking from back)



Looking from front"





I made a compressed air contraption to blow the dust/hair across the coils using a compressed air nozzle that I added a 10" long tube and a 90 degree deflector





From the front of the fridge, on the left side of the coils, I snaked the compressed air nozzle towards the back and started directing the air stream blowing towards the vacuum crevice tool at the opposite side of the coils.





The compressed air dislodged the hair/dust enough that the vacuum was able to suck it away. Again, not perfectly but certainly much better than I was able to clean the coils in the past.



I suppose you could use a can of compressed air and add some sort of deflector if you don\'t have a compressor.



I then got to thinking how to prevent the dust from accumulating on the coils, I\'m going to try an air conditioner filter. I cut it slightly oversized to fit the front opening then split it in half to make it thinner for more aiHow do I clean coils? - 7a2fbc41-ef6b-4a4c-8961-a892df9da8ab.jpgs/images/7a2fbc41-ef6b-4a4c-8961-a892df9da8ab.jpg" alt="7a2fbc41-efHow do I clean coils? - 938facae-8d39-4f2b-b07c-82f5e4219751.jpgmi" />

Picture taken before making the filter thinner.



For years I had my calendar remind me monthly to vacuum the coils but now hopefully I\'ll be able to simply change the air filter.

COILS CAN BE CLEANED WITH COMPRESSED AIR