Why is My Refrigerator Noisy?

Loud noises coming from a refrigerator is one of our most common customer calls. That means our repairmen know exactly how to troubleshoot the issue and correct it. Call IBC Irving Appliance Repair today! The #1 Irving refrigerator repair service.

A loud refrigerator is extremely annoying. If the refrigerator in your kitchen seems to be a bit louder than usual there are some easy things that you can look at while trying to find the answer. There are many fans on a standard refrigerator that might create loud sounds. The refrigerator could also not be balanced too. Or you may have a compressor wearing down. If your refrigerator is much louder when the ice maker is making ice, the sounds could be from a broken a water valve.

There are one or two obvious things that need to be checked. Like is your refrigerator too full? A refrigerator that’s too might result in glass bottles and other items to clink together. This will cause a lot of loud noises inside the refrigerator that’s not ideal because the refrigerator is cooling and creating a minor vibration.

If you have a refrigerator that has a built-in water dispenser or ice maker but don’t have the water connected, be positive you shut off the dispenser and the ice maker. There’s usually 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 is installed near a wall in the kitchen, it might cause the normal operating noise to seem a lot louder. This is because of the echoing of the sound of the appliance. Slide it out a little from the wall and then see if that helps at all or not. A refrigerator should be about 2 inches from the back wall of the kitchen to lower the sound.

If it isn’t one of these basic and common fixes, it is time to dive on in. Most of the time, the refrigerator fans are the cause of a loud refrigerator. There are fan blades that will often get clogged and dirty. Often times the fan motors do too. There’s a condenser fan and an evaporator on the refrigerator too. Often times the condenser fan gets a coating of dust on it and then needs to be cleaned on a regular basis. If it gets too heavy it might wear out the bearings inside the refrigerator fan’s motor.

Clean the Fan & Refrigerator Condenser Coils

The first thing to do is to unplug the refrigerator. The condenser fan is typically located in the back of the refrigerator. Most of the time you will need to have a wrench or screwdriver to remove the back panel from the refrigerator. Once exposed you will see a fan inside. If it is covered in dust and dirt, get a rag and gently clean it off. While you’re in there you should check the coils too. These are typically near there and will be full of the same dust and grime that the fan is. Cleaning the coils will only take a couple of minutes but it will help the refrigerator run more efficiently. This is actually a common problem that can cause a refrigerator to run non-stop.

Spin the fan blades in the refrigerator. Do the blades spin easily? If not it means the fan motor bearings are broken. This is an easy repair, as the fan assembly is typically a component that can be purchased online and can be replaced by just disconnecting it. However, before trying this, be sure the refrigerator is unplugged. Do the same process for the evaporator fan in the refrigerator, which is located behind the freezer. This isn’t typically the problem, as this particular fan is protected by being inside the walls of the refrigerator. But, when the noises are coming from the top of the appliance that’s the area to check.

If you think it might be the compressor, the big, typically gray or black object beneath the refrigerator near the coils, we advise calling IBC Irving Appliance Repair. That’s not a repair a homeowner should attempt.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

• How Does a Refrigerator Work?
• Ice Maker Not Working
• Water Dispenser Not Working
• Refrigerator Not Cooling