Home Inspector recommends regularly cleaning cooling coils
Although kitchen appliances are not included in the standards of practice for the home inspection profession, it is common practice to at least check to see if they are operating properly. Typically on a refrigerator freezer unit that means checking to see that it is colder on one side than the other and that the water and ice dispenser works. Recently I came across a refrigerator/freezer unit that was heavily frosted up in the freezer unit. I took a look underneath the unit and the coils were completely loaded up with lint and dust bunnies. When the coils under a unit are all loaded and dirty up they can not operate efficiently, resulting in higher energy bills.
The answer to this problem is to give your refrigerator/freezer coils a breather. Coils should be cleaned at least once a year. These appliances have a set of coils typically in the back, or on the bottom. These coils circulate refrigerant which is cooled by air passing over them. If the coils and area is plugged then air can not flow smoothly, causing your energy bills to soar. To clean the coils, remove the clip-on cover from the bottom front on the unit and use a coil brush to loosen and remove the built up lint and dust. A vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool can come in handy too. You may need to roll the unit out to get at the back side if everything is not accessible from the front. Be careful not to damage any attached water lines for ice makers. The attached picture shows a coil brush which can be purchased at your favorite Rochester or Southeastern MN hardware or home maintenance store.