If you’ve lived in Orange County for more than one summer, you know what’s coming. Those stretches of 95-degree days in July and August don’t just make you uncomfortable — they put real stress on your appliances, especially your refrigerator and freezer.
Every year, we see a spike in service calls starting around mid-June that doesn’t let up until October. Most of those calls are preventable. Here’s what you can do now to keep your appliances running through the heat.
Clean Your Refrigerator Coils
This is the single most impactful thing you can do, and almost nobody does it.
Your refrigerator has condenser coils — usually on the back or underneath — that release heat as part of the cooling cycle. When those coils are caked with dust, pet hair, and kitchen grease, your fridge has to work much harder to maintain temperature. In the summer, when ambient temperatures are already high, dirty coils can push the compressor past its limits.
Here’s how to clean them:
- Unplug the refrigerator or pull it away from the wall
- Locate the coils (behind a panel on the back, or behind a grille at the bottom front)
- Use a coil brush (about $8 at any hardware store) to gently loosen the buildup
- Vacuum the loosened debris
- Push the fridge back and plug it in
Do this once every six months and you’ll extend your refrigerator’s life by years. I’m not exaggerating — dirty coils are the number one cause of compressor failure that I see.
Check Your Refrigerator Door Seals
Run your hand along the edge of your fridge and freezer doors while they’re closed. Do you feel cold air leaking out? That’s a failed gasket, and it means your compressor is running overtime to compensate.
A quick test: close the door on a dollar bill. If you can pull it out easily without resistance, the seal isn’t tight enough. Try this in several spots around the door.
Replacement gaskets typically run $50-$150 depending on the model, and the install takes about 20 minutes. It’s one of the cheapest repairs that makes the biggest difference in energy efficiency.
Clean Your Dryer Vent — Seriously
This one isn’t just about efficiency — it’s about safety. Lint buildup in dryer vents is responsible for roughly 2,900 house fires per year in the US, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
In the summer, when air is already warmer, a clogged dryer vent means your dryer runs hotter and longer. That’s more wear on the heating element, more strain on the motor, and a higher fire risk.
Signs your dryer vent needs cleaning:
- Clothes take more than one cycle to fully dry
- The dryer feels excessively hot to the touch during operation
- You notice a burning smell when the dryer is running
- The lint trap screen has visible damage or tears
- It’s been more than a year since the vent was cleaned
You can clean a short, straight vent run yourself with a dryer vent brush kit. If your vent has bends, runs through the wall, or exits on the roof, call a professional. We clean dryer vents as part of our service — it’s a quick job and gives us a chance to inspect the dryer’s internal components at the same time.
Set Your Refrigerator Temperature Correctly
A lot of people set their fridge to the coldest setting in summer, thinking it’ll help. It usually doesn’t — it just makes the compressor run continuously, which wears it out faster and can actually cause food to freeze in the fresh food compartment.
Optimal settings:
- Refrigerator: 37-38 degrees Fahrenheit
- Freezer: 0 degrees Fahrenheit
If your fridge can’t maintain these temperatures with the coils clean and the door seals intact, there may be a deeper issue — low refrigerant, a failing evaporator fan, or a thermostat problem. That’s when you call us.
Give Your Dishwasher Some Attention
Summer means more entertaining, more cookouts, and more dishes. Before the heavy-use season hits:
- Clean the filter. Most newer dishwashers have a removable filter at the bottom of the tub. Pull it out, rinse it under hot water, and scrub any buildup with an old toothbrush.
- Run a cleaning cycle. Place a cup of white vinegar on the top rack and run an empty hot cycle. Follow up with a sprinkle of baking soda on the bottom and run a short hot cycle. This clears grease, odor, and mineral deposits.
- Check the spray arms. Food particles can clog the small holes in the spray arms. Use a toothpick to clear any blockages.
Keep Your Kitchen Ventilation Working
If you’re using your oven or stovetop in the summer (and you will be), make sure your range hood is actually venting. A kitchen that can’t exhaust cooking heat puts extra load on your air conditioning and raises the ambient temperature around your refrigerator.
Check that your range hood fan works on all speed settings and that the filters are clean. Aluminum mesh filters can be washed in the dishwasher. Charcoal filters (on recirculating hoods) should be replaced every 6-12 months.
When to Call a Professional
If any of your appliances are showing these symptoms heading into summer, don’t wait for the heat to make things worse:
- Refrigerator not cooling evenly or running constantly
- Freezer icing up excessively or not maintaining 0 degrees
- Dryer taking multiple cycles or running unusually hot
- Dishwasher not cleaning properly or leaving standing water
- Oven temperature seems off (under- or over-cooking)
A quick tune-up now can save you from an emergency call on the hottest day of the year — when every appliance tech in Orange County is booked solid.
Call us at (714) 243-8415 to schedule a pre-summer inspection. Our diagnostic fee is $89, waived with any repair. We serve Anaheim, Fullerton, Orange, Buena Park, Garden Grove, Placentia, Yorba Linda, Brea, and the surrounding area.
— Andrew Heimer, Anaheim Appliance Repair
