Why is My Refrigerator Noisy?

refrigerator loud noises

Strange sounds coming out of a refrigerator is one of our most popular customer calls. This means our repairmen know just how to diagnose the issue and repair it. Call Lee’s Summit Appliance Repair today! The #1 Lee’s Summit refrigerator repair service.

A noisy refrigerator is very annoying. If the refrigerator in your home seems to be a little louder than normal there are a few easy place that you can check while trying to find the cause. There are a lot of fans on a standard refrigerator that could create strange sounds. The refrigerator might also not be level too. Or you could have a compressor that’s wearing down. If your refrigerator is much noisier when the ice maker is operating, the sounds could be a broken a water valve.

There are one or two obvious things that should be checked first. Like is your refrigerator too full? A refrigerator that’s too could cause glass bottles and other foods and liquids to clink and clank together. This will create a lot of annoying noises inside the refrigerator that’s not ideal because the refrigerator is running and naturally creating a minor vibration.

If you have a model of refrigerator that has a water dispenser or ice maker but you don’t have the water line connected, be positive you shut off the water dispenser and the ice maker. There’s almost always a button on the water dispenser that can be pressed to turn off the dispenser. And as far as the ice maker, you just need to pull up the bar inside of it. If the refrigerator is installed near a wall, it could cause the normal running noise to seem a lot louder. This is due to the echo of the noise of the refrigerator. Pull it out from the wall and see if that helps at all. A refrigerator needs to be close to 2 inches from the back wall to reduce the sound.

If it isn’t one of these simple and easy fixes, it’s time to explore the issue further. Most of the time, the fans are the reason for a loud refrigerator. There are fan blades that can get clogged and dirty. There are times the fan motors do as well. There’s a condenser fan and an evaporator on the refrigerator too. Often times the refrigerator condenser fan gets a coating of dust on it and then should be cleaned often. If the dust builds up and gets too heavy it will sometimes wear out the bearings inside the refrigerator fan’s motor.

Clean the Fan & Refrigerator Condenser Coils

First, the refrigerator. A lot of the time you will want to have a wrench or screwdriver to get the back panel off. As soon as it’s exposed you’ll notice a fan in there. If it is full of dust and dirt, take a cloth and gently wipe it off. While you are in there you should look at the coils as well. These are usually right there and covered in the same grime and dust that the fan is. Wiping down the coils only takes a few minutes and it will help the refrigerator run more efficiently. This is actually a very common problem that sometimes causes a refrigerator to run non-stop.

Spin the fan blades. Do they spin easily? If not it means the fan motor bearings are not working. This is an easy fix, as the fan assembly is typically a component that can be purchased online and can be replaced by simply disconnecting it. But, before doing this, be sure the refrigerator is unplugged. Do this same process for the evaporator fan in the refrigerator, which is typically located behind the freezer. This is not usually the issue, as this fan is concealed by being inside the walls of the refrigerator. But, if the noises are coming from the top of the appliance that is the area to look.

If you think it might be the refrigerator compressor, the big, usually gray or black object under the refrigerator by the coils, we advise calling Lee’s Summit Appliance Repair. That’s not a repair a homeowner should try.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES