

Once that ice bridge becomes sufficiently thick, you’ll start noticing a grinding sound every time you open the freezer door. Ice particles will quickly build up in that gap, creating a frozen bridge between the opening to the chute and the ice maker. Since the dispenser is in the door, the ice has to cross the gap between the ice maker and the chute in the door that dispenses the ice into your glass. Ice dispensers use a rotating screw to move ice from the back of the ice maker and propel the cubes out of the front of the unit. Though this feature may seem convenient, over time it can create an ongoing maintenance problem. Many refrigerators have ice dispensers and cold water taps on the outside. Multi-level lights are usually LED lights. The best units have multiple lights on different levels to provide illumination equally throughout. If you put something in front of that one bulb, the rest of the refrigerator is left in the dark.

Internal lightingĪll refrigerators have internal lighting, but sometimes there is only one bulb and it’s poorly placed. Examine the details to see if some models give you the choice of swapping shelves and crisper drawers. Crisper drawersĮvery refrigerator needs to have at least one crisper drawer to keep fruits and vegetables fresh for longer. Refrigerators with excessive drawers might seem convenient at first but will quickly become a liability when you run out of shelf space and the drawers aren’t big enough to hold an extra gallon of milk. The greater the number of adjustable shelves, the more you can customize and personalize the interior of your refrigerator to suit your needs. French door refrigerators have room for sheet cakes and other large items that might not fit in a side-by-side refrigerator. The freezer compartment is normally in a pull-out drawer below the refrigerator compartment. Usually the refrigerator compartment is larger than the freezer compartment.Ī French door refrigerator has two equally sized doors that open onto one large refrigerator compartment. The two compartments are separated by an internal wall and kept at different temperatures.

The other door is for the freezer compartment. One door is for the refrigerator compartment. A side-by-side refrigerator has two full-length doors. Side-by-side refrigerators differ from French door refrigerators. Rubber is normally used for water tubing and gaskets around the edges of the doors to create airtight seals. Crisper drawers and door shelves are often plastic. Once you get past the exterior, there are all kinds of other materials used inside the unit. Stainless steel refrigerators come in three main types: brushed stainless steel, black stainless steel, and shiny stainless steel. Once you’ve got those measurements down, make sure every unit you look at will fit into those dimensions. Most baseboards protrude nearly an inch or more from the wall. When you’re measuring the depth, measure from the foremost edge of the baseboard, not the wall.

Carefully measure the space the refrigerator will occupy. This is where you need to get out a measuring tape. The freezer is usually a pull-out drawer. Bottom freezer refrigerators: These refrigerators either have one large refrigerator compartment or two French door refrigerator compartments above a bottom freezer.The freezer compartment is usually smaller than the refrigerator compartment. One opens onto the freezer compartment and the other onto the refrigerator compartment. Side-by-side refrigerators: Most modern refrigerators have two doors placed side by side.Top freezer refrigerators tend to be less expensive than other styles. Top freezer refrigerators: These models usually have one large refrigerator compartment and a smaller freezer compartment on top.Before getting a new unit, you’ll need to examine your kitchen and your needs to determine which configuration is most appropriate for you. There are several design configurations for stainless steel refrigerators. They are sleek, durable, and easy to clean. Stainless steel refrigerators are the most popular style of refrigerators.
