Two kinds of fridge in Dapto
The fridges we see around Dapto fall into two groups. In the older brick and weatherboard homes near the shops and the station, it is often a top-mount fridge that has done fifteen years in the kitchen and has now been moved out to the garage or laundry as the drinks fridge. In the newer streets heading toward West Dapto, it is a large French-door or side-by-side fridge with an ice maker and a plumbed water line.
They fail in different ways. The older fridges lose their door seals, clog their condenser coils with dust and work harder every summer until the fresh food shelf will not stay cold. The big plumbed fridges have more to go wrong: water lines that freeze in the door, inlet valves that stick, defrost drains that block and leave water pooling under the crisper drawers, and control boards that show an error code instead of cooling.
Leaks under a plumbed fridge
Water on the floor in front of a fridge with an ice maker usually comes from one of three places: the water line behind the fridge, the inlet valve, or a blocked defrost drain that overflows inside the cabinet and runs out the front. Turn off the water tap behind the fridge, wipe up, and look for which side the water appears on first. That clue helps the technician bring the right part.
Checks worth doing first
Pull the fridge out and look at the coils. If they are furred with dust, vacuum them with the fridge switched off. Shut the door on a sheet of paper at a few points around the seal; if the paper slides out easily, that part of the seal has stopped gripping. Check the thermostat has not been knocked to a warmer setting.
Price and timing
The assessment for Dapto is $125, and every repair is quoted before the technician starts. Fridges with food in them go to the top of the list, and same day is often possible from Unanderra.
