You may have heard that garages aren't great places for refrigerators, and it's often true. Garages are often harsh environments that can lead to poor refrigerator performance over time. If you keep a refrigerator in your garage, knowing why your garage may be bad for your refrigerator and what you can do about it can help you protect your appliance from unnecessary wear and tear.

Is a garage a bad place to keep a refrigerator?

Some garages are bad for refrigerators. Here are a few of the reasons that refrigerators often don't do well in garages:

• Refrigerators work best in climate-controlled environments. Refrigerators work by removing heat from inside the appliance and releasing the heat outside the appliance. As a result, refrigerators function their best when they're kept indoors in mild temperatures. The warmer the environment where the refrigerator is kept, the more difficult it will be for the refrigerator to release heat. This can cause the refrigerator to run more than necessary just to do its job.
• Refrigerators need to stay clean around their coils. In dusty, dirty environments (like many garages), refrigerator coils will gather dust. This layer of dust can make it harder for the refrigerator to release warm air. This can make refrigerators inefficient.

If you want to keep a refrigerator in your garage, what can you do to keep the appliance functioning properly?

If you want to keep a refrigerator in your garage, you can take these precautions to prolong the life of the unit:

• Keep the area around the refrigerator clean. You can prevent dust from building up on the coils of the refrigerator by cleaning the area around the refrigerator frequently. Sweep regularly and clean up spills immediately.
• Keep the unit away from windows and doors. Doors and windows tend to be drafty, which means that the space next to doors and windows are often especially hot in the summer. In addition, sunlight shining through windows can cause your refrigerator to heat up to high temperatures.
• Keep the refrigerator full. Full refrigerators run more efficiently than empty or partially empty refrigerators, because refrigerators must work harder to cool empty air. To help your refrigerator run efficiently, fill the empty space in your garage refrigerator with gallons of water.
• Have the refrigerator serviced regularly. Have a refrigeration contractor give your refrigerator a tuneup once each year. Your refrigerator contractor will clean the coils of your refrigerator, and will test and inspect the refrigerator's parts. Your contractor will also make recommendations for repair as necessary.

For more information about how you can keep your garage refrigerator in good shape, contact a refrigeration contractor in your area. He or she can answer your questions and help you keep your refrigerator in good condition. Contact a business, such as Halliday Refrigeration Ltd, for more information.