My grandmother’s fridge was a prominent feature in her kitchen.

It was a big bulky thing, with a metal handle and heavy doors where she pinned my first artworks. It’s also where the ice cream lived.

It stood out because it was so unbelievably retro. When my gran bought it, things were made to last. So when it finally gave in, having undergone only a few minor repairs over a few decades, I was sad to see it go.

Nowadays, as Seth will tell you, things are actually designed to fall apart, leaving you with the unfortunate decision sooner rather than later – to repair or replace?

According to Forbes, there are ways to extend the life of your fridge.

[Keep] it clean on the inside to reduce the chances of accumulating bacteria; make sure there’s proper ventilation around the outside and inside, so don’t overcrowd it; look for tears, gaps or air leaks in the door gaskets; change your water filter and clean dust off the condenser coils a couple of times a year.

When it gets to this point, though, it’s time to make like Frozen and “let it go”:

It’s more than 10 years old and needs constant repairs; there’s excessive condensation; the motor is running hot; it’s really loud; it’s not energy efficient.

According to Consumer Reports, these are the most common problems that people encounter with their refrigerators:

• 17 %: No water (or ice) coming out of the dispenser
• 13 %: Icemaker won’t make ice
• 7 %: Buildup of ice in the fridge
• 6 %: Water leaking
• 5 %: Refrigerator not cooling
• 5 %: Broken or faulty control panel or circuit board
• 4 %: Not keeping food cold
• 3 %: Blocked drain or outlet
• 3 %: Broken or faulty compressor

An icemaker is an appliance within an appliance, so when that breaks it requires fixing. Like most of the problems above, it can be repaired, rather than buying a new fridge.

Ultimately, making that call is often an issue of the price of the repair versus simply buying a new one, and that’s a decision only you can make.

The best advice we can give is to get a reputable, timely quote on what repairs will cost you, and go from there.

If you use the FIXITT 24-hour, on-site, FREE quoting service, then at least you won’t have to pay to make that decision.

Get the quote, figure out what’s best with some advice from the professionals, and make that final call.

If you do decide to fix your fridge, quote 2OCEANSVIBE when you schedule your call-out with FIXITT, and you will receive an additional 5% discount on your invoice.

While we’re telling you about specials, we may as well mention that early bird aircon special, too – details here.

You’ll find all of FIXITT’s contact details, as well as how to go about requesting a quote, on their site.

[sources:forbes&consumerreports]