Fridge buzz killing my buzz

October 16, 2006 4:37 PM

How do I stop my refrigerator from buzzing?

When my fridge turns on, the normal sound of a cheap fridge turning on to cool is accompanied by a really annoying buzzing sound that seems to come from some part vibrating against another. I live in a smallish apartment, and the buzzing keeps me up at night and drives me crazy when I'm studying. I've moved the fridge away from the wall, and towards the wall, nothing changes. What can I do to stop this?

posted by Packy_1962 to home & garden (8 comments total)

If you push down on the racks inside of the fridge, does the noise stop?

I had a fridge that had that issue, I put extra liter or two of water in there to weight it down.
posted by mattdini at 4:46 PM on October 16, 2006

Here are some things to check
posted by klarck at 5:05 PM on October 16, 2006

make sure it's level. Sometimes they buzz if they lean to far forward or back. If the legs aren't adjustable get some coasters to even it out.
posted by any major dude at 5:58 PM on October 16, 2006

Do refrigerators still have that drip pan underneath them? When I was a kid we'd have to kick the bottom of the fridge (below the door) to stop the pan from vibrating (the vibrations created a pretty annoying buzz).
posted by amro at 6:41 PM on October 16, 2006

Fridges can make odd noises if they're not level.
posted by winston at 7:05 PM on October 16, 2006

Refrigerators should only be level left to right. Front to back they should be enough higher at the front that the door will swing closed when left open. This will also assist drain water to exit the fridge in some frost free models.

Can you tell where the noise is coming from generally? Inside, outside, top, bottom?

Does the noise stop when you open the door? If so it is being caused by the evaporator fan though not all models have a fan door switch. If it is the evaporator fan it is either defective or hitting something. See if you can figure out where the fan is, some are user accessible. A noisy fan is occasionally because of an imbalance caused by dirt build up. If the fan is accessible you can remove the fan blade and wash it. If you remove the blade pay attention to which direction the fan is installed on the shaft.

If you can't isolate the noise by touching/listening it is possible the relay overload assembly of the compressor is buzzing. Not much you can do to stop this unfortunately besides getting the unit replaced.
posted by Mitheral at 7:26 PM on October 16, 2006

Had this problem in a rental once, and I just put a light timer on it and whenever it was bothering me I would give it a one hour time out.
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:39 PM on October 16, 2006

There are (usually) two intentionally moving parts on most fridges:
1. The compressor
2. A fan (not all fridges have one, btw)

Either of these could buzz or induce buzzing in the fridge.

If it's the compressor itself, you're probably SOL. If it's the fan, you want to see if there's something in the housing or around the blades that's making the buzz. Sometimes it's just crud built up around the fan. You and unplug your fridge and clean the fan with window cleaner - spray it on a rag first then wips the blades and housing clean. Cleaning crud off the fan is a good idea anyway.

If it is buzzing induced by either of these two, you're going to plug in your fridge and start laying your hands on it. Look for joints or seams and press on them. Anything that can possibly move, give it a nudge and hold it. When you find it, you're going to want to keep it from moving or pad it so it doesn't make noise. You can usually do this with a shim made from a business card or some folded up paper. Avoid shimming parts that get hot with paper. Paper is an insulator, which will help make hot parts hotter.
posted by plinth at 5:27 AM on October 17, 2006