Defrosting the Freezer

[pennie_gone]

The freezer in our 5er is frosting up something fierce, much more than our previous trailer. I understand putting charcoal in there will keep the frost down by removing moisture from the air, but is there a way to get out the frost I have now, without shutting down the fridge and just letting it melt? Thanks, everyone.

[pennie_gone]

The freezer in our 5er is frosting up something fierce, much more than our previous trailer. I understand putting charcoal in there will keep the frost down by removing moisture from the air, but is there a way to get out the frost I have now, without shutting down the fridge and just letting it melt? Thanks, everyone.

[LindaH]

You'll have to shut off the refer in order to defrost, but you can speed the melting of the ice over just "letting it melt."

I put a pan of hot water in the emptied freezer, close the door, and let it set for about 30 minutes. Whatever ice is still remaining on the walls can easily be gotten off by the use of a PLASTIC spatula.

[TXiceman]

You need to check for a good seal on the door gasket. A little leak will really add tot he frosting.

The easy test is to take a dollar bill and close the door on it. It should slide out, but not easily. Try this all the way around the door. If the door is not sealing, you wiill need to address the issue of a bad gasket or adjust the door to stop the leak.

Ken

[BigSkyBob]

I shut off the fridge and take the stuff out of the freezer compartment and put that in the fridge. Then I use a hairdryer to melt the accumulated ice on both sides which usually takes about 10 minutes. Clean up the water, go back into auto mode and put the frozen stuff back in the freezer. The fridge never even has a chance to cool off.

[Happymi]

I agree with the hair dryer. I have used it for many years defrosting freezers.

[CQ]

Just a quick note, If you are having bad frosting problems it is probably from a bad seal. And the quickest way to correct that it with your hair dryer.

1. Defrost as usual and get it nice and dry.
2. Take your hair dryer and heat up the seal itself(this makes it more flexible) remember, you're just trying to heat up the seal, not make the door itself hot.
3. Take a second to stretch the seal back away from the door again while it's warm.
4. Close the door.

What happens is that you make the seal flexible enough again to seal against the edge of the freezer. If it's the type with a magnetic strip it works really well(all home types have this) and some rv style do. Even without the magnet inside it can really help. And it's a lot easier and free, unlike replacing the seal.

Of note: Don't heat it up so much the glue holding it to the door melts. You're trying to warm it up, not melt it.

And if that's not it, try getting your food out of the freezer before boiling water or doing anything else that up's the humidity in the rv(shower, etc).