7 Tips to Help Your Mini Fridge Get Colder in Heat

Featured-mini-fridge

There’s nothing worse than a lukewarm beer or a glass of tepid iced tea. That’s why in this article, you’ll find 8 tips to help you cool down the temperature in your mini-fridge just the way you like it.

Here’s how to make your mini-fridge colder

  1. Keep it out of the sun
  2. Keep it away from heat-producing appliances
  3. Don’t rest it on carpet
  4. Clean underneath it
  5. Give it room to breathe
  6. Store items cool
  7. Check the door gaskets
  8. Don’t over-fill it!

Some of these are self-explanatory, but it’s worth walking through the details.

Read on and let’s get your mini-fridge down to a properly cold temperature/

Fixing A Mini Fridge That Isn’t Cooling Properly

#1 Don’t Over-Fill It!

The more items in a fridge, the more work it needs to do to cool everything down. Keeping a fridge absolutely stocked full may be satisfying, but it puts a lot more strain on the fridge.

Consider keeping only the items you need in the fridge, and removing anything that’s in there as a luxury. For example instead of having 6 drinks in there, why not just have 2, and replace one whenever you take one out!

#2 Resist Opening It

Ever been in a sauna, and felt the cold air rush in when someone opens the door? Well the opposite is true for your mini fridge.

Every time it’s opened, a lot of warm air will rush in and the temperature will rise. Try to only open up the fridge when totally necessary – taking out everything you need in one go.

Unfortunately, mini fridges are much weaker when it comes to dealing with an open door compared to a larger fridge. Since a mini fridge is smaller, it’s not able to resist the impact of warm air coming in. So try to keep the door closed as much as you can.

#3 Keep it out of the sun

Is your mini-fridge located in one of the hottest rooms in the house? Or perhaps it’s in a west-facing garage that really heats up in the summer. Whatever the case, if your mini-fridge is in a hot room, we have to go the extra mile to keep it cold.

But, of course, moving a mini-fridge to a cooler room is not always feasible. So what can you do? Try to keep the mini-fridge is in as cool as possible. Here are some ways you can do that.

  • Pull the blinds in the room during the day. If the room gets a lot of sunlight, you could even try installing blackout blinds.
  • Keep the room’s temperature regulated with air conditioning
  • Keep the mini-fridge out of direct sunlight. Move it to a corner of the room that doesn’t get much sun.
blackout blinds
Draw the blinds to keep the room cool

#4 Keep It Away From Heat-Producing Appliances

Where is your mini-fridge positioned? If it is sandwiched next to a dishwasher or stove then it might struggle more than it should to keep cool.

You want to make sure that your mini-fridge stays as cold as possible. To do this, keep it away from heat-producing appliances. Which appliances do we mean? Here is a list of them.

  • Any source of lighting. But especially incandescent and halogen lights.
  • Televisions
  • Dishwashers
  • Tumble dryers
  • Ovens, microwaves, and cooktop stoves

Stationing your mini-fridge away from these kinds of appliances will help you to keep the temperature down inside the unit.

#5 Don’t Rest It on Carpet

For your mini-fridge to stay cool, you must rest it on a material that helps it to keep air circulating. This means that fibrous materials such as carpets and rugs are not a good choice.

Here are the best materials for keeping your mini-fridge cool.

  • Hardwood
  • Laminate
  • Real stone
  • Tile
  • Resin or concrete

Of course, ripping out the carpet in your dorm just to accommodate your mini-fridge is a little drastic. So, why not try resting it on a large plank of wood instead?

mini fridge on wooden floor
Try to keep the mini fridge on surfaces that don’t absorb heat easily

#6 Clean Underneath It

You know what housework is like. You do the cleaning and by the time you’ve turned around, it’s dirty again. And it doesn’t take long for dust to accumulate in that teeny tiny gap underneath your mini-fridge.

Why does this matter? Well, unfortunately, dust insulates. A layer of dust is like a layer of carpet when it comes to keeping in heat. So, cleaning out the dust bunnies from under your mini-fridge will help to keep the unit cool. Clearing dust away from its vents and compressor will also keep it cooler. Keeping on top of the dust will help you get the best results.

#7 Clean The Coils

Fridges work using a refrigeration process, which involves using condenser coils to exhaust warm air. These can get dusty and dirty over time. You’ll be able to find them on the rear or base of the mini fridge. Just give these a very gentle brush down, following the direction of the coils.

By cleaning them you’ll improve the fridge’s efficiency, meaning it can exhaust the warm air better, which will improve it’s cooling capabilities.

Cleaning fridge condenser coils
Clean your mini fridge’s condenser coils at least once a year.

#7 Keep It Distanced From Other Objects

Where do you keep your mini-fridge? I agree it looks nice and neat and tidy tucked under a bookshelf or nestled between a couple of cupboards. But the position of your mini-fridge could be what’s keeping it from staying as cool as it could.

So where should you put your mini-fridge? Here are a couple of things to bear in mind when choosing a home for it.

  • Keep the mini-fridge at least an inch from a back wall. It should not be placed flush against it.
  • Keep the mini-fridge at least an inch from other objects on its sides. Avoid placing it right up against any other object so that air can flow around it and to its vents.

#8 Store Items Cool

Mini-fridges are blissfully convenient. Got a bit of leftovers from dinner? Well, that goes straight in the fridge ready for another day. What about that cup of soup that you didn’t get to finish at lunch? That also goes right in on the top shelf.

There’s nothing wrong with keeping food in a mini-fridge. But, we should be careful of the temperature of the food we put in there. A mini-fridge is, well, mini, so it doesn’t take a lot of hot food for its environment to begin to heat up. And once it’s hot, it will take a while for the fridge to cool back down.

So, what’s the trick here? Make sure you cool your food and drinks down before you put them in the mini-fridge.

#9 Check the Door Gaskets

If the door gaskets on your mini-fridge are not very firm, they could be allowing warm air to seep in. And because mini-fridges are small, even a tiny but constant supply of warm air is enough to make the unit struggle.

You’ll know if the door’s seal has lost it’s strength just by opening the door. If it’s super easy to open, a weak seal may be letting in warm air. It should need a good tug to pull the door open.

A weak door seal may just be caused by a dirty gasket. Dirt and dust can mess with the magnetic strips within the door seal, so a quick wipedown with a damp cloth could fix the issue. If not, you may need to consider replacing the door gasket altogether.

Dirty fridge door gasket
Inspect your mini fridge’s door gasket.

Don’t worry – this is pretty easy. If you can find the model #, you should be able to find replacements online. These can just be pulled off and new ones popped on – sort of like replacing your cars’ windscreen wipers.

If you want to get any replacement part – or see how much one would cost – click to enter your model number in the search bar below. Our partners at AppliancePartsPros stock almost every part with free guides on how to install them.

Conclusion

Hopefully the tips in this article have given you the fix you need to make your mini fridge work properly again. If it has or hasn’t, please let us know via the contact page!

Has this article been helpful to you? Then make sure you check out some of our other articles and free guides below.

Have a great day!

-Craig

I've been helping homeowners with appliance repair since 2016. Starting out as an enthusiastic amateur, I've since worked with many Appliance, HVAC, and DIY experts over the last 7+ years. My mission is to help fix your appliances and prevent future issues - saving you stress, time, and money. Visit my author page to learn more! Read more
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