Refrigerator stopped working: what to do in the first hour

When a refrigerator stops working, the first job is protecting the food, and the second is working out whether the problem is the appliance or the power. Keep the doors closed. Federal food-safety guidance says an unopened refrigerator keeps food safe for about four hours, and a full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours, or about 24 if it’s half full. That gives you time to check the simple causes and line up help.

The first 15 minutes

1. Close the doors and leave them closed. Every opening dumps cold air you won’t get back. Make a list of what’s inside from memory rather than looking.
2. Note the time. The food-safety clock starts when cooling stopped, so estimate when it was last working normally.
3. Put an appliance thermometer in each section if you have them, near the front where a quick glance will do. Food is safe in the refrigerator at 40°F or below and in the freezer at 0°F.
4. Check whether it’s completely dead. Look for the interior light and a lit display, and listen for the compressor or a fan. Lights with no cooling is a different problem from a cabinet that’s completely dark.

Refrigerator stopped working: quick checks before you call

Each of these takes a minute or two, and any one of them can save you a service visit.

1. The outlet. Plug a lamp or phone charger into the same outlet. If that’s dead too, the problem is electrical, not the refrigerator.
2. The breaker. Look for a tripped breaker in the panel. A tripped breaker usually sits between on and off. Push it fully off, then back on. If it trips again, leave it off and call an electrician.
3. The GFCI. Outlets in garages, basements and near sinks are often protected by a GFCI, the kind with test and reset buttons. One GFCI can protect several outlets, so the tripped one may be in another room or outside. Press reset firmly.
4. The plug. Refrigerators get nudged during cleaning, and a plug pulled partway out can lose contact. Push it fully in. Don’t run a refrigerator on an extension cord.
5. Control lock and demo mode. Many models have a control lock that ignores button presses, and a demo or showroom mode that keeps the display lit while the cooling stays off. Your owner’s manual shows how to turn each one off.
6. Settings. Make sure the refrigerator hasn’t been switched off at the control panel or turned to its warmest setting.

If the power is good and the settings are right but nothing runs, call. If it runs but one section is warm, our refrigerator not cooling guide covers those cases.

Keeping food cold while you wait

The refrigerator section

If cooling won’t be back within about four hours, move perishables into coolers packed with ice or frozen gel packs. That means meat, poultry, seafood, milk, eggs, soft cheese and cooked leftovers. Bagged ice from the store works fine. Put a thermometer in the cooler too, and keep it in the shade.

Some foods are much less sensitive. Federal food-safety charts from the USDA and FDA generally treat butter, hard cheeses, whole fresh fruit and many condiments as fine for a while at room temperature. The item-by-item power outage charts are worth a look before you start throwing things away.

The freezer section

Keep the freezer closed as long as you can. Packages that are tightly packed stay cold longer, so when you do open it, group loose items together. Ice cream softens first; dense packages of meat hold out much longer. If the outage could run past a day or two, a neighbor’s freezer or dry ice can bridge the gap. Handle dry ice with gloves and keep the room ventilated.

Skip the back porch

On a cool Puget Sound evening, setting food outside is tempting. Outdoor temperatures swing through the day, sun on a container warms it quickly, and animals find it. Food-safety guidance advises against it. A cooler with ice is more reliable.

Medicines

If you keep insulin or other refrigerated medicines, call your pharmacist and ask how long they’re good at room temperature. Don’t assume the rules for food apply.

Deciding what to keep

• Refrigerated food that stayed at 40°F or below is generally safe.
• Perishables that sat above 40°F for more than two hours should go.
• Frozen food that still has ice crystals, or reads 40°F or below, can be refrozen, though quality may drop.
• Never taste food to decide. Smell and appearance won’t tell you about bacteria.
• When in doubt, throw it out.

What to tell the technician

Having these ready makes the call shorter and the visit more useful, because the technician can check part availability before arriving.

1. Brand, model and serial number from the rating label. Look on a side wall inside the fresh-food section, on the ceiling near the light, under the crisper drawers, or on the frame behind the kickplate. Built-ins often have it behind the top grille. A clear photo of the label is perfect.
2. What it’s doing. Completely dark, lit but warm, or one section warm. Roughly when it started.
3. What you heard. Clicking, humming, silence, or a new noise before it quit.
4. Codes or flashing lights. Photograph the display or write down exactly what it shows.
5. Recent events. A power outage or storm, a move, a deep cleaning, a recent repair, or a tripped breaker.
6. Its approximate age. A purchase receipt or the manual helps if you’re unsure.

When to call a technician

Call promptly if any of these apply:

• The outlet has power, but the refrigerator is dark or silent.
• The lights and display work, but neither section is cooling.
• The breaker or GFCI trips again as soon as you reset it.
• You smell burning or see scorch marks near the plug or the back of the unit. Unplug it and keep it unplugged.
• A few hours have already passed and a lot of food is at stake.

When a refrigerator dies near the end of its life, the decision gets bigger than one repair. Our guide on whether to repair or replace a refrigerator walks through it.