[Contract-Holder Advice] Excess ice built up in your freezer? Act now or you may end up paying the cost
We recently sent out this guidance to all contract-holders living in our rented properties. Feel free to share it with your own occupants.
Excess ice built up in your freezer? Act now or you may end up paying the cost
Have you opened your freezer recently and struggled to pull the drawers out? If so, the likely cause is a build-up of excess ice preventing the drawers from opening ‘cleanly’. This can lead to cracked drawers as they’re forced open and/or bashed off the ice in the process opening, which your landlord will ultimately ask that you cover the cost of replacing.
Don’t forget that even if you didn’t pay a deposit when you first moved in, your landlord may still choose to pursue you for the cost of making good any issues noted that don’t fall under ‘fair wear and tear’ when you leave.
The aim of our advice is to help you prevent such issues, but if it’s already occurred, it’s worth bearing in mind that it’s going to be considerably cheaper for you to replace the drawer(s) yourself, compared to cost of us sending a contractor in.
How much is it going to cost me?
Hopefully nothing if you follow our advice in this e-mail, but if you realise you need to purchase and replace the drawer yourself, it won’t cost much at all – especially if the cost is being split between several contract-holders. You can order a new part from the supplier’s website or somewhere like UK Whitegoods Discount Domestic Appliance Spare Parts.
Comparatively, if you leave the broken drawer there and the landlord needs to arrange a replacement, the cost will stack up. They’ll probably use a contractor to ascertain the make/model of the appliance, source the new drawer, take delivery of it, insert the new one and dispose of the old one. Bearing in mind a contractor’s typical call-out fee is £80 (nobody works for free!), plus the cost of the drawer itself, you can see why it’s cheaper to resolve it yourself.
Don’t forget that, in this regard, your Written Statement of Occupation Contract says:
“You must defrost freezers regularly and … follow ‘best care’ instructions for all appliances”.
and
“You must take proper care of the dwelling, fixtures and fittings within the dwelling and any items listed in the inventory or provided by the landlord … you must carry out repairs to such fixtures and fittings or other items listed in the inventory, or replace them. Failure to do so may result in the landlord carrying out said repairs; the cost of which you will be required to pay immediately.”
Why is there a build-up of ice in the freezer?
Ice forms on freezer drawers when the door is not properly closed or the door has been left open for too long. This allows cool air in the freezer to combine with the warm air from outside. The moisture is then frozen, and this accumulates ice.
Ice can also build-up if you put hot food in the freezer. If you’re freezing leftovers, let them cool first and keep them in sealed container.
Another cause of ice build-up is overfilling the freezer. If you’ve packed items tightly in your freezer, there will be very little air circulation, which again causes ice.
What should I do if the ice has already built up?
It’s simple – just defrost your freezer! It’s good to regularly defrost your freezer every few months to keep it running smoothly.
Please follow the below guide or click here to watch a video (if the link doesn’t watch, please search “how to defrost freezer” on YouTube):
1. Turn off your freezer and remove your food.2. Take out shelves and drawers then prop the door open and lay towels on the floor to collect the water as the ice melts.3. You can use hot water on a cloth to speed up the process but don’t use anything sharp to scrape ice from the freezer as you’ll run the risk of damaging the appliance.4. Once all the ice has melted, make sure you mop up any excess water inside before turning the unit back on.
You can also refer to the appliance’s manual to troubleshoot any issues and follow the best care guide – all you need to know is the make and model of your freezer!
The information contained within this article was correct at the date of publishing and is not guaranteed to remain correct in the present day.
