Refrigerators are an important part of commercial businesses, from restaurants to convenience stores. When your customers walk in, the last thing you want is to greet them with a foul refrigerator smell.
Lack of maintenance or repair services can cause inefficiencies in the system, leading to smell and food spoilage. Here are a few reasons your commercial refrigeration system smells bad:
Improper Door Seals
One of the most common reasons behind the foul smell in your commercial refrigerator is improperly sealed doors. You open these doors countless times daily (or your customers do), affecting their sealing power.
Door seals play a crucial role in maintaining the temperature inside the fridge and preventing the food from spoiling. These seals prevent the warm air from getting inside and the cool air from escaping. If your refrigerator door has broken, damaged, or improperly installed seals, the internal temperature will increase. As a result, food items will spoil early because they require a consistent temperature to stay fresh. Spoiled food causes a weird smell in the refrigerator.
Make sure you replace the seals on a routine basis rather than waiting for them to be damaged, because everyday wear and tear can affect their performance.
Lack of Circulation
Another common reason behind the smell in your refrigerator could be a lack of circulation. Every refrigerator has an evaporator, condenser coil and a fan to maintain adequate air circulation inside the unit. When you don’t get routine maintenance for your refrigerator systems, these components don’t work correctly and cause a lack of circulation. This prevents healthy air flow inside the refrigerator and causes smell and other problems.
Standing Water and Mold
When there’s a lack of circulation, there will be standing water inside the refrigerator that you may not know of. This water turns into mold that causes health hazards and a pungent, musty smell.
Most old and weary refrigerators have uneven temperatures and standing water issues, causing mold growth. Even if your refrigerator isn’t old, poor maintenance can also cause premature failure.
Expired Items or Old Produce
With so many items lying around in commercial refrigerators, you might miss out on deteriorating produce. Any spoiled food item can cause an unpleasant odor in the whole system and jeopardizes the safety of other goods stored inside. Spoiled food also leads to mold growth that affects the overall performance and safety of the unit. Make sure you go through all the items regularly and safely discard expired, old or rotten items.
Lack of Cleaning
Refrigerator odor could be because of bacteria buildup resulting from poor cleaning practices. When a refrigerator isn’t cleaned for a while, it causes issues throughout the system and starts to smell. It’s essential to deep clean your refrigeration units regularly to prevent bacteria buildup and increase the longevity of your food items.
Most of these problems occur due to poor maintenance and inspection practices. Develop a schedule and get your refrigeration units inspected, cleaned and repaired by our professionals. At Statewide Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration LLC, we offer commercial and residential refrigeration services. We also offer 24/7 emergency HVAC services in Norman, Cleveland, Moore and Oklahoma City. Call us now for booking and appointments.
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