Why is my fridge making a loud noise and building up ice?
A noisy refrigerator with ice buildup is often caused by a freezer door not closing properly or ice blocking the internal fan. Melting the ice with a hair dryer only provides a temporary workaround and leaves users guessing how to properly stop the low temperature warnings and continuous buzzing.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- This comes up 50.0× more often in r/appliancerepair than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Unplugging the refrigerator temporarily
- 2Performing a complete thaw out of the evaporator coil
- 3Using a hair dryer to melt ice around frozen parts
- 4Using a handheld clothes steamer as a safer alternative to a hair dryer
- 5Removing the back panel to inspect the fan and clear ice
- 6Hiring a professional repair technician
- 7Disconnecting and reconnecting power
- 8Opening the refrigerator or freezer door to temporarily stop the noise
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My fridge has suddenly started making a very loud, continuous noise for around 12 hours.”source ↗
“I also noticed some ice buildup from behind.”source ↗
“One thing that might be relevant is that the freezer door sometimes doesn’t close properly and can stay slightly open.”source ↗
“My brother’s Frigidaire freezer started beeping w a low temp warning, I texted him and he said there’s prob ice blocking the fan, so I removed a chunk of ice that was in front of what I assume to be a vent.”source ↗
“I took the ice box out of the freezer to see if there were any other easily removable pieces, but I don’t even know what I’m looking at.”source ↗
“I think this has been happening a lot recently, and my brother’s “fix” for it is using a hair dryer to melt all of the ice around the parts that aren’t supposed to be frozen”source ↗
“I’m no expert but I feel like hair dryer inside the freezer is not the answer so does anyone have any advice or suggestions for how to get rid of the low temp notification?”source ↗
“Back panel in the freezer is covered with ice, fan is hitting ice when it runs.”source ↗
“I’ve disconnected power and reconnected. Once I open any door, the noise stops. Also hearing an occasional loud single bang.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Refrigerator water line leaking and flooring damage
- 4Why does my refrigerator ice maker keep breaking?
- 9How long does baking soda take to get rid of fridge smells?
- 16Why is my new dryer vibrating and buzzing?
- 2Why is my fridge ice maker making ice so slowly?
- 2Why does freezer frost keep coming back after melting?