Here's How Long Refrigerators Reliably Last — Is Yours Past Its Prime?

You may remember being prank called back when people still answered unknown numbers and being asked if your refrigerator was running. (It is? Well, you'd better go catch it! Ahh, we have fun here at The Takeout.) Jokes aside, we invite you to give the question some serious thought. Is your refrigerator running? How effectively is it running, and how much longer can you expect it to last? If you're curious, the average lifespan for a refrigerator is 12 years, but there are steps you can take to extend its time in your kitchen.

If you're a person of a certain age you may wonder why your parents didn't have to replace their fridge quite so often as that. It comes down to a little something called planned obsolescence. Appliances like refrigerators were once designed to last for many years, sometimes living to be 50, but it turns out that makes it a lot harder for companies to sell new refrigerators. Fridges these days intentionally don't last quite as long, and they're also designed to be harder to repair. That doesn't mean you should toss your fridge out the window at the first sign of trouble (especially since that would be murder on your back). Consult a fridge repairperson and see what they think because often fridges can be repaired anyway.

If you want to do everything you can to make your fridge last as long as possible there are a few steps you can take to make sure everything is in ship shape. First, you should keep an eye out for any sign of fridge failure, especially food spoilage, as that's potentially dangerous. Secondly, you should engage in good fridge practices, including making sure not to overload it. Not only is that a refrigerator mistake that can ruin your food, it's adding unnecessary stress to your appliance.

Thirdly, you should keep your fridge hygienic. It's true that you don't need to worry so much about fridge coils these days since they're not as exposed to the elements as they once were, but every year or so it's a good idea to unplug the fridge, check to see if the coils need cleaning, and take a cloth to them to make sure they're spick-and-span. It would also do you good to keep an eye on the gaskets (the seals around the door) as well as make sure the water filters and ice makers are clear and unobstructed. These are all small things, but they add up to a healthy, long-lived refrigerator.