Why Is My Fridge Not Cooling?

A fridge that’s no longer keeping food properly cold is one of the more urgent appliance problems, simply because of how quickly food can spoil once cooling stops. Here’s what usually causes it.

1. A failing compressor

The compressor is what actually drives the cooling cycle. If it’s failing or has stopped, the fridge will feel warm throughout, and you may hear it clicking or struggling to start rather than running normally.

2. A faulty thermostat

The thermostat tells the compressor when to run. If it’s misreading the internal temperature, the compressor may not run enough to keep the fridge cold, even though the rest of the system is fine.

3. A door seal that’s no longer sealing

A worn or damaged door seal lets warm air continuously enter the fridge, forcing it to work harder and often still failing to keep up. Run a simple test: close the door on a piece of paper and see how easily it pulls out. If it slides out with little resistance, the seal may be the problem.

4. Low refrigerant from a slow leak

Less common, but a slow refrigerant leak will gradually reduce cooling performance over time rather than causing a sudden failure.

What to do next

Cooling faults are worth addressing quickly given how much food is often at stake. See our fridge repairs page for more on diagnosis, or get in touch to have it assessed.