Why is the Top freezer not freezing efficiently?

You say the defrost heater is working, but does it switch off at the end of the defrost cycle?

A refrigerator is a closed box and the only water vapour to condense and freeze to produce ice should be from the food and the opening of the door. Remember the days before auto defrost when a fridge in good order needed defrosting only a couple or three of times each year? That is a normal ice build up.
A freezer needed less deicing than that.

Excessive ice signals the possibility of an insulation failure (search for cold areas on the outer casing) a bad door seal, an auto defrost malfunction or possibly a general decline in the efficiency of the cooling system due to a worn compressor or lack of refrigerant - an ice build up in the freezer only means the temperature is below freezing, you didn't mention what the freezer temperature actually is but I wager it is far above the minus 18 - 27 degrees C of an efficient freezer.

One method of judging the efficiency of a refrigeration system - the purpose of which is to move heat from the inside of the cabinet to the outside where it is dispersed by the condenser which will naturally become quite warm. If the condenser isn't as warm or even almost hot as usual while the compressor is running then it isn't efficiently moving heat from inside the cabinet.

Generally a lack of efficiency tends towards longer than usual compressor cycling and even constant running.

Check for fan not working in freezer can be fan or it may have a dual switch that operates fan and light

please check the fan in the freezer

that is ok these fridges have the condencer lines within the walls of the fridge or some have heaters this is for condensate not to form on the fridge it keeps the fridge dry on the outside

check the drain system may have got blocked....

Your door seals are leaking air.

not freezing icedraem is an issue, bread not so much, different breads contain different ingrediants that may or may not freeze, forst offthough wher is unit located??? in garage??? if so be aware that it may not operate efficiently ion ambient temps lower then 55 degrees, but if this is in your kitchen i would suspect a "refrigeration"/sealed system issue, perhaps "low on charge and not able to maintain a frozen set temp. Meat may stay frozen ( for a little while anyway, but the ice cream is the first to show indications of problem

Hi Bonsia,

Does this unit freeze in warm weather?
How old is it?

You said, I have a Maytag M7DH665B2A Dehumidifier that freezes solid and has a corroded sensor that's fallen off the coils.

My recommendation is replace it!

Here is an interesting article I just read!


.Repair or replace?

When to pull the plug on your old refrigerator

It nearly always makes sense to undertake simple do-it-yourself repairs,
such as replacing a gasket on a refrigerator or a freezer.

Typically, you'll also find a troubleshooting section for more-serious problems
in the owner's manual.

Should you pay for a repair or buy a new model?
The answer depends mostly on the age of your refrigerator,
how much you bought it for,and the cost of the repair.

Follow these guidelines:

When a repair makes sense.

If your refrigerator is under warranty or less than four years old (three years for top-freezers),
paying for a repair makes sense.
Note that refrigerators under warranty might require service from a factory-authorized technician;
readers have found them on a par with independent repairers.

When a repair might be a wise choice.

If your refrigerator is out of warranty and is four to seven years old,
it might make sense to pay for a repair. Customers generally pay $100 to $200 for a repair.
But you might want to buy a new model even at this stage,
given that today's models are quieter and have added features.
Higher energy efficiency is another plus: Energy Star-qualified models made after April 28, 2008,
are 43 percent more efficient than conventional models built before 2001 and 56 percent
more efficient than those built before 1993.

When it pays to replace.

The repair costs more than half the price of a comparable new refrigerator.
Data also shows that it doesn't pay to fix a less-expensive top-freezer refrigerator
six or more years old or a bottom-freezer or side-by-side eight or more years old.

Thanks to better recycling programs, less than 10 percent
of a refrigerator you replace is likely to end up in a landfill.


Thanks for giving me the opportunity to help!
Please do not for get to give a rating before you sign off!
Thank You, HUUUM

We let the fridge thaw for two days, cleaned it from top to bottom especially the coils and underneath. We moved it outside and used an air compressor to blow out the dust and dirt around the coils so nothing was damaged in the process. It works like a charm and probably more efficiently too. Before it had quit working it was freezing in the refrigerator part. So that was an indicator something was clogged. Moisture that collects and freezes blocks the air from circulating. The freezer worked great! But ice cream was too hard.  Now it's just right.

insulated or not, garages are generally too cold for new energy efficient frigs to operate. ambient temp needs to be above 60 to work efficiently.