Noise that was not there before
Buzzing or Humming That Was Not There Before
A hum the kitchen never used to have, with the cold still perfectly fine.
Viking Repair Service Los Angeleson site 8am to 8pm, every day of the weekcalls picked up 24/7
| What you see | Likely cause | Safe check | When to call |
|---|---|---|---|
| A deep hum you feel through the floor or the worktop | The mounts under the compressor have hardened, so its running note travels | Rest a hand on the cabinet side and on the floor in turn | This week, if the cold is slipping as well |
| A buzz that rises and falls as the machine runs | A fan slightly out of balance, or a blade brushing its housing | Note whether the buzz follows the cooling runs or ignores them | If it worsens over a fortnight |
| A metallic drone that changes when you touch the cabinet | Tubing or a bracket resting against the cabinet and passing vibration on | Press gently on the grille and hear whether the tone shifts | If nothing you can reach quiets it |
| A hum in short bursts, a few times a day | The ice maker taking on water, which is the machine doing its job | Watch whether the bursts line up with a batch of ice dropping | If the bursts run long or arrive with water underneath |
Match the table above to when the hum turns up, because that timing names the source better than the sound itself does. Row four is the mildest of the four and row one the least welcome; if the hum has arrived with any loss of cold, call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 today.
What a new note actually means
A built-in has three things in it capable of humming: a compressor, a fan and water arriving. Everything in the table above is one of those three, either doing its job or doing it through something it should not touch. Rows one and three are one complaint at different volumes: a cabinet built into joinery cannot absorb vibration and passes it to the carcase.
When to leave it and when to ring
Row four is the reassuring one, and often the whole answer in a West Hollywood condo: a short burst a few times a day is water filling for ice. Row two deserves watching over a fortnight, since an unbalanced fan gets worse rather than better. Row one is the one to act on if the cold is slipping with it: a compressor that sounds different is worth hearing properly before anything is quoted.
Normal, not normal, and the line between them
-
Normal
A hum that has been part of the kitchen since the cabinet went in.
Not normal
A note that is new, or one that has grown over a few weeks.
Time to call
Call once it is plainly louder than it was.
-
Normal
Short bursts of sound while water is drawn for ice.
Not normal
A burst that keeps running long after the ice should have filled.
Time to call
The same day, before water finds the floor.
-
Normal
Vibration you can just feel through the cabinet door.
Not normal
Glassware on the worktop shifting or ringing with it.
Time to call
This week. Something is now transmitting rather than absorbing.
Those lines separate a cabinet that has always made noise from one that has changed. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and describe the row you are on — that sentence is worth more than a guess at the part.
Safe checks before the visit
-
Listen with a door open and then with it shut. A hum that carries on either way rules out the fan inside the cold space.
-
Take anything stored on top or wedged against the sides away and try again. A cabinet in a tight opening turns a small vibration into a room-filling one.
-
Time the bursts against the ice maker. Water arriving for a batch of ice hums briefly in a healthy machine and needs nothing done.
-
Stop there. Nothing further is an owner job on a built-in: the sealed circuit, the wiring behind the grille and anything that needs a panel off belong to the visit. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and say which of the checks above changed anything.
Asked about this one
- Is a humming built-in refrigerator dangerous to leave running?
- A hum on its own is not an emergency, but it is a change, and changes are worth explaining. What makes it urgent is company: a hum arriving alongside warming food, water on the floor or a breaker that trips. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles when the noise brings one of those with it.
- Written by
- Ambrose Fitzwilliam
- Role
- Service technician — refrigeration and sealed systems
- In the trade
- 25 years in the trade