[ErinS0136]

So here is my story.

I recently vacuumed out the dust/lint out of external coils in my Whirlpool refrigerator after noticing that ice cream in my freezer was not as firm as normal. After I cleaning the coils, I could hear a new sound coming from my compressor, and a few days later noticed that both the freezer and refrigerator were not as cold as they were before I performed the cleaning.

Since that time, I have cleaned out the defrost drain line/hole and deiced the coils with a hairdryer. Now both the fridge and freezer seem even warmer (ice cubes do not freeze solid in freezer after 24 hours). When I deiced the freezer coils, only part of the coils had ice on them, the left and right sides, the rest of the coils were free of ice.

My concern is that somehow I damaged the external coils and/or compressor during the cleaning process and one or both are now leaking.

I would be interested to hear possible diagnoses from other people familiar with this pattern of symptoms.

Thanks

[woodchuck]

possible diagnoses # 1. The irregular pattern of frost on coils and lack of cooling suggest a leak in freon.