How To Buy a Refrigerator

Refrigerators come in a wide variety of sizes and capacities.  You'll want to be sure you take you available space into consideration before you make your purchase.

Trust us when we say there's no worse feeling than getting your new fridge home only to find out it's a half inch shy of fitting where you need it to go.  

That said, grab a measuring take and mark your height, width AND depth.  Seems like a no brainer, but you'd hardly be surprised if we told you most people don't bother with this step and end up back at the appliance store.  

To help minimize this, we recommend purchasing a refrigerator thermometer. 

You'll also want to pay close attention to the amount of space you'll need to accommodate both a swinging door AND pull out drawers.

Again, something few people take into consideration.  

French Door Refrigerators have two side by side doors that will open straight out (as will Side by Side Refrigerators) but you'll also want to take into account just how far out the bottom freezer drawer will come out.

Lastly, if you're in the market for a Top Freezer Refrigerator, know that you have the ability to change which side the door swings out on.

2) Side by Side Refrigerators: 

These refrigerators have a refrigerator on one side and a freezer on the other. 

Again, these have the second best capacity and are good choices for a family. 

Some of the issues are narrow refrigerator and freezer space and limited door capacity. 

Also, the water and ice dispenser can really steal a good amount of freezer capacity.

*This model might not be for you: If you're someone who often buys frozen pizza often...this is not the refrigerator style for you. We've heard from so many people about how they can't fit a frozen pizza in their freezers and wished they would've known before they bought a side by side refrigerator.

Before we go through a list of potential features, start to think about those features that are absolute essentials.

One of the biggest considerations when shopping for a refrigerator is the more features the fridge has, the more it will cost.  Also, there's more potential for things to break down.

Some believe in keeping it simple considering the more bells and whistles, the more possible problems. Though that's a very pessimistic way of looking at things and not really a way to enjoy life.  

We think instead you should look for a refrigerator that actually makes your life easier and in all honesty some of today's refrigerator features really are fantastic.  Many features come standard depending on which Refrigerator Style you've chosen. 

Take into consideration what you'll actually use and what you really need. Here's a few questions to consider:

1. Do you entertain a great deal? -- You might want a large capacity refrigerator with dual ice machines.
   
   
2. Do you have a large family? - Again, you'll want a large capacity refrigerator with multiple shelving options to store a wide variety of foods and beverages.
   
   
3. Are you (or members of your family) looky-loos?  (Forever opening the fridge and taking forever to make a decision?) - You might consider one of the Door-in-Door options from Samsung or LG.
   
   
4. Are you home a lot (or not)? - A Smart Refrigerator might be your best choice to help manage the inventory of your refrigerator along with being able to program temperature settings remotely.
   
   
5. Are you more concerned with outside appearance than capacity?  You might consider a more custom made built in refrigerator.  One that can be adjusted to best suit your particular design choices.
   
   
6. Are you someone who eats more produce than meat?  You might want to consider buying a refrigerator with a Linear Compressor.  Where a normal compressor is on all the time and blasts cold air at 100% or 0% while a linear compressor adjusts the temp level and air flow as conditions require.
   
   This type of unit will help keep your vegetables and fruits fresher longer.