Wine Cooler Condensation: 5 Effective Tips to Prevent Condensation

During the summertime, there’s nothing like a glass of chilled wine on a warm day. That is why it is essential to have a wine cooler. However, since wine coolers are cold on the inside, this coldness will create moisture from the warm air from the outside to collide together and cause condensation.

If you do not know what condensation looks like, take a look at your wine cooler. If you see visible steam as if you had just taken a hot shower on the metal locks, metal strips, and the door, that means your wine cooler has condensation.

Wine cooler condensation is common due to hot summer weather colliding with the cold temperature from the cooler. In some instances, your wine cooler might break down, and you will need to seek wine cooler repair. But first, let’s take a look at 5 tips to prevent condensation to ensure that your wine cooler lasts as long as possible.

1. Air out your wine cooler to prevent future condensation

If you have just bought a brand new wine cooler, after setting it up, don’t fill it up right away. Just like a newly poured glass of wine needs a minute to “breath,” so does your wine cooler. Let your wine cooler air out for a few hours before plugging it in and loading it with wine.

Airing out your wine cooler before using it will remove any unfamiliar odours that might affect your wine. Ensure that all corners inside the cooler are dry because mould starts developing in tight pockets when moisture is present. Once mould starts developing, condensation is likely to occur.

2. Adjust the temperature

Once you have aired out the wine cooler, it’s time to stock it up with your favourite wine collection. We all know that wine needs to be stored at room temperature, so it’s a good idea to set your wine cooler’s minimum set point to approximately 51 degrees or higher. Adjusting your wine cooler at or above 51 degrees will also help reduce the chances of condensation from occurring.

3. Limit the number of times you open your wine cooler

Now that you own a wine cooler, you might get into the habit of going back and forth to get more wine. But keep in mind, the more you open the wine cooler in the summertime, the more you increase its chances of building up water inside where condensation can form quickly.

So, what can you do to prevent condensation? Try not to open the wine cooler too often. This sounds challenging, especially if you are hosting a dinner party or one of your wine-sipping ventures.

But here’s a cool tip: Before hosting your event, note down a head-count or the approximate number of your guests. Then, remove a certain amount of wine bottles all at once to cover your guests. If you need to top off during the party, do another head-count and go back a second time and take out another batch of wine bottles that will last you till the end.

To break it down to a science, you can even leave a notepad and pen next to the wine cooler and make a checkmark every time you open the wine cooler. This way, at the end of the month, you can tally the number to see how many times you have opened the wine cooler. The next month try to aim for a lower number. This is an effective way to prevent condensation by not taking too many trips to open the wine cooler.

4. Check the Drainpipe

Before summertime, check your wine cooler’s drainpipe. A clogged drainpipe will leak and cause condensation. You can try this DIY attempt to clear the clog by following these steps:

1. Take out the drainpipe from the wine cooler.
2. Take a snake and push the clog through the drainpipe.
3. If it doesn’t budge, sprinkle a teaspoon of baking soda into the drainpipe and pour two cups of hot water down the drainpipe.
4. Wait a few minutes and check to see if the drainpipe has been unclogged. If it is still clogged, repeat steps one to three.

If you experience no success after the second attempt to unclog the drainpipe, there might be something wrong with the drainpipe, and your wine cooler may need to be repaired.

5. Clean mould from a wine cooler

How does mould grow in your wine cooler? When you remove and store bottles of wine constantly or if it is too humid, mould will start to develop on the wooden shelves and continues to spread. The catch 22 about humidity in wine coolers is that they require a certain level of humidity to ensure that the corks in your wine bottles stay sealed tightly.

If you find that there are too many instances of mould growing in your wine cooler, then it’s caused by high humidity levels. We suggest you follow these steps to clean your wine cooler using bleach:

1. Remove all wine bottles from the wine cooler and store them in a chilled, dark room such as the garage or basement.
2. Turn off the wine cooler and unplug it before cleaning.
3. Pour a little bleach on a soft sponge or cleaning rag, then apply it directly to the moulded areas.
4. Apply bleach sparingly to the sponge or rag as you wipe off all mouldy areas in the wine cooler.
5. Once you have wiped down all the surfaces that have mould with a separate rag, clean the areas with warm water and remove any traces of bleach.
6. Let the wine cooler air out for a day. The next day, put back your wine bottles inside and plug them back in and turn it on.

Now that you know some great tips for preventing condensation with your wine cooler, you should have no trouble storing your wine collection. However, it’s important to practice some basic cleaning maintenance on your wine cooler by limiting the number of times you open your wine cooler to remove and store wine.

If you experience condensation in your wine cooler and it has turned to mould, try cleaning it with bleach and water. If that does not work in getting rid of condensation, then it’s time to contact Prime Appliance Repairs.

To learn more about wine refrigerator condensation and how to prevent it, call Prime Appliance Repairs at 647-952-1517 or contact us here.