Refrigerator: Off-season, door closed/door open????

Diamondjim

Well-known member
We looked at maybe a thousand + TT and 5er's this summer in search of what we thought we needed. Both used & new rigs.

Without exception, the frig doors were ALL CLOSED.

What is the proper procedure when not in use, with leaving the door open or closed? We expect to be using the 5er (Greystone 32RL) some this winter for 2-3 days outings.

Never saw or smelled and problems in any of those we looked at. We are now in FLA, the A/C is set (84°) and DW insists that the doors should be open. Since I don't know the answer, and searches here give me answers to questions I haven't asked, what should one do? In the past, we normally would leave the door a jar. Good or bad idea?

Thanks for your response. The world will not end in the mean time, I"m hoping!
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Re: Off season, door closed/door open????

When not in use DW makes sure the inside of the fridge and freezer are dry then leaves the doors open slightly. If you look on the handle of the door there is a small slide latch that keeps the door from closing all the way. Now if you are sure the inside is completely dry and is room temperature you probably could close it without any problem.
 

buddyboy

Well-known member
Re: Off season, door closed/door open????

We dry it out and put an open Ziploc of baking soda and ground coffee in it. We leave the doors ajar in case we missed any moisture. We've done this on our boats and trailer.
 

GWRam

Well-known member
Re: Off season, door closed/door open????

We always leave ours with the doors slightly open. Never had any problems doing this.
I have come across closed fridges in the past that had a foul smell. Don't know why they smelled, looked clean, just smelly in a bad way.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Re: Off season, door closed/door open????

The Dometic RM1350 manual says:

When the refrigerator is turned off for a period of time it is recommended that the refrigerator
is emptied, defrosted cleaned and that the doors are left ajar. Use the detachable airing position
device to ensure the doors stay ajar.

Our unit doesn't actually use the separate device - the latching pins trap the doors in a slightly open position.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Off season, door closed/door open????

Ours came with some blue plastic spacers that help hold the door ajar.
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wrgrs50s

Well-known member
Re: Off season, door closed/door open????

Always leave ours closed when in storage. Never experienced an odor and it keeps unwanted critters out.
 

jhardin

Well-known member
Re: Off season, door closed/door open????

We leave ours open with the attachment that came with it.
 

Dean-Pam

Well-known member
Re: Off season, door closed/door open????

We leave ours open and have never had an issue of mold on the seals or smell.
 

Crumgater

Well-known member
Re: Off season, door closed/door open????

We leave ours cracked open. We're in damp Seattle, so hard to get things completely dried out. Never had an odor issue when we leave them cracked open.

I'd guess for RV's that are for sale and being shown, the doors would be shut for aesthetic reasons.
 

Diamondjim

Well-known member
Re: Off season, door closed/door open????

Appreciate all the great comments.
NO manuals (or little blue clips) came with our used rig, so very valuable information, and we thank you.
 

guyc66

Well-known member
We always propped our fridge doors open slightly and placed a small bag of coffee grounds in to keep it smelling fresh. I heard if you keep them closed you should put in some old crumpled newspaper to prevent musty smells, but I don't know if there is any benefit to that or not.
 
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