Owners of other appliances made by the Whirlpool corporation including KitchenAid, Amana, Kenmore and Maytag may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

The tools needed to remove the lower rear panel and access the condenser coils include a 1/4" socket and a 1/4" drive ratchet or a 1/4" wrench.

To clean the condenser coils, I highly recommend buying a long Condenser Coil Brush, also known as an "auger lint remover", which can also be used to clean out dryer vents or radiator heaters).

You will also need a vacuum cleaner with a detachable accessory hose and a brush or crevice attachment.

Avoid pulling from the middle or the top of the refrigerator to prevent from having tip over and fall on top of you.

The refrigerator has four wheels, so it should roll out relatively easily.

You may need to remove the debris in front of the refrigerator with your vacuum cleaner in order for it to roll smoothly and reduce the risk of scratching your tile or laminate wood flooring.

It probably hadn't been cleaned in at least five to ten years.

There are four small screws on the black cardboard access panel located at the bottom edge of the back side of the refrigerator.

Use the crevice attachment on your vacuum cleaner or wet/dry shop vac to clean the accumulated dust, pet hair and lint on the ventilation slats on the right side of the access panel.

Gently bend back the panel to access the refrigerator coils.

After seeing how dirty our coils looked, I highly recommend buying a 24" or 26" long Condenser Coil Brush to thoroughly remove all of the lint, dust, hair and dirt from your condenser coils.

(A coil brush can also be useful for dusting a radiator heater or cleaning out lint from your laundry dryer's lint trap, exhaust hose and outside air vent.)

I ordered a brush immediately after I finished cleaning the coils with just my vacuum.

If you have a wet/dry shop vacuum, you may choose to plug the hose into the "blower" opening on the opposite side.

Then carefully blow out the rest of the dust from in between the coils. I recommend wearing a mask to avoid breathing in the dust.

This would also be a good time to double check that the water supply line's compression nut fitting is tight to prevent water leaks and make sure the copper pipe or plastic tubing is in good condition.

For more, please take a look at my list of DIY Home Repair & Maintenance Guides.