Common fault
Why does frost keep building up in my freezer?
Short answer
If you scrape the frost out and it is back within a couple of weeks, the defrost cycle is starting and never completing.
What is actually going on
Three parts account for nearly all of it: a defrost heater that has burned open, a thermistor that has drifted far enough out of range that the control no longer triggers the cycle correctly, or a door gasket whose magnet has weakened, letting more moisture into the cabinet each day than the cycle can carry back out. The reason to deal with it early is that ice on the evaporator acts as insulation, so the unit does not fail, it fades. Cooling gets a little worse each week and the number on the display stops matching the temperature around the food.
What we check, and in what order
Coastal San Diego brings this fault out earlier than a dry climate would. Along the water in Point Loma, Coronado, Pacific Beach, Del Mar and Encinitas the marine layer keeps indoor humidity high for most of the year, and every door opening loads the evaporator with more moisture than the identical freezer would see in Escondido or Rancho Bernardo. A defrost circuit that is only marginally weak survives inland and gives itself away on the coast. It is also why gasket condition matters more here than the price of a gasket suggests.
There is a test you can run yourself in ten seconds. Close the freezer door on a strip of paper and pull it out. If it slides free with no drag, the seal is not making contact at that point, and the worst spot is usually on the hinge side or at a lower corner where the gasket has taken a set. On built-ins carrying a heavy custom panel the door hardware can also drift out of adjustment, which loads one corner of the seal and unloads the opposite one.
If that matches what yours is doing, say so when you call — it decides which parts come on the van.
Andrei did a fantastic job repairing my washing machine! He was punctual, polite, and very knowledgeable. He explained the problem in detail and fixed it quickly. I was impressed with his professionalism and the reasonable pricing.
My refrigerator stopped cooling right before the weekend, and I was panicking. Thankfully, Dmitry arrived the same day, diagnosed the issue quickly, and had all the parts needed. He fixed it on the spot.
Bill was on time and very professional. He quickly analyzed and fixed it at minimal costs. He also looked into another potential problem on an appliance for free. I will use his services for all of my appliances.
Appliance down in San Diego?
Tell us the brand and what it is doing — we can usually name the likely repair before we arrive.
Questions
Answers before you call
I'm inland in Escondido rather than on the coast. Does that mean a longer wait?
Not as a rule, though it decides the easiest day. Coastal calls from La Jolla through Point Loma, Coronado and Del Mar route in one run; inland work through Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Escondido is its own loop carrying different parts. Same-day or next-day depends on technician availability and part stock. Describing the fault properly raises the odds the right part is aboard.