Whirlpool Freezer Symbols - What Are They and What Do They Mean? (2024)

Every Whirlpool freezer has a number of different settings that you can use to adjust the temperature and function of the appliance. Each setting corresponds to a specific symbol on the control panel and the display screen.

However, over time with extensive use of your freezer, the symbols can rub off or wear away. This can make it difficult to use your appliance properly.

Luckily, this guide will teach you everything that you need to know about the different symbols and settings in your freezer. Although every Whirlpool freezer is unique, there are several universal settings that you’ll find in almost every freezer that is produced by this brand.

Keep reading to learn about each other symbols, the settings to which they correspond, and the function of each setting.

Control Panel

The control panel in a Whirlpool freezer is the main control centre where you’ll be able to adjust all of the different settings and identify which settings are currently active in your appliance. On the control panel, you’ll find the following components.

Stand-By

The stand-by function switches off the freezer. You can activate this function by holding down the button for three seconds. When you do so, the display screen will turn off. This doesn’t disconnect the appliance from the main power supply.

Freezer Temperature

Overview – The factor set temperature is -18 degrees Celsius, but you can use the freezer temperature adjustment buttons to change the temperature inside your freezer.

Best used for – Adjusting the temperature of your freezer.

Benefits/drawbacks – You probably won’t need to adjust the temperature inside your freezer very often but it’s helpful to be able to increase or decrease the temperature if and when necessary.

Child Lock

Overview – Most modern-day freezers have a child lock. You’ll find this setting on your Whirlpool freezer by searching for the image of a key.

Best used for – Disabling all of the other buttons on the control panel.

Benefits/drawbacks – The child lock enables you to keep your children from adjusting your freezer’s settings or turning it off. You’ll need to hold the button down to activate it and make sure to deactivate it whenever you want to use the buttons on your control panel.

Ice Mode On/Off

Overview – The ice mode is shown by a symbol of a large ice cube and four small ice cubes. You can turn this setting on and off using the corresponding button on the control panel to activate or deactivate the ice maker function.

Best used for – Switching in or off the ice maker function.

Benefits/drawbacks – You can turn the ice maker off to save energy when you don’t need it. You’ll need to make sure that you remember to turn it back on when you want to use the ice maker.

Ice and Water Dispenser Light

Overview – The light symbol indicates the ice and water dispenser light. The light switches on when water or ice is being dispensed and turns off automatically when the process is complete. The display screen shows which mode is selected. Although the lights turning on and off is an automatic process, you can adjust the brightness of the light yourself.

Best used for – Adjusting the brightness of the ice and water dispenser light.

Benefits/drawbacks – There are no particular benefits or drawbacks to using this function. However, if you turn the light to its brightest setting, your appliance might use a small amount of extra energy to power the light, compared to using a dimmer setting. The lights are LED lamps and can’t be changed.

Black-Out Alarm

Overview – The black-out alarm is shown by an image of a plug that is crossed out. This alarm is activated when there is an extended period of time when the power supply to the appliance is interrupted, causing the internal temperature of the freezer to rise. The freezer display flashes to show that the maximum temperature threshold has been reached.

Best used for – Identifying when there has been an interruption in the power supply to your freezer.

Benefits/drawbacks – This function warns you when there is an issue with the power supply to your freezer. You’ll need to resolve the problem as quickly as possible to prevent your appliance from getting damaged and to prevent your food from spoiling.

Door Open Alarm

Overview – The door open alarm symbol will illuminate when the door of the freezer has remained open for an extended period of time. In most Whirlpool freezers, the alarm will begin to flash, and the appliance makes an acoustic signal sound when the door has been open for two minutes.

Best used for – Noticing when your freezer door has been open for too long.

Benefits/drawbacks – The door open alarm is a helpful mechanism to warn you when you’ve forgotten to shut the door or if you’ve not latched it shut properly. It reduces your freezer’s energy consumption and keeps your food from defrosting. There are no drawbacks to this feature.

6th Sense

Overview – The 6th sense symbol is shown by the words ‘6th sense,’ and it indicates when your freezer is in the process of reaching the most optimal conditions for food preservation. This function is automatically activated when there is a very high volume of food in the freezer that needs to be cooked down. It may also activate when the freezer door has been left open for too long or if there has been an interruption to the appliance’s power supply.

Best used for – Identifying when your freezer is working slightly harder than usual to keep your food frozen for any of the above reasons.

Benefits/drawbacks – This feature is helpful to warn you when there is an issue with your appliance that is causing it to work harder. The icon will remain illuminated until to freezer achieves the optimum preservation conditions once again. There are no downsides to having this mechanism in your freezer.

Antibacterial Filter

Overview – The antibacterial filter shows a microscope with a tick, and it indicates the current condition of the antibacterial filter in your freezer. The icon will be blue in colour when you first replace the filter. It will turn yellow when the filter is becoming exhausted and then red when it needs to be replaced.

Best used for – Checking the condition of the antibacterial filter inside your appliance.

Benefits/drawbacks – It’s handy having a symbol that indicates the condition of the filters inside your freezer because it’s something that most people would normally forget to check manually. There aren’t any major downsides to this function.

Water Filter

Overview – The water filter symbol is very similar to the antibacterial filter symbol, but instead of a tick, it has ‘H2O’ written on it. This symbol indicates the current condition of the water filter in your freezer. As with the antibacterial filter symbol, the water filter symbol illuminates in blue, yellow, and red to inform you of whether the filter needs replacing.

Best used for – Identifying when the water filter inside your appliance needs to be replaced.

Benefits/drawbacks – As with the antibacterial filter mechanism, there are very few drawbacks to having a water filter indicator.

Fast Freezing

Overview – The fast freezing function can be activated to rapidly freeze your food. It’s shown by a symbol of a thermometer with two downward arrows.

Best used for – Rapidly freezing fresh food.

Benefits/drawbacks – When you’ve just bought a bunch of fresh ingredients and want to freeze them quickly, you can activate this by simply pressing the corresponding button. The function will automatically deactivate after 24 hours, but you can reactivate it by pressing the button once again. The drawback to the setting is the increased energy consumption that your appliance will require to rapidly freeze your food.

Overview – Most Whirlpool fridge-freezers have a vacation mode, which is denoted by a symbol of an umbrella and two wavy lines (representing ocean waves).

Best used for – Deactivating the refrigerator compartments in your fridge freezer if you are away from home for an extended period of time.

Benefits/drawbacks – You won’t have this feature if you have a stand-alone freezer. For those of you with fridge freezers, this is a very helpful mechanism to reduce your appliance’s energy consumption if you are away on holiday. However, if you still have perishable produce in your fridge when you go away, this feature won’t be helpful, as your food will spoil if the fridge is turned off.