I just noticed that the sides of my small fridge were really hot. I had put a lot of food in there as I couldn’t reach my under counter one with my broken back. I’ve never felt it so hot! I switched it off, defrosted it and have switched it on again. It’s been 35° today. Is this normal or should I be concerned?
Fridges/freezers need to dissipate the heat from the inside....some have a grille fixed to the back, others do it through the sidewalls. The higher the ambient temperature, the hotter these will become. Completely normal.
...oh, and I always say this when fridges are mentioned, it's a really good idea to have a fridge thermometer to check if the internal temperature is between 2 and 5C. You'd be surprised how many are WAY too high....
My Samsung (American style) gets well hot. OUr Philips (built int) doesnt.
Just keep an eye on it, there is probably no problem. To create a cooling effect you are changing energy states so heat as a by-product is understandable