I left my fridge door open. Is it ruined?

Question

I remember going to the fridge to drink milk when the phone rang. I brought my glass with me, answered the phone, went to my room after and slept. I woke up a good five hours after surprised to see my fridge wide open when i got back to the kitchen. It is still running though no coldness seem to be coming from it. i am not so much concerned with the food than I am with the appliance. I turned the unit down upon observing the compressor really hot at the bottom of the fridge. The sides of the fridge are also very warm to the touch when i found it.

I unplugged the unit for 3 hours and then defrosted a little. I turned it on again but am afraid I ruined it already. Please tell me if I just ruined my fridge. No need to tell me how stupid I was. I am feeling that awfully already.

Answer 1

I don't see why you would have ruined it. It was just overworked from the door being open. You did the right thing by defrosting and restarting it, and it should be fine, it just takes a while to cool to temp.

After all, remember all those open freezer boxes in the grocery stores?