It's been quite a while since we've had a total McGuyver moment in our house, but last weekend's kitchen maintenance was worth a quick post...
At some point last month our freezer started getting warmer, ever so slightly at first, until this month, when it started making water in the ice container. We pulled out the ice tray, cranked the temp knob to max 9, and waited. We turned it on and off, we cranked the fridge temp... nothin'.
Then our fears manifested- there was a considerable amount of water in the foot pan. After asking around, it sounded like we were going to need a new unit entirely, but luckily we aren't inclined to give up that easily.
So we pulled out the unit (unplugged it and turned off the water for safety) and I took off the back panel to find 10 years of nasty, furry dust, as well as a pan full of water. Neither are easy solutions, apparently. I tried to vacuum the dust out with the hand held and the big vacuum, but that dust wouldn't budge. So I gathered about 20 Q-Tips and went into each vent hole like the ones in your car, cleaning each strip one at a time, and used a rag on the rest of the unit until it was about 60% cleaner. Some of the dust was settled too far into the fan unit to reach it, but I have intentions to go back in a few weeks and do it again, next time with something even smaller and longer, like a pipe cleaner.
For the water, a rag (ShamWow!) simply wasn't picking up enough of it, so I got out the turkey baster and removed about 10 cups of water in 20 minutes. A ShopVac would have been better, but we just couldn't have gotten one back there.
There was also a considerable amount of ice buildup inside the freezer that we also scraped off.
We reset the unit (some have buttons, some just need to be unplugged) and within a day we had a freezer again, the filtered water was coming out at least 20degrees colder, and the ice unit was cranking out ice.
Needless to say kitchen appliances don't last forever. Ours is only 10 years old however, and we weren't ready to drop the cash on a new one, so we've learned a couple of valuable lessons!
1. Don't forget to clean out the filters and regularly maintain all appliances so they last as long as they can!
2. Don't buy into the throw-it-away culture we live in. If it's worth fixing, it's probably do-able!
3. But if it does need replacing, look into Craig's List.
We need a chest freezer anyway and had planned on buying a used one this winter, so when the possibility of the freezer dying came into view, I got on Craig's List immediately and found several options in Denver for under $100. There were also a plethora of both Fridge-Freezer units that I feel better about knowing about, just in case! But luckily, for now, our freezer is running like a champ!
At some point last month our freezer started getting warmer, ever so slightly at first, until this month, when it started making water in the ice container. We pulled out the ice tray, cranked the temp knob to max 9, and waited. We turned it on and off, we cranked the fridge temp... nothin'.
Then our fears manifested- there was a considerable amount of water in the foot pan. After asking around, it sounded like we were going to need a new unit entirely, but luckily we aren't inclined to give up that easily.
So we pulled out the unit (unplugged it and turned off the water for safety) and I took off the back panel to find 10 years of nasty, furry dust, as well as a pan full of water. Neither are easy solutions, apparently. I tried to vacuum the dust out with the hand held and the big vacuum, but that dust wouldn't budge. So I gathered about 20 Q-Tips and went into each vent hole like the ones in your car, cleaning each strip one at a time, and used a rag on the rest of the unit until it was about 60% cleaner. Some of the dust was settled too far into the fan unit to reach it, but I have intentions to go back in a few weeks and do it again, next time with something even smaller and longer, like a pipe cleaner.
For the water, a rag (ShamWow!) simply wasn't picking up enough of it, so I got out the turkey baster and removed about 10 cups of water in 20 minutes. A ShopVac would have been better, but we just couldn't have gotten one back there.
There was also a considerable amount of ice buildup inside the freezer that we also scraped off.
We reset the unit (some have buttons, some just need to be unplugged) and within a day we had a freezer again, the filtered water was coming out at least 20degrees colder, and the ice unit was cranking out ice.
Needless to say kitchen appliances don't last forever. Ours is only 10 years old however, and we weren't ready to drop the cash on a new one, so we've learned a couple of valuable lessons!
1. Don't forget to clean out the filters and regularly maintain all appliances so they last as long as they can!
2. Don't buy into the throw-it-away culture we live in. If it's worth fixing, it's probably do-able!
3. But if it does need replacing, look into Craig's List.
We need a chest freezer anyway and had planned on buying a used one this winter, so when the possibility of the freezer dying came into view, I got on Craig's List immediately and found several options in Denver for under $100. There were also a plethora of both Fridge-Freezer units that I feel better about knowing about, just in case! But luckily, for now, our freezer is running like a champ!
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