This is the fridge I had from the time I got my first apartment in 1970 until I moved to Stillwater in 2000. My parents bought it in 1959. I grew up with that fridge. When I last saw it, it was still running great. Sure, it had to be defrosted from time to time, but it ran and ran, and ran and ran. I loved that old fridge. It was dependable and fairly quiet, considering it was over 40 years old.
This is the fridge that came with this house when we moved in in 2004. It was only one year old then, which makes it not quite six now. Within the first year, the icemaker quit working, then, almost immediately, the water thing in the door slowed down to a painful drip-drip. Since then, we've been buying bagged ice to put in the bin, although the ice dispenser also quit working.On Saturday, the day before Easter dinner, to which we'd invited a friend, it quit altogether. Sure, it's still running, but the fan is just blowing recycled air, which is getting warmer by the hour. We've gone through four bags of ice, brought in the Coleman cooler, and our food is spoiling. Until I get a check from my client (which could a week or more), we can't go get groceries, so the entire situation is driving me nuckin' futz. We've called the landlord twice, who says the repair guy won't be here until afternoon. Meanwhile, I seethe, worry, and grow wearier and wearier of never getting a farking break.
This morning I spent two hours --TWO HOURS-- taking all of our little German vocabulary and "LOL Cats" magnets off of the fridge doors. What a pain! Those will not be going up on the new fridge doors, because I'll just have to take them down in July before we move.
On a positive note, yesterday was WONDERFUL! We had such a great time, probably the best holiday dinner ever. Thanks to everyone who made it so enjoyable.
Is that fridge a Maytag? The reason I ask is that it looks like the one my neighbors have and they have had nothing but trouble with it. Something went wrong with the water dispenser in the door and they woke up one morning to a flooded kitchen; the freezer motor quit and then the fridge part wasn't keeping anything cold. Luckily for them, it was still under warranty when all this happened and they got a new fridge. But they said they will never buy another Maytag product (they also bought a new Maytag stove along with the fridge and that thing had all kinds of problems, too - now that Maytag products are built in China, they are worthless pieces of junk).
ReplyDeleteI grew up with that same fridge, too, Steph. It was a workhorse and they are said to have been much more energy efficient.
And all this happened while the fridge was only a few months old! Let's start making things in America again without the American "planned obsolescence" crap - and then products will be worth what you pay for them!
ReplyDeleteNo, it's a Whirlpool. The old one was a General Electric.
ReplyDeleteThat old fridge is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteI still miss my first stove in DC, from the 1950s. The< don't make appliances like that anymore. Everything is built to last until the warrenty expires and then it's quickly down the hill.
Good luck with your new fridge.
New stuff is programmed to quit. Looking good, its beauty is only skin deep. Imagine an appliance reaching 40 these days..not like us, we're just getting started at 40!
ReplyDeleteLyn
L.Rochelle: Yes!! I thought I was the only one that thought appliances were programmed to crap out after the warranty expired.
ReplyDeleteThe repair guy just left. The compressor broke, so he replaced it. Hopefully that was the only problem. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteVille has the same model as ours, except that it's a year older, and it's a beut! Her ice maker is incredible.
A guy I know to NEVER EVER buy a fridge with an ice maker because they are always breaking and an expensive repair. I've listened 'cause I figure he should know.
ReplyDeleteOur microwave is starting to exhibit disturbing behavior. with our home warranty we will have all the problems addressed and repaired for $55.00, or they will replace it with a new one. The thing is 12 years old, so I have a feeling it will be easier and more cost effective for the company to replace it.
ReplyDeleteThe door jams, several of the presets do not work, the button that controls the turntable does not work and lately, when used for a long period of time, it get so hot we can actually smell melting plastic.
Oh, and the light has never worked right.
Our microwave's LED readout is in Klingon.
ReplyDeleteUh-oh. It just dawned on me that my fridge is six years old.
ReplyDelete(Sears Kenmore, presumably made by Whirlpool.)
My fridge is a GE and it was bought back in 1974 - and it is still going strong. But now that it's just me living here (my parents bought the fridge for themselves just before my dad died), it's too big. But I can justify buying a new one since this one is still working. When it finally croaks, I just want a little 15 cubic foot one.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, my dream kitchen would not be granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances (we have the granite, but not the steel). My dream kitchen would be a Cape Cod cottage style with white beadboard on the walls and older appliances, especially a Wedgewood range and oven like the one I had in Ventura.
ReplyDeleteI love that look, and those old appliances are great.
I'd really like to go even further and get an Elmira wood-burning kitchen range. Memories of my uncle's cabin: that big old black Kalamazoo cast-iron/white porcelain/steel beast with 6 burner covers, warming oven, warming shelf and hot water box was great! You could cook some fantastic soup on that thing - just push it to a back burner and it simmered all day slowly over a wood fire. Yum!
ReplyDeleteI love the Cape Cod cottage look too - white beadbord, a kitchen table with wooden top and white painted sides and legs with matching chairs, nautical blue walls...
We're just a couple of old hippies...
ReplyDelete;)
Yes, we are! haha I absolutely can't wait to have my Tumbleweed tiny house, living in the country (in an area with mountains of course), no property taxes, miniscule utilities - freedom!! A wind generator and a solar panel on the roof and I'm good to go!
ReplyDeleteGads, this post reminded me of my mom's old fridge in her basement. She refuses to give it up and I don't blame her.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is absolutely amazing and has been running perfectly since before I was around (and I just turned 40 last year).
The only problem with it is it has one of those itty bitty freezers which builds up ice, but on the plus side, it's so small it's easy to clean/defrost.
New stuff isn't made nearly as well as old stuff was. Even though the new stuff is more energy efficient, it costs more to buy and is made with cheaper parts than the old sturdy reliable stuff.