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Ok, this is gonna be long. I can't guarantee a popcorn worthy tale 
, but I can offer drama, challenges, anxiety, plot twists, humour, and the anticipation of a drained bank account 
Keep in mind, it's midnight, and this just happened in the last couple of hours. A bit of BG - hubby is working out of state (no choice, he's still looking for work here). Since I used to be a military wife, living alone isn't new to me, it's never easy, but this is the first house I've ever lived in where I actually feel uneasy being alone (partly due to various reasons, partly I have no idea why). I get very uneasy over unexplained noises, smells, etc.
Ok, onto the action. Late night, can't sleep, watching TV & surfing a bit, go into the kitchen to get a glass of iced tea. Open the freezer side of the fridge to get ice. I hear what sounds like spitting, coming from the freezer. Very odd. I look towards the bottom of the freezer, where it seems to be coming from and see - red glowing light. Not like a little warning light, I'm talking a nice large square in the middle of the back of the inside of the freezer of glowing red. I look closer - it's a vent to the back workings & motor & whatever of the freezer. But it shouldn't be glowing red & hissing. I reach my hand back to it, and it's HOT. Again, that should not be in my freezer. I realize the "spitting" is more like dropping batter onto a hot skillet. Like a drip, hitting something hot, & flaring up. NOT GOOD. Try not to panic.
Ok, drips, melting - it's frost free, shouldn't be anything to melt & drip, water, aha - ice maker. I open up the pantry, locate the knob to turn the water off to the ice maker (thankfully easily accessible, as (from what we have deduced from various clues) the pantry was once a washer/dryer closet before the addition was put on that included a laundry room, and the ice maker is simply hooked up to what was the faucet into the washer. Next, I start taking sutff out of the freezer, and run it to the laundry room (where we have an upright freezer) and stuff it all into there. And I turn the freezer side as low as it will go (only the fridge side actually has an off setting). By that time the square at the back of the bottom is no longer glowing red, so I figure I must have been right, something from the ice maker or tubing to it is dripping water on something that should absolutely not be getting wet, and has now stopped.
I then grab small plastic containers, fill with water, and further stuff the upright freezer, so I can try to get some ice blocks, so if I turn off the whole thing, I can put ice blocks in a cooler and put the fridge stuff in there to minimize loss.
So of course I'm a bit freaked out, worried about fire, worried about losing all the stuff in the fridge, worried about when I can get someone out to look at it, especially as tomorrow is a holiday, and most of all, worried over how the bank account is going to manage a huge bill to repair it (or worse, cover a new one, which we'd rather not do, cause even though hubby is trying to find a job up here, he might not, and we might have to short-sell and move there whether we want to or not. Can you tell I'm still a bit freaked over all this? Anyone still with me? Anyone? echoo.....
Ok, if you've hung in there this long, here we go. So, I pull the fridge out (it's on rollers, thank all the deities out there) and check for hot spots, glowing bits, etc. Nope, seems fine now the water supply was cut off. So, since I've pulled it out, I want to check under it as well. First, I have to get a wooden yardstick and reach under and clear out the bits & pieces.
Let me explain - my cat is a champion at lino hockey. That nice, shiny, slick linoleum (ours even looks like ti was waxed somewhere back in the past) makes a great hockey arena. Plastic bottle caps are the hockey pucks. And that grill across the front of the fridge? That's the goal, of course. Or I should say, the grid that lays in front of the fridge. Cause, she keeps pulling it off in order to try to retrieve the pucks (and other assorted items she shoots under there). We can't keep it on, we've tried tape of all sorts, and everything but glueing it on.
So, anyway, with the yardstick, from underneath and behind, I pull out no less than 20 bottle caps, a couple of cat toys, and a little item that had been on my printer's tray I use as a what-not shelf, the one she knocked half off the wall months ago. So I check underneath, no red glowing places, no obvious heat coming thru, looks ok.
I check the back of the fridge as best I can - it will only pull out so far, and has a wall on one side and counter on the other, so checking behind it means leaning over the counter (I'm rather short) and looking at the back at a sort of angle, so I can't look at the back straight on. About this time, I discover over in the corner, a small ball (cat toy, of course). So I get my yardstick (amazing the things you can do with a good old fashioned yard stick) and I try to give the ball a swat (at an angle, across the corner of the counter) to get it to roll out between the wall & the fridge. Instead, it bounces off the back of the freezer side, and as it does, I can see lights - omg, sparks. NOT a good sign. I try again, same thing.
Ok, plan B, no way will I ever sleep til I can get someone out with that thing still plugged in. So, off to the back porch, into the cabinet out there, drag in the one big cooler we have, clean if off and out, dump the ice from the ice maker in it (which I'm sure isn't going to keep things very cold, but all I have til some blocks can freeze in the upright freezer). Clear out the fridge (luckily, it wasn't overly full, since hubby has been working away), put what I can in the cooler, and unplug the fridge/freezer.
Ok, all is well, nothing has burst into flames, I won't die in my sleep, I can relax. Oh, let's get that ball out from behind, then push the fridge back in to get it out of the way til (hopefully) Tuesday. So I whack the ball again, still hits the back of the freezer side (remember, I'm doing this over a counter, from the side, I'm not that bad a shot normally, honest). So, it hits the back again - and - more sparks.
The thing is unplugged. How the heck do you get sparks from the motor of a fridge that's unplugged?
So, I grab my yardstick, and gently roll the ball across and thru & out. Pick it up.
Look at it. Shit. Drop it hard on the counter - yep. It's a damn toy ball that flashes lights when it hits something hard.
: In my own defense, I must point out that I could only see the back of the fridge from an ang.e - hanging over the counter, looking behind and down - not a clear line of vision, I could just see lights when the ball hit, but not from a straight vantage point 
Ok, so no sparks from the back, it would probably have been ok to leave plugged in til it got looked at - but still, I feel safer (and dumber) for knowing it isn't sparking.
I could live with the water shut off to the ice maker, since a drip from that was causing the sizzle effect as it hit something not meant to get wet - with out the drip, no more red square of hell in my freezer. However, I'm still paranoid about any damage that may have been done by the dripping water, it cuold still be a time bomb just waiting til I'm all complacent that all is well, then suddenly bursting into flame (ok, fridges usually just burn out the motor and stop running, not burst into flames, but I'm not taking any chances).
So I'm living out of a cooler (assuming said cooler actually keeps things from spoiling) til probably at least Tuesday (I'm going to call tomorrow, but I'm sure they'll be closed, just hoping they have someone who can come out on Tuesday). Dreading what the damages will be (even if they verify no damage was done, and I just leave the water off to the ice maker, the basic call-out fee is sure to be over $100. And I have a feeling it'll be a lot worse than that.
However, I am grateful that I caught it before it totally burnt the motor out, or heaven forbid, started a fire. And I'm grateful it didn't happen in the middle of a week day, when I might have told the repairperson that sparks were coming out of the back when the ball hit it - only for them to retrieve the ball themselves and see what it was
And for anyone who made it this far, thanks for listening - donations for the get Merriweather out of hell fund will be taken at the door as you leave..??NO?? Ok, nevermind, cancel that last bit
, but I can offer drama, challenges, anxiety, plot twists, humour, and the anticipation of a drained bank account Keep in mind, it's midnight, and this just happened in the last couple of hours. A bit of BG - hubby is working out of state (no choice, he's still looking for work here). Since I used to be a military wife, living alone isn't new to me, it's never easy, but this is the first house I've ever lived in where I actually feel uneasy being alone (partly due to various reasons, partly I have no idea why). I get very uneasy over unexplained noises, smells, etc.
Ok, onto the action. Late night, can't sleep, watching TV & surfing a bit, go into the kitchen to get a glass of iced tea. Open the freezer side of the fridge to get ice. I hear what sounds like spitting, coming from the freezer. Very odd. I look towards the bottom of the freezer, where it seems to be coming from and see - red glowing light. Not like a little warning light, I'm talking a nice large square in the middle of the back of the inside of the freezer of glowing red. I look closer - it's a vent to the back workings & motor & whatever of the freezer. But it shouldn't be glowing red & hissing. I reach my hand back to it, and it's HOT. Again, that should not be in my freezer. I realize the "spitting" is more like dropping batter onto a hot skillet. Like a drip, hitting something hot, & flaring up. NOT GOOD. Try not to panic.
Ok, drips, melting - it's frost free, shouldn't be anything to melt & drip, water, aha - ice maker. I open up the pantry, locate the knob to turn the water off to the ice maker (thankfully easily accessible, as (from what we have deduced from various clues) the pantry was once a washer/dryer closet before the addition was put on that included a laundry room, and the ice maker is simply hooked up to what was the faucet into the washer. Next, I start taking sutff out of the freezer, and run it to the laundry room (where we have an upright freezer) and stuff it all into there. And I turn the freezer side as low as it will go (only the fridge side actually has an off setting). By that time the square at the back of the bottom is no longer glowing red, so I figure I must have been right, something from the ice maker or tubing to it is dripping water on something that should absolutely not be getting wet, and has now stopped.
I then grab small plastic containers, fill with water, and further stuff the upright freezer, so I can try to get some ice blocks, so if I turn off the whole thing, I can put ice blocks in a cooler and put the fridge stuff in there to minimize loss.
So of course I'm a bit freaked out, worried about fire, worried about losing all the stuff in the fridge, worried about when I can get someone out to look at it, especially as tomorrow is a holiday, and most of all, worried over how the bank account is going to manage a huge bill to repair it (or worse, cover a new one, which we'd rather not do, cause even though hubby is trying to find a job up here, he might not, and we might have to short-sell and move there whether we want to or not. Can you tell I'm still a bit freaked over all this? Anyone still with me? Anyone? echoo.....
Ok, if you've hung in there this long, here we go. So, I pull the fridge out (it's on rollers, thank all the deities out there) and check for hot spots, glowing bits, etc. Nope, seems fine now the water supply was cut off. So, since I've pulled it out, I want to check under it as well. First, I have to get a wooden yardstick and reach under and clear out the bits & pieces.
Let me explain - my cat is a champion at lino hockey. That nice, shiny, slick linoleum (ours even looks like ti was waxed somewhere back in the past) makes a great hockey arena. Plastic bottle caps are the hockey pucks. And that grill across the front of the fridge? That's the goal, of course. Or I should say, the grid that lays in front of the fridge. Cause, she keeps pulling it off in order to try to retrieve the pucks (and other assorted items she shoots under there). We can't keep it on, we've tried tape of all sorts, and everything but glueing it on.
So, anyway, with the yardstick, from underneath and behind, I pull out no less than 20 bottle caps, a couple of cat toys, and a little item that had been on my printer's tray I use as a what-not shelf, the one she knocked half off the wall months ago. So I check underneath, no red glowing places, no obvious heat coming thru, looks ok.
I check the back of the fridge as best I can - it will only pull out so far, and has a wall on one side and counter on the other, so checking behind it means leaning over the counter (I'm rather short) and looking at the back at a sort of angle, so I can't look at the back straight on. About this time, I discover over in the corner, a small ball (cat toy, of course). So I get my yardstick (amazing the things you can do with a good old fashioned yard stick) and I try to give the ball a swat (at an angle, across the corner of the counter) to get it to roll out between the wall & the fridge. Instead, it bounces off the back of the freezer side, and as it does, I can see lights - omg, sparks. NOT a good sign. I try again, same thing.
Ok, plan B, no way will I ever sleep til I can get someone out with that thing still plugged in. So, off to the back porch, into the cabinet out there, drag in the one big cooler we have, clean if off and out, dump the ice from the ice maker in it (which I'm sure isn't going to keep things very cold, but all I have til some blocks can freeze in the upright freezer). Clear out the fridge (luckily, it wasn't overly full, since hubby has been working away), put what I can in the cooler, and unplug the fridge/freezer.
Ok, all is well, nothing has burst into flames, I won't die in my sleep, I can relax. Oh, let's get that ball out from behind, then push the fridge back in to get it out of the way til (hopefully) Tuesday. So I whack the ball again, still hits the back of the freezer side (remember, I'm doing this over a counter, from the side, I'm not that bad a shot normally, honest). So, it hits the back again - and - more sparks.
The thing is unplugged. How the heck do you get sparks from the motor of a fridge that's unplugged?
So, I grab my yardstick, and gently roll the ball across and thru & out. Pick it up.Look at it. Shit. Drop it hard on the counter - yep. It's a damn toy ball that flashes lights when it hits something hard.
: In my own defense, I must point out that I could only see the back of the fridge from an ang.e - hanging over the counter, looking behind and down - not a clear line of vision, I could just see lights when the ball hit, but not from a straight vantage point Ok, so no sparks from the back, it would probably have been ok to leave plugged in til it got looked at - but still, I feel safer (and dumber) for knowing it isn't sparking.
I could live with the water shut off to the ice maker, since a drip from that was causing the sizzle effect as it hit something not meant to get wet - with out the drip, no more red square of hell in my freezer. However, I'm still paranoid about any damage that may have been done by the dripping water, it cuold still be a time bomb just waiting til I'm all complacent that all is well, then suddenly bursting into flame (ok, fridges usually just burn out the motor and stop running, not burst into flames, but I'm not taking any chances).
So I'm living out of a cooler (assuming said cooler actually keeps things from spoiling) til probably at least Tuesday (I'm going to call tomorrow, but I'm sure they'll be closed, just hoping they have someone who can come out on Tuesday). Dreading what the damages will be (even if they verify no damage was done, and I just leave the water off to the ice maker, the basic call-out fee is sure to be over $100. And I have a feeling it'll be a lot worse than that.
However, I am grateful that I caught it before it totally burnt the motor out, or heaven forbid, started a fire. And I'm grateful it didn't happen in the middle of a week day, when I might have told the repairperson that sparks were coming out of the back when the ball hit it - only for them to retrieve the ball themselves and see what it was
And for anyone who made it this far, thanks for listening - donations for the get Merriweather out of hell fund will be taken at the door as you leave..??NO?? Ok, nevermind, cancel that last bit
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