When we moved into our house in November we had to buy a refrigerator. John's kind parents decided that they would like that to be their house warming gift to us. We were to buy a fridge and they would reimburse us. I found this task of refrigerator shopping a little daunting. With 8 million models out there how was I to know what to look for? I decided a $5 membership to Consumer Reports was altogether worth it.
I, oh so responsibly, researched all of the different models in our price range, at all the different store in our area. I read all of the customer reviews and looked at all the different features rated by Consumer Reports, and even watched their video on how they test refrigerators and freezers (pretty interesting, by the way!). In the end I picked a nice big, simple, Kenmore, with none of the fancy options, except an ice maker, which one day perhaps we'll get hooked up. I hate ice trays. The predominant complaint about this fridge was that it was noisy, but as Consumer Reports rated it well for noise, I decided to ignor this. The only models that ranked higher were luxury models WELL outside our price range.
I like the fridge, it is nice and big and clean and bright, and we haven't had any problems with it. And really folks, it's not noisy. It sounds like a refrigerator sometimes, but I don't notice it.
The PROBLEM is what I have decided to refer to as the
Gunge Pot. The owner's manual refers to it as the "non-removable drip pan." You see, when a freezer is defrosted a lot of moisture and
gunge drips down a little drain and into the a drip pan. In MOST refrigerators this is a convenience. The pan keeps said gunge from dripping all over your kitchen floor. When you finish defrosting you simply remove the little vent at the bottom front of the unit and remove the drip pan for a good scrub.
However, with this particular Kenmore, and I have subsequently learned there are some Frigidaire models like this too, the drip pan is non-removable, and really for all practical purposes non-accessible! I could not fit my sponge toting hand in to wipe it out. I was horrified and disbelieving. I HAD to fit my hand in. I tried again, from the front and from the back and only succeeded in obtaining a small scratch on one side of my hand and a small bruise on the other.
Don't panic; Run to google. SOMEONE must have encountered this problem before (even though those noise obsessed twits on Consumer Reports hadn't!) and solved it. Right? Wrong. I found many outraged Q&A type conversations about what the heck the stupid "engineers" who designed these tragically flawed fridges were thinking. But no satisfactory solutions. One person recommended removing excess fluid with a turkey baster!! That is just sad.
Anyway, my gallant husband has attacked our gunge pot with a long handled brush and plenty of bleach and that seems to be the best we can manage. One person advised inserting a smaller pan inside the non-removable one as a make shift REMOVABLE drip pan. So now begins the search for a not too big and not too small and not too deep but not too shallow pan that I can fit under my fridge to make up for the hopeless incompetence of the stupid Kenmore "engineers."
Sigh. This post is meant, not simply as a whining session, but as something educational. For any of you out there going out to buy your very first refrigerator. Check the drip pan. If it's not removable, move on!
Another Fridge story
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