I was surprised I could entice Olga to go on a walk yesterday morning. It was drizzly and gray and normally she balks at such weather. But I'd been cleaning all morning and I needed to get out of the house, so I'm glad she was cooperative!
I got quite a bit done. Aside from the normal vacuuming and whatnot, I launched a fairly major household task -- defrosting the freezer.
Here's what the project looked like at the outset. Do you like my unintentional self-portrait in that shiny pot?
Our freezer consists of plastic drawers that sit on those shelves, which have coolant coils running through them. The shelves tend to accumulate ice, as you can see, and when it builds up too much it's hard to slide the drawers in and out. I've been struggling with them lately so I knew it was time (even though I did this just two years ago, for the first time in seven years -- I'm not sure why it was already needed again, but whatever).
I emptied the freezer and stacked the drawers on the counter, covered with a towel to keep them as cool as possible. (We had ice cream bars in there, and I was a little afraid they might look like Godzilla by the time I was done.) I put towels on the floor and in the base of the freezer, shut off the circuit breaker to stop the cooling, and set pots of warm water on the shelves. And waited.
I'm sure you've all had to do this at some time or other, so none of this will sound very exciting. And it's not. It's a messy job but it's just a matter of time. After a couple of hours of throwing chunks of ice in the sink, wringing out towels and changing out the warm water periodically, everything was ice-free. I turned on the power and voila! A freezer I no longer have to fight.
And the ice cream bars came through fine. I had one last night and it looked perfectly normal.
After the defrosting project, Dave and I met one of his co-workers at this restaurant in St. John's Wood for brunch. (A bellini and eggs Benedict with avocado for me.) It seemed appropriate (though mystifying) that a polar bear is the mascot.
From there we went to see the high school musical, "Anything Goes," which was very good -- in fact, the best production I've seen at our school, I think. The girl who played the lead is particularly talented, and with music by Cole Porter you can't really go wrong. I enjoyed it!
From one householder to another: Defrosting every few YEARS? No wonder yours is such a performance. I do mine every two/three months or so. Twenty minutes flat - no wringing of hands or towels. Big fat bath towel (kept for that purpose) to catch the water at the bottom goes straight into the washing machine once job finished.
ReplyDeleteVorsprung durch Technik,
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My present freezer doesn't need defrosting, but when I had one years ago that did,( awful job) I used a hair dryer to provide the heat required.....I guess you might not have a hair dryer!!!
ReplyDeleteNo - I did not like the unintentional self-portrait. It made me feel queasy. I wonder if Donald Trump and his love child Elon Musk have ever defrosted their freezers.
ReplyDeleteI guess your freezer is very old if it needs defrosting. For me defrosting a 'fridge will be tale to tell young people, except they their eyes will quickly glaze over. Now you have me thinking about how I used to defrost a 'fridge.
ReplyDeleteWe typically do ours in the winter months when the temps are below freezing during the daylight hours. We set baskets of food out the back door while we are defrosting so there is little worry of ice cream bars melting. Takes a lot of the pressure off.
ReplyDeleteAll my freezers are frost-free so I don't think I ever defrosted a freezer.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had to defrost a freezer in some time but I'm not a fan of the mess. Just catching up with your posts. I thought the photo of the wall and elders was lovely, don't see why the apartment caretaker guy worries about it. The trees are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt's done! Good job!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a pretty fine day. You got a dreaded task accomplished, had brunch out, got in a good walk with Olga, and then got to see a fine production of a Cole Porter musical.
Yep. I'd consider that a good one.
Good grief ... The last time I ever had to defrost an iced up freezer, I was in my 20s ... I am 80 now! Frost-free is the ONLY way to go in the 21st Century! They've been around for a long time now!
ReplyDeleteMy chest freezer gets defrosted every couple of years, usually when the lid won't close tight, because of build up in the corners. There's a lot of chucking ice into the sink.
ReplyDeleteOurs need doing quite often...but they don't work too well..one small chest freezer and a half and half with one thermostat..you have to run it so the fridge is a bit too cold and the freezer only just cold enough..
ReplyDeleteAnd it grows chunks of ice on the fridge back wall.
But, hey ho, they were free!!
Just thinking about your comment that the freezer was worse, sooner, than last time you did it. It might be that the humidity was higher overall. Anyway, good job well done. As you say it's not necessarily hard but it's slow and tedious (and can be messy).
ReplyDeleteHigh school musicals are often surprisingly good, in my experience. There are some very talented young people that come to the fore!
My freezer here has never had a build up of frost. At my old house, the ice dispenser would freeze up every now and then. I would use the hair dryer to get it back to normal.
ReplyDeleteIt was wet and drizzly here yesterday morning.
That bear gets around. He is in Covent garden also.
ReplyDeleteIt's been awhile since we've had to defrost a freezer (ours is an upright; the one with the fridge never needs it), but I'm thinking there's a drain at the base under which pan can be put to catch the water. That's easier than dealing with towels.
ReplyDeleteThat's a colorful shot of the scooters and leaves!
I don't have to defrost my freezer and I sure don't miss that job.
ReplyDeleteWell done, Steve!
Defrosting is messy. I use a hair dryer. The ice seems to loosen from the places and you don't have quite as much water to wipe up.
ReplyDeleteI used to attend some of my high school's musicals although I'm not a huge musical fan. When I had students in the play (which was often), I tried to make an appearance. I haven't defrosted a refrigerator since I retired (my mini-fridge); all my other fridges have been self-defrosting.
ReplyDeleteWe were “lucky” to have had the power go out for five days in August - our chest freezer just naturally defrosted then. Ha! My mini fridge at work needs defrosted & I’m not sure how to go about it without making a huge mess. Oof.
ReplyDeleteMine is a frost free freezer and never ices up so never needs defrosting. I do take out the baskets and wipe it out now and again though, same time as I do the fridge, so twice a year.
ReplyDeleteUrsula: You said the same thing on my LAST defrosting post! LOL!
ReplyDeleteFrances: Yeah, a hair dryer is not something I have routinely at hand. :)
YP: I'm sure they have "people" who do that sort of thing for them, after having signed NDAs.
Ed: I should have waited another month!
Bob: Even back in the day? I feel like I've had to defrost every freezer I've ever had! (Maybe because I've usually been a renter, and got substandard appliances.)
Pixie: I agree -- I like their spindly look.
Ms Moon: Getting that freezer done was a huge load off my mind.
Marcia: It's so funny that I've never had a frost-free freezer. At least, not that I remember. I guess because I'm usually a renter?
Boud: That's like the sign for me, when I can't pull the drawers in and out!
GZ: Well, you get what you pay for, as they say!
Jenny-O: It's possible, but that's interesting. Why would the humidity in our house be so much higher? (Especially since we constantly run a dehumidifier!)
Sharon: Yeah, I've heard that hair dryer trick, but we don't have a hair dryer! (I'm surprised Dave doesn't have one, actually.)
Linda Sue: There must be an Ivy restaurant there!
Kelly: There might be a drain but I haven't a clue where it is, and I wouldn't want to have to tip up the machine.
Ellen D: Lucky you! :)
Red: Yeah, if we had a hair dryer, I might have gone that route!
Margaret: I like musicals, and in this case (Cole Porter) the songwriting was top notch, so nothing to complain about.
Bug: Well, that worked out well! Hopefully your food didn't defrost too?
River: Yeah, I wash out the fridge pieces a couple times a year too.
Catching up. Was unable to comment on blog posts remotely Sunday. I’m remote now, too, but my iPad is happy again. I haven’t defrosted a freezer since 1979 and I don’t miss it.
ReplyDeleteAnything Goes is one of my favorite musicals. I'm glad it was a good show. I remember those defrosting days well -- I hated them! Well done!
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