Fridge problem

[alison]

Has this ever happened to you???

I discovered after weeks of throwing moldy food out, re-buying, throwing out, and so on, that our fridge is actually heating its contents up. It cools down to a regular fridge temperature again (that's why it took me so long to find out what's been going on). It must be an electrical problem, because yesterday, for the first time, I opened the fridge door and got a wave of heat coming at me.

I've called our management people to come look at the fridge, but of course the fridge is being normal right now...

Have any of you experienced something like this, so that I can tell the guys what to look for?

TIA.

[Deebs]

I would definitely put a thermometer in there and start recording temperatures. Even if it feels cool when you open the door, it should fluctuate if you are getting warm bursts. I know nothing about actually fixing a fridge, but would start there (plus, that will give you an idea of whether or not your food is safe to eat).

[poky]

You can also put a few ice cubes in a baggie in the freezer; if they turn into a puddle, you know you got below freezing in there at some point; if both fridge and freezer are involved it *could* be something with the outlet or cord, rather than internal to the fridge itself.

[alison]

You can also put a few ice cubes in a baggie in the freezer; if they turn into a puddle, you know you got below freezing in there at some point; if both fridge and freezer are involved it *could* be something with the outlet or cord, rather than internal to the fridge itself.

I think the intervals of hot and cold aren't long enough for much thawing/melting to take place in the freezer, but one thing I've noticed is that the ice lice cubes are *really* stuck together, as if they've melted partially and then refroze.

The fridge made funny noises (high-pitched whining) when we first moved in. I had someone come by to take a look, and the sound went away. I think this might be related.

It's a rental. Maybe they can just swap this fridge for a different one...

[Vishenka69]

I would definitely bug the office enough to get a new fridge or at least get a professional (not just maintenance people) to look at it.

I've never experienced your problem but we had a leak under our fridge when we moved in and it turned out to be a really simple and relatively cheap fix.

[alison]

I would definitely bug the office enough to get a new fridge or at least get a professional (not just maintenance people) to look at it.

I've never experienced your problem but we had a leak under our fridge when we moved in and it turned out to be a really simple and relatively cheap fix.

We ended up getting a new fridge. At first, the maintenance people thought it was a broken fan, but when they replaced it, and the problem still persisted, they thought it was electrical. So, they brought in a new fridge. We had to throw out quite a bit of food. Even though most of the food still looked ok, I swear I was seeing little hairs growing on things. I don't want to risk getting sick right now.