Refrigerator Follies

[weinoo]

I opened the refrigerator yesterday, and it smelled deliciously of coffee.  Which is good...and bad; when I investigated further, I noticed that a container of coffee I had put in there for iced coffee had leaked. Everywhere.

 

 

 

Of course that meant everything had to come out and the interior cleaned.  Which is good and bad, since maybe it was time to clean the fridge...oh, it's never time to clean the fridge!

 

Lessons learned:  when using containers from take-out Chinese food, first make sure they haven't developed any imperfections!

[Darienne]

Been there...done that...along with many of us I am sure.  Something unidentified leaked all down to the bottom of the fridge, coating everything along the way.  Many rude words later...it was all gone...and all was clean again.  And NO!  It's never time to clean the fridge.  

[chromedome]

I share a house with three grandkids. Most recent incident was a tall bottle of apple juice, with the lid cross-threaded, and then replaced on its side on a shelf because the pockets on the door were full. Sigh.

 

I also check the kitchen frequently to make sure the French-door fridge has been properly closed.

[lindag]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

I opened the refrigerator yesterday, and it smelled deliciously of coffee.  Which is good...and bad; when I investigated further, I noticed that a container of coffee I had put in there for iced coffee had leaked. Everywhere.

 

 

 

Oy!

[blue_dolphin]

Well, at least the thing is still working so you can get food back in after a cleaning. 

My fridge getting on in years.  Early 1990's I believe. Very tempted to buy a spare for the garage or hall closet to avoid having to throw everything out when the inevitable happens. Not something available in an NYC apartment but I probably should do it. 

[lindag]

12 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Well, at least the thing is still working so you can get food back in after a cleaning. 

My fridge getting on in years.  Early 1990's I believe. Very tempted to buy a spare for the garage or hall closet to avoid having to throw everything out when the inevitable happens. Not something available in an NYC apartment but I probably should do it. 

I couldn't survive without my garage fridge...but the, I'm something of a food hoarder.

[Darienne]

2 hours ago, lindag said:

I couldn't survive without my garage fridge...but the, I'm something of a food hoarder.

I couldn't survive without my old garage fridge.  We ended up getting a much newer and much prettier fridge for the kitchen, only to discover that this lovely modern fridge couldn't hold a fraction of what our old fridge...now in the garage...could hold.   

[heidih]

My couple incidents fall into "trust your nose and your instincts" territory.

 

Sold my home way quicker than expected, Global Financial Crisis, no rush to invest - SO I moved to an Extended Stay America hotel. Nice, walking distance to Korean market and Farmers Market, dog friendly (100 lb. dog was issue with renting).So raw shrimp from Korean market, some leftover takeout from the corner. Hhmmm didn't smell right. I finally called the maintenance guy and oh yes my fridge temp was not good. They brought me a new one right away. 

 

The other goof was items disappearing. Turns out when a friend helped me do a wipedown of the interior she put a big shelf in backwards so small items slid behine shelf and back wall. Opaque shelf so hard to see.  I never told her cuz gosh if a friend helps at that level no need to make her feel bad,

 

[MaryIsobel]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

I opened the refrigerator yesterday, and it smelled deliciously of coffee.  Which is good...and bad; when I investigated further, I noticed that a container of coffee I had put in there for iced coffee had leaked. Everywhere.

 

 

 

Of course that meant everything had to come out and the interior cleaned.  Which is good and bad, since maybe it was time to clean the fridge...oh, it's never time to clean the fridge!

 

Lessons learned:  when using containers from take-out Chinese food, first make sure they haven't developed any imperfections!

That type of fridge incident makes me want to "move out in the middle of the night!" Maybe coffee is not too bad but in my fridge, it is always the sticky stuff that spills...

Edited June 19, 2023 by MaryIsobel (log)

[blue_dolphin]

31 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

Maybe coffee is not too bad but in my fridge, it is always the sticky stuff that spills...

 

Flashbacks to a couple of years ago when a liter bottle of homemade elderflower cordial spewed all over everything.  It was on the top shelf in the back and even seemed to travel into the freezer.  Took me a little while to figure it out.  I kept wondering, "Why is this sticky?"  then, "Why is EVERYTHING sticky?"  

 

After all the rain we had this year, I figured there would be an excellent bloom but I didn't give more than a passing thought to the notion of making more 🙃

[MaryIsobel]

23 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Flashbacks to a couple of years ago when a liter bottle of homemade elderflower cordial spewed all over everything.  It was on the top shelf in the back and even seemed to travel into the freezer.  Took me a little while to figure it out.  I kept wondering, "Why is this sticky?"  then, "Why is EVERYTHING sticky?"  

 

After all the rain we had this year, I figured there would be an excellent bloom but I didn't give more than a passing thought to the notion of making more 🙃

Our long ago neighbours used to give us a couple of bottles of their homemade blackberry liquer every year around Christmas because my husband always shoveled their driveway for them. It was more like blackberry syrup - undrinkable to me. One year they brought it over a couple of days before Christmas so I put it at the back of the fridge, thinking maybe I could mix it with soda or something. Kind of forgot about it and with all the Christmas food being put in the fridge, it got shoved to the back and one of the bottle's lids came off. Everything in the fridge was crazy-glued to the shelves. I actually broke the bottom of a Mason jar trying to unstick it. It took me a good 4 hours to clean it; blow dryer, scraper, scrubbie, steel wool and a whole lot of bad words!

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Not quite a refrigerator story but worth a laugh.

Many years ago my ex-wife came home from food shopping after work and after unpacking the groceries assumed she had left a package of ground beef behind at the checkout. This was in Toronto in the middle of summer and two or three days later she began commenting that her car smelled really bad and opening the windows and using air freshener wasn't working.

No real surprise that the package of beef had ended up under the passenger seat and wasn't much fun to clean up.

 

[blue_dolphin]

On 6/19/2023 at 9:28 AM, weinoo said:

I opened the refrigerator yesterday, and it smelled deliciously of coffee.  Which is good...and bad; when I investigated further, I noticed that a container of coffee I had put in there for iced coffee had leaked. Everywhere.

 

Based on a previous comment:

On 5/3/2023 at 6:39 AM, weinoo said:

 

I never understood the need for iced coffee, not in the mornings ever; nor any time of the day, unless the temperature is above 90℉.

 

Perhaps the coffee wanted to get back at you?

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

9 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

Not quite a refrigerator story but worth a laugh.

Many years ago my ex-wife came home from food shopping after work and after unpacking the groceries assumed she had left a package of ground beef behind at the checkout. This was in Toronto in the middle of summer and two or three days later she began commenting that her car smelled really bad and opening the windows and using air freshener wasn't working.

No real surprise that the package of beef had ended up under the passenger seat and wasn't much fun to clean up.

 

Something similar here.    Grocery bagger put a whole chicken in the bottom of a bag and topped it with a half dozen liter bottles of water.    We left the bag in the basement to be shelved later.    Much later, it seems, since a week later we were smacked with the smell of death when entering the basement.    Source found, putrid chicken jettisoned, basement doors and windows left open whenever possible for several days.    Have packed our own purchases since then.  

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Based on a previous comment:

 

Perhaps the coffee wanted to get back at you?

 

 

I was trying to force myself.

[Tropicalsenior]

A customer of ours had a bag of shrimp slip out into the trunk of a company car. It was left in the parking lot for several days in the middle of August. The car was irredeemable.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

 Have packed our own purchases since then.  

Amen to that.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

For some reason there often seems to be a reddish/brownish splotch that has dripped down from the top shelf to every other horizontal surface, food containers included. I'm puzzled about this--I don't have a huge container of maraschino cherries that has sprung a leak, and everything else in the fridge seems kinda earth toned. Where does this stuff come from? And how does a refrigerator get this yucky in such a short time after the last cleaning? Oh well, we're heading north in about a month for our annual visiting friends and families/shopping/camping trip and I have to make sure that the fridge is clean before I leave. Otherwise--I don't even want to think about it.

[weinoo]

32 minutes ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

For some reason there often seems to be a reddish/brownish splotch that has dripped down from the top shelf to every other horizontal surface, food containers included. I'm puzzled about this--I don't have a huge container of maraschino cherries that has sprung a leak, and everything else in the fridge seems kinda earth toned. Where does this stuff come from? And how does a refrigerator get this yucky in such a short time after the last cleaning?

 

Time for a new fridge?

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Unfortunately the fridge is about a year old (LG) and has never given us a moment's concern. No, I think something fell over and spilled its guts. Clean a fridge is not my favorite activity, though it does give me a chance to discard the science projects in the back. As an old friend (deceased, alas) used to say, "Should we throw it out now or chill it first?" At moments like this (cleaning out the fridge) I still remember that. Words to live by.

Edited June 20, 2023 by Nancy in Pátzcuaro
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[Margaret Pilgrim]

Probably told this before, but some half dozen years ago we returned to our weekend place after a month's absence and were smacked in the face with the stench from hell.    Power had been off for several weeks during a heat wave of 100+ temps.    Everything in the fridge was rancid, putrid and/or moldy.    We tossed everything in their containers and schlepped a cubic yard to the dump.    The worst was the substantial meat and meat product in the freezer.    Husband totally dismantled the refrigerator, and we scoured all surfaces with Clorox water, then left them in the sun for several days.    Even soaked the insulation.   We left the fridge dismantled for several weeks, laying the panels out on the floor when we left, moving them to the sun when we returned.    He put everything back together and turned it on.   Within a couple of hours, the stench was back.    Long story short, we had to replace the fridge.   We now strip the fridge and freezer of ALL MEAT PRODUCT when we leave, and of course leave no produce.    A very expensive lesson in housekeeping.

[chromedome]

2 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Probably told this before, but some half dozen years ago we returned to our weekend place after a month's absence and were smacked in the face with the stench from hell.    Power had been off for several weeks during a heat wave of 100+ temps.    Everything in the fridge was rancid, putrid and/or moldy.    We tossed everything in their containers and schlepped a cubic yard to the dump.    The worst was the substantial meat and meat product in the freezer.    Husband totally dismantled the refrigerator, and we scoured all surfaces with Clorox water, then left them in the sun for several days.    Even soaked the insulation.   We left the fridge dismantled for several weeks, laying the panels out on the floor when we left, moving them to the sun when we returned.    He put everything back together and turned it on.   Within a couple of hours, the stench was back.    Long story short, we had to replace the fridge.   We now strip the fridge and freezer of ALL MEAT PRODUCT when we leave, and of course leave no produce.    A very expensive lesson in housekeeping.

When I closed my restaurants I had a couple of hundred pounds of frozen haddock left over, and no place to store it. A friend who lived nearby offered me the use of her spare chest freezer, out in the barn, At some point that spring somebody shut off the wrong breaker, cutting off power to the freezer. It was late spring before I'd run through the haddock in my fridge freezer, and went to retrieve a couple of bags from hers. The haddock had, by then, molded and liquefied. The freezer was a write-off, and the barn was pretty whiffy as well (and let me just say that cleaning out the freezer and disposing of the fish was one of the most disgusting things I've ever had to do in my life).

Amazingly, she didn't hold it against me. In fact, she's now my GF.

 

(Disclaimer: I absolutely do NOT endorse leaving fish to rot in a woman's freezer as a courtship technique)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

4 minutes ago, chromedome said:

....cleaning out the freezer and disposing of the fish was one of the most disgusting things I've ever had to do in my life....

 

I could not have said it better.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

12 hours ago, chromedome said:

.......cleaning out the freezer and disposing of the fish was one of the most disgusting things I've ever had to do in my life.

 

Too bad you didn't have a garden at the time. That would've been superb fertilizer. 😇

[chromedome]

20 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

 

Too bad you didn't have a garden at the time. That would've been superb fertilizer. 😇

Right?

 

Wouldn't have been much good to me had the garden been upwind, of course. My late wife wouldn't have stood for that.