fridge frustration

When I was a single lady living alone with no cats, an 18 cubic foot refrigerator worked just fine. I was hardly ever home anyway. When we built our current house, we were looking to save a buck wherever we could, and so we brought the cute little fridge with us.

Fast forward a few years, and Adam comes along. We could squeeze the baby bottles in just fine, and with a chest freezer in the garage, we were doing just fine. Eventually, Adam started drinking regular milk, which resulted in us having three different types of milk at all times (whole, skim, and lactose-free). He also started eating table food. A lot of table food. He started drinking juice as well. Suddenly, a trip to the fridge was similar to working a jigsaw puzzle. The three milk containers, juice bottle, sippy cups, and other assorted items had to be configured exactly right in order for everything to fit. It was time to move to the mini-van of refrigerators.

Just before Christmas, we started shopping. We found one we liked on sale at the Sears Outlet. We had the new Whirlpool delivered the Sunday before Christmas. We noticed a high-pitched squeal right away. It was the kind of like microphone feedback - all the time. The next day, it quit dispensing water and ice. We had a service technician come for a warranty service call. He said he could order the kit to fix the ice maker (I'm thinking "There's a kit for this? Why wasn't it just made right in the first place?") Of course, the fridge was not making the offending noise while the technician was here. Just as he left, it started making the noise again. Patrick ran out into the driveway, stopped the technician, and made him come back in and listen to it. The technician told him that was normal. Of course, we did not agree.

Undeterred, Patrick posted a video to YouTube of the fridge making the noise.

The internet agreed this was not normal. We went back to the Sears Outlet, and Patrick explained that we didn't want a singing refrigerator, and that we would not be paying a restocking fee (I love it when my man stands his ground.). Once we got the manager, we picked out another (more expensive) refrigerator (NOT a Whirlpool), and he was kind enough to plug it in for us and let us listen to it. I'm sure we were quite a sight getting down on the floor and listening to a refrigerator. To their credit, the Sears Outlet manager was quite understanding, and did not charge us another delivery fee for delivering the new fridge and removing the old one.

I think in the end, we ended up with a great deal on a better refrigerator that we will like more in the long run. It is 28.5 cubic feet of refrigerated happiness. Behold the Samsung RFG297AARS: