Frickin' fridge
The big domestic crisis while I was away for Macworld Expo was that our fridge started not working again. Like before, heavy frost had formed inside the freezer compartment -- this on a frost-free refrigerator. I defrosted it again yesterday and it's working -- at least for another few days.
As I understand it, there's typically three or four major problems that can explain what's happening: A problem with the defrost system, the refrigerant level, the compressor, or the gaskets around the freezer and refrigerator compartment doors. I've checked the gaskets and they seem okay -- they're holding tight and create a nice strong vacuum seal when they close. The other stuff is out of my domain, though.
We have a Hotpoint fridge that we bought before Bob was born -- we got it when we moved into an apartment about 12 years ago. It's in good shape and has seen only occasional service for the past decade or so -- for a while I used it as a beverage cooler, then it went into hibernation when my mother moved into our old house, since it was in the basement. I've considered moving it into the house we now live in and using it instead -- the advantage is it's a free fridge. Unfortunately, it's not in this house, it doesn't have an ice maker, and installing it means pulling out the old fridge and removing the plumbing that connects that fridge's ice maker to the water supply. Not a huge issue, but still a logistical hassle.
The one we're having problems with is a Kenmore fridge, and having a Sears repairman come out to take a look at it will cost $65 and will take until next Saturday. I'm not naive enough to think that it will cost only $65 to get fixed, but it seems worth it to pay that money to find out what is wrong and what it will take to get fixed. Replacing the refrigerator outright with a new unit that's roughly comparable is going to cost $500 or more.