Appliance Meltdown

We’ve had appliance issues recently. Our heater died, a slow painful death. Initially, the water in the kitchen sink wasn’t heating; at the hottest setting, the water was cold. Then the bathroom sinks. And then finally the shower. As the temperature dropped outside, it was intolerable without a functioning heater.

When the hot water in the shower ran cold water, we contacted the heater company listed on the heater. The company came for an inspection and stated the obvious; the heater was at the end of its life and would not function. They suggested a replacement. Since the heater came with the apartment (one of the very few things), we contacted the person that helped us get our apartment. This person isn’t our landlord nor is he a hausmeister (apartment manager) but he has been the point of contact for us (probably because) he speaks good English. He dutifully noted he’d check with the landlord and call us back. Day 2, 3, 4, 5 passed and we hadn’t heard back. The husband called him again to inquire on the status and he said he had not been able to reach the landlord so we’d have to wait. On day 8, the husband contacted again and asked for the landlord’s number so we could contact him ourselves. He didn’t get the number but instead was told he would keep trying. Finally on day 11 I called to inquire on the status and testified it isn’t entertaining to shower in cold water. I even asked if he’d tried it and he laughed. On day 13, we received a call from the heating company for an appointment on the upcoming Tuesday.

Two men arrived on Tuesday at 8:30am and spent 3 hours identifying the problem. Around noon, they recognized accepted the heater couldn’t be fixed and started removing the old unit. The next 4 hours were spent installing the new heater. There were few glitches, so a third man was called to help. At 4pm, the new heater was installed and functioning.

Before

After

2 days before leaving for India, our refrigerator bit the dust. We didn’t have enough time to order a replacement so we emptied out the entire fridge, threw away food (much to my chagrin), and asked a close friend to keep certain things I wasn’t ready to part with. (It’s hard to find variety of peppers in the winter/spring months so I freeze some varieties.)

Upon returning, we checked Amazon as well as couple electronic stores. At each place, we were told the delivery time would be 7-10 days. Unfortunately 7- 10 days seemed too long so we asked for speedy delivery. Specifically, we asked if we could pay extra for overnight delivery and were told no, each time. At one store, they had the fridge in stock however refused overnight delivery, with extra money. Then the husband asked a coworker if we could bring the fridge in her car. With her help, they bought and brought the fridge home and the three of us carried the fridge up 2 flights of stairs.

We learned out of order appliances cannot be left on the sidewalk; they have to be taken to a Recycling Center. Fortunately with the help of another friend, with a car, we took the old fridge a week later.

Here’s to hoping we don’t have appliance meltdowns anytime soon.