Ice Ice, Baby

 

About 3 weeks ago, I pulled open the freezer to make our pre-workout drinks at 5 am to find the ice maker drawer noticeably lacking. There was some, but it was evident that it hadn't been making ice since sometime the day before. 

I flipped the bar to the "off" position and added that to my list of things to figure out. 

I was surprised how many times in a day I was looking for ice cubes. I was about to send Paul to the grocery store to buy a bag of ice when he reminded me that we had a countertop ice maker in the basement. Brilliant!! He dragged it up for me and I was back in business -- sort of. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to have it, but that machine requires more attention than the one in freezer. Filtering our well water to protect the inside components, having to empty the cube hopper when it was full, and remembering to turn it off when we were gone all day - all things not required by the one in the freezer.

Paul and I spent the better part of a Saturday googling and trying to figure out where the filter was - I was sure we hadn't changed that in way too long and that seemed like the easiest and cheapest thing to try first. We pulled that sucker out from the wall and started looking. We danced around if for a few hours when we decided to walk away for a bit and run to the grocery store. 

We returned and tried for another 45 minutes, uttering a handful of 4 letter words before we decided that we were quitting for that day and pushed it back into place. At least we ran the vacuum when we had it out from the wall, so all was not lost. 

About a week later, my parents came for dinner. They were getting ready to head out when, in passing, I mentioned that our ice maker wasn't working. I shared my theory on the filter. My dad put his coat down and my mom took her seat at the peninsula again. He and Paul pulled the fridge out from the wall and Dad went to work. 

If you don't know my dad - he is the quintessential handy man. He is a skilled carpenter and electrician. He understands how so many things work and he always has a trick up his sleeve for when you encounter a hiccup. He also does things "the right way" - not necessarily the fastest or cheapest - but quality work. 

After about 30 minutes of checking things out and asking Paul for the vacuum, a good screwdriver, a flashlight and a wet rag... he made an announcement. 

"I do not believe that this model has a water filter" and then recommended that we push it back to its usual location. 

"Have you called Whirlpool?" 

"Not yet dad" 

"I think I will have some time on Monday. Please write the model number down for me." 

Fast forward to Monday...

I receive a text message "Good time to call?"

"Yes, please call my office phone" 

"I called Whirlpool - it only took me about 30 minutes on hold until I could talk to someone. I thought that was pretty good. The tech confirmed you do not have a water filter, so that is not the issue. He said it is 1 of 3 things - frozen water line, ice maker needs a reset, or its shot."

I think you should try resetting the unit first. There is a procedure to do this, and it is very specific. You have to do it in the exact order I tell you. I will text you and Paul so you both have the information" 

"OK, thanks for doing that. I know it's a pain to sit on hold. I will do that and let you know" 

He sent the 2.5 screens of instructions to Paul and I via text, as promised that day. This was a Monday. Tuesday he texted -- had I tried the reset yet? I had not -- but I promised that I would soon. 

Wednesday, we had nothing going on when I got home from work and dinner was already in the crockpot. I pulled up the text and started the process.  Step 1 - check, Step 2 - check. The second step was to kill the power to the fridge and I quote "for a minimum of 7 minutes." I did that, checked my watch and then headed to pick Kristen up from an afterschool program. She was not ready when I got there so the fridge was off for more like 30 minutes, so I was in good shape.

I turned it back on and waited. When we headed to bed, there did not seem to be any new ice in the bucket. Maybe it takes a little time? 

Another day or two - nothing. I let my dad know and said I would google "frozen ice maker water lines" and see if we could handle that. He chuckled and told me to let him know how I made out. 

Then, early last week, I was making those water bottles again. I pulled open the freezer and grabbed a handful of ice. I'd been dumping the counter ice maker cubes into the bin. I immediately noticed that there were 2 different shaped cubes.

"I think the ice maker is working?" I said to Paul

Since there were only a few of that shape in there, we held off celebrating until we could be sure it was not a fluke. 

I'm happy to report that the ice maker is running like a champ and Doc Holliday (my dad) has once again, saved the day in Romanskiville. 

He's a keeper for sure! 

#WakeUp100

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