Dr. Internet

When talking to my mother, if she has a problem of some sort I tell her to "look it up".  It drives her crazy.  "Look it up where?" she asks frustrated.  "The Internet," I tell her as if she is a moron.  Does she seriously not know that the Internet has all the answers?  To all the questions? 

Recently my freezer started producing frost around the ice maker and the top of the freezer.  I spent considerable time cleaning out the ice container and chopping all the frost off of various places that it has accumulated.  The next day it was right back again.  I mentioned it to the husband who accused us all of leaving the door open.  Now granted that had been my first thought when I saw the frost.  So I had rearranged things in the freezer and found a box stuck behind the bottom drawer that I thought might have been our issue, but then I realized that my freezer makes a warning beeping noise if the door is left open.  So out the window flew that theory.  I let him think that was the problem though because he was sure it was, and I let him clean the frost and yell at all of us to close the door.  A few days later I pointed out to him that the frost was back again.  Yeah, he knew.

Last night I pulled out the refrigerator manual for an answer to our problem.  It had many answers to many problems just not the one we needed.  "Why are you bothering with the book?" Tom asked me.  "Look on the computer."  The manual said, "Go to our website for more answers."  Silly me.  Of course!  I turned to the Internet.

I looked up "frost in the freezer" and found that the cause is usually a bad gasket.  Tom studied the gasket and found that right in the very spot we were getting the frost the gasket was pulled slightly looser than the rest of the gasket.  I could stick my pinkie finger through it.  The Internet suggested putting an "on" flashlight in the refrigerator, closing the door, and if we could see light through the gasket that was our problem.  What fun!  Tom did as I read, sticking the turned on flashlight in the ice container.  I turned off the lights in the kitchen and WHALAA!!  a light shining through the part of the gasket that is not sealing.  We had solved one part of our problem.

I then googled "repairing a refrigerator gasket" and read aloud the answer which had to do with taking out the old gasket, buying a new one that fit our refrigerator, sticking it either in the dryer or in warm or cold water (depending on the site) to loosen it and then reattaching it to the refrigerator.  Only on one site did it suggest putting in some sticky foam in the corner of the loosened gasket.  Another option suggested readjusting the door.  We went with that one first.  It didn't fix our problem, so Tom stuck Kleenex in through the slit and we went to bed.

The next day the frost was still there, but not as bad.  Apparently Kleenex, something the Internet hasn't obviously tried yet, works wonders in a small way.  We left it that way for the weekend before Tom got some foam to replace the Kleenex. We are staying with that for the time being while he decides whether or not to tackle the replacement project.  Whatever he decides I will be behind him with my trusty Internet and helpful advice.