Ice chips

Friday, February 17, 2012 DUNEDIN, FL – Few things can be as exciting as watching ice thaw. I can tell you this, because that’s what I was doing today! The tiny refrigerator in our RV, unlike the huge, frostless model we have at home in Ottawa, needs to be defrosted when the crystals build up to about 3 mm thick. That was what the manual said. Since our crystals were more like ten times that thick, it was high time for us to tackle this chore (if I followed those instructions, I’d be defrosting every other day!). I dug out three insulated bags from the trunk of the car and placed into them as many of the most easily-spoiled items as I could, leaving the bread and grapes to fend for themselves on the counter. Fortunately, it was a rainy day today, so the temperature didn’t get up all that high to threaten their freshness for an hour or two. The RV freezer compartment is part of the main fridge, but separated from it by an insulated floor, hinged to an insulated door, that can slide out if desired, leaving a fridge-only compartment. All you have to do is pull the little clip on each side on the bottom of the freezer floor, according to the manual, to slide it out. That simple step took Val and me about ten minutes, as we tried to avoid snapping the clips off entirely. The other challenge was flipping the fridge door latch so that it would keep the door slightly ajar. This is a nice feature when the RV is not in use for any length of time. It helps discourage mildew. But again, it took us several consternating minutes trying to flip the latch without breaking the plastic housing altogether. We did it, but in the end, we just left the door wide open. Of course, we were admonished not to even think about running the hair dryer to zap the ice faster. The whole project reminded me of our early married days, when, as a novice homemaker, I spent frustrating hours hacking away at a coating of thick ice in our freezer with a wooden spatula, only to generate splinters on the wood but not budging the ice! When they came out with frostless fridges, I was first in line for one! The excitement became more than Val could bear, so he pedaled off on his bicycle to visit John. He didn’t want to deprive me of the full enjoyment of the experience by distracting me with his presence. No problem; I had to get the laundry done as well, so that helped pass the time wonderfully. While I was off picking socks out of the deepest recesses of the commercial dryer (which are installed for people at least a foot taller than I am), the wee droplets of melting ice were quietly draining away. By the time I had two loads folded and loaded into the massive cotton bag to lug home again, dramatic changes had occurred in the fridge. The whole bottom half of the ice coating was gone! Even more exciting, when I touched the remaining frost, it gave easily to the gentle pressure! Then I made a wonderful discovery: if I grasped what was left and lifted gently, the top half of the ice cap on each metal fin slipped right off! Into the sink went each piece, as I went back to clear the next fin in a frenzy. Mere moments later, all the ice was gone! No hacking, no hair drying needed! I could hardly contain myself. It took quite a bit of wiping to get all the moisture out, due to the high humidity today, but then the job was done. And just think, in another two weeks, it will be time to do it all over again!