To feel frustrated with my freezer situation as a renter?

Boiling water from the kettle in an oven dish or bowl in the freezer, which has to be switched off first.

I would have put any food in an insulated bag with ice blocks.

Also, use a hairdryer to speed up the process or a steam cleaner if you have one.

Make sure you have plenty of towels on the floor.

I don't know why it is taking so long unless you have not turned it off properly.

I would also suggest you unplug the appliance to ensure there is no electricity going to it.
Then use a hairdryer on a low setting to melt the ice enough to remove the food.
Put the food in a bag/s for life and cover well with a duvet.
Once you have done this, continue to defrost either with a a hair dryer or bowls of boiling water placed so the heat rises and melts the ice. Another way is to fill a hot water bottle with very hot water and place in the freezer to aid defrosting. Replace the cooled water in the bowl or hot water bottle once it cools or every 30 mins or so.
Ensure you keep the freezer door open all through the defrosting process and put towels in the bottom to catch the melted ice.
You will find that as the ice melts large chunks will drop off and you can place these straight into the kitchen sink.
Once everything is defrosted, give the inside of the freezer a wash out with clean water and a small squirt of washing up liquid, then dry well with a towel.
To ensure the seals close well, give them a wash over too and use a toothbrush to clean in the grooves. Dry the seals well too before you close the door and plug the freezer back in. Switch it on and set to “fast freeze” for at least an hour before replacing any food that has not defrosted. Any food that has been defrosted can be cooked then refrozen. Switch to normal once the food has been back in the freezer for an hour.
Doing the process as described will ensure the defrost is done quick enough for most frozen food to be saved and in the long run is quicker and easier than just unplugging the freezer and leaving it to defrost on its own.
Sorry if this comes across as too simple, just written as if giving my daughter instructions. 😀

The freezer will keep frosting up if the seal is faulty so if this is an ongoing issue, yes you do need to ask the landlord to have it looked at. I don’t understand why you can’t get it to defrost unless you live somewhere very cold. If it freezes up unreasonably fast again then I would say it’s the seal. In meantime, don’t make ice in ice cube trays (spills), try to minimise how long door is open and always double check it’s fully closed - every single time. .

The food doesn't need to defrost. It just need to kept frozen for a short while as the OP finishes defrosting the freezer, then putting back in the freezer.

Meant " need to defrost "

Not a pile on .
You need ro rule defrost the freezer fully as others have said .
If it is a frozen as you say then there is an issue with the freezer or you have left it too long .
The food will have to defrost either way .
If you have hob still working and the freezer comes back on you can cook and re freeze anything you can .
If it doesn't the freezer is broken contact LL for replacement . If you have home contents insurance you may be able to claim for food loss , if significantly valuable .

@AprilShowerslastforHours

you need to read all OP posts. It's SO frozen up she can't open any of the drawers so can't put anything in/out.

Sharp object + slippery hard surface+ confined space= stupid imo, but you do you.

Is it a combi fridge freezer?, if so is the fridge still working? If power is off to a fridge freezer both should be off, the light in the fridge won't work. Maybe check that if you haven't already?

If you have a stand alone separate fridge and freezer, and you are absolutely sure the freezer has no power going to it then the best ever and super quick method of defrosting an ice filled freezer where the drawers are stuck (yes that was me once) is to beg or borrow a steam cleaner (if you don't have one), point the nozzle at the drawers and within an hour of so it will be done. Then comes the mopping up, but it works really really fast. I guarantee it! Better than hairdryers and bowls of water, although they do help.

@Silentfriend

presumably you/your relatives understand that freezers need defrosting long before this point. Don't assume other people will know how to use metal objects in a freezer, far SAFER to tell them not to do it! Yeah it'll take longer with plastic, but safety first

If there is so much ice that it is completely frozen solid, to the point that the drawers won't open, it's going to take more than 24 hours with the door open.

Get a hair dryer on the bottom shelf. Get that defrosted then go in again with bowls of hot water and repeat u til fully defrosted.

Take out all food from fridge except perishables (dairy, meat etc). Put food from freezer in fridge. Switch off freezer.

Fill washing up boil with boiling water. Put in freezer and shut door. Leave for ten minutes. Repeat. Use blunt knife to try and remove ice. If nothing changes use hairdryer to direct hot air on to the ice but do not let it get too close to the water. Between that and a blunt knife you'll get the ice off. It may take an hour but persevere. Dry, then put food back and switch on.

I'd be careful with a knife. My brother was chipping ice out of the freezer once when we were kids and hit something which broke and let all the gas out, my dad was fuming as the whole fridge freezer needed replacing

I'm sure there was a thread on here the other day about defrosting freezers and a hairdryer was suggested though

It's hairdryer time, OP, if you can't access the inside at all with hot water. Good luck, what a tedious job.

@SmileyHappyPeopleInTheSun

i wouldn't assume that given other posts.

@Silentfriend

DO NOT use anything metal.

its not a pile on.

Its trying to explain to someone who doesn't appear to be listening.

when people say it only takes a few hours that's because they defrost when they should when its a light build up. Not when you can't even open the drawers.

Honestly at this point if you can't chip away at the ice introduce some heat some how. You have far more patience than me I would have been at it 22 hours ago.

Airfryers are pretty cheap now, either buy one for 30quid or ask your landlord if they would purchase one/allow for a 30quid reduction in rent.

You seem a bit passive in this situation, just spend the next few hours going at your freezer with a hairdryer or something. Order and Airfryer on amazon or shoot off a text to you landlord. Then it will all be done before this evening and you can focus on your interviews.

Well as an adult in my 40 never had that issue as I don't go near the actual wall and just attack any huge block of ice. My older relatives use hot knives with no mishaps because we not fucking stupid - and understand to stay away from working bit and just use it on the ice.

A hairdryer to start lessening it around drawers and boiling water at bottom (or even on a chair or stool under the drawer)

I have a cool bag I can stick ice in for when I do this but generally run down freezer first. In your case I'd assume freezer food is a write off now (bar stuff like veg that can't go bad as such)

Freezer hasn't worked for weeks so I turned to MN...

Turn to the phone and call your landlord.

You could ask the landlord if they can get you a plug-in hob to use while you're waiting. If you find a v cheap one and send them a link so all they have to do is pay they might do it. You need to be very clear and not at all vague about what you want though OP. Don't voice a vague dissatisfaction, say 'please could you provide this as I can't prepare meals'.

You could try the hairdryer @Silentfriend

Freezer walls are not that thick and they can be pierced easily and once you damaged the Coolent pipes you may as well buy another!

I assume she'd understand to be very careful and chip at big blocks of ice only - but perhaps you are right perhaps that's not obvious.

OK - freezer is your responsibility to defrost. You are going to lose your food now as you haven't been doing this. You need to switch it off and leave open till it defrosts. Given the drawers etc are frozen shut, this will take much longer than normal.

Cooker - in hand and being replaced. Cereal, sandwiches, noodles, plenty to get you by.

No rent reduction due imo.

I know you said it's off but is it unplugged if you can get to the plug? If it's an old freezer there could be an issue with the off switch. If there's no electricity (unplugged) then there's absolutely no way ice will not start to melt. It's like leaving an ice cube on a plate. Eventually it'll melt with no help. I've had a ice cube tray spill in a drawer before and freeze solid. When the drawer was taken out it defrosted back to water within a few hours so you should be seeing some wetness forming on the ice by now.

Food will stay safe in a fridge for a day or so if you don't keep opening the door of the fridge (leave the freezer open as you're doing). We were without electricity during the storms a few years ago and most food survived as we kept the doors closed - just use common sense about which to use and which to throw.

If there's no water or shine on the ice it's not melting which means it's still getting made somehow, which points to a dodgy on/off switch and if it's still plugged in it's still getting fuel to make ice. If you can't get to the plug to take it out and you suspect the switch is dodgy then the LL will need to send someone round as that could be dangerous. If you wipe your hand across the ice it should be feeling wet - like it's melting - even if you can't see evidence yet.

It wouldn't be the LL responsibility to defrost it I wouldn't think. It's such a simple task usually - cut the ice making fuel supply and leave it alone to melt.