To feel frustrated with my freezer situation as a renter?

[Silentfriend]

I’ve been renting my place for a while, and for more than a few weeks now, my freezer has been malfunctioning. I turned it off and unplugged it, leaving the door open for 24h+, but it hasn’t defrosted properly, and the ice buildup is still significant.

On top of that, my cooker also packed up, and I haven’t had a working cooker for a week now.

I’ve tried several things:

• unplugging and leaving the door open for 24h+
• using warm water
• clearing the drain hole

Despite my efforts, it hasn’t improved, and I’m now left without a functioning freezer for weeks. I was hoping to sort this out myself before contacting the landlord.

AIBU to be frustrated? What should I do next?

You’re very lucky. I generally think my landlord is alright and we get on well but I’m actually thinking I should contact him to arrange a replacement/something to use in the meantime or something as I’ve not been able to cook a meal for a week now.

Hairdryer then? Just long enough to get the trays open.

Okay I’ll try the hot knife suggestion, thank you

Thank you but the trays won’t open so there isn’t anywhere to really put a saucepan with hot water

Hair dryer - hot knife or if you can't stand there hot pot of boiling water in immediately in front of freezer doors to at least warm the immediate air in front of the freezer till you can get a bowl/saucepan in there.

If it's that frozen up it will taken time to melt - you might be better off getting an cool box for your fridge items.

Do not go sticking a knife in the freezer! You can damage the walls of the freezer!

Well unless you were planning on preparing for your interviews in the freezer or cooker that's irrelevant.

How old are you?

have you never defrosted a freezer before?

of course it's not a LL job, it's a perfectly normal household job unless you have a more modern frost free freezer.

you need to defrost them before it stops it closing properly. When you left it off for 10/12 hours what did you actively do to help it defrost.

The safest thing to do is just keep putting bowls of hot water in it and removing chunks of ice by hand when you can. If you can't resist 'helping' it use PLASTIC items, being very careful with the walls of the freezer (it's easy to damage them)

keep the fridge part closed and it'll be fine

cooker. No I wouldn't expect a rent reduction, the LL is getting you a new one as fast as delivery allows.

if you haven't got s separate Hobb, don't want to buy yourself an air fryer etc eat salad or sandwiches, toast, it won't kill uou for a few days.

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.

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 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.

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!

You could try the hairdryer @Silentfriend

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'.

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

Turn to the phone and call your landlord.

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)

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.

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.

@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.

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

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

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.

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.

@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

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.

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

@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.