36 - Wednesday, January 18, 1989 - North Shore News LIFESTYLES ‘Crud’ in water supply blamed for downfall of 9-year-old fridge THE MORE complicated features you choose on any ap- pliance, the more can go wrong and the harder it is to fix. Take my big, side-by-side refrigerator for example. It’s the kind that dispenses ice cubes and water from spouts on the door. budget beaters Barbara. McCreadie { can’t complain — in nine years it’s only needed servicing twice, but this last time had the neighbors wondering what was going on — the same repair van pulled up in os es a ye front of the house three days in a row. The. ice cube maker died. The repairman patiently checked hoses and every bit of the mechanism. Faulty valve. Next day, repairman returns with valve, installs same, $139 and we're even. Still no ice. Next day repairman teturns. Finds tiny spring broken in dispensing arm. Problem is, one spring for a nine-year-old fridge hard to find. Meanwhile, he jerry-rigged the thing with an elastic band and will be back when he can find a part. If he has to write away for it, it may be weeks which may cool any neighborhood gossip. But, that’s not what | think you should know about this type of refrigerator and, more important, about the district water. We don't use the ice water dispenser at all. That’s because we find the water flat-tasting, and we prefer to let a tap run for quite a while before drinking the water. In order to fix the valve, water had to be drained out of the back of the refrigerator. You ought to have seen it! It was the color and consistency of cocoa. The silt de- posits in the tubes had clogged the hearing loss? See us for good hearing aid service — sales, repairs, batteries and advice. northwestern hearing centre 1910 Lonsdaie North Vancouver Open Tues-Fri. 9:30-5 Sat. 9:30-1. Closed Mon. ARE AVAILABLE or recovery period. We, +, = Wis wr e Jo assist you to remain : SA TE at home during an illness J ® To care for the elderly or terminally ili at home. ® To assist individuals or § families maintain indepen- J dent living. j we ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY NORTH SHORE HOME SUPPORT SERVICES SOCIETY ; A NON-PROFIT AGENCY SERVING THE NORTH SHORE 984-9511 valve, leading to its death. There is no way the water could be contaminated from any other source — all the pipes are sealed. The crud is in our water supply. The repairman suggested I drain off a glass and pop over to Marilyn’s office — sort of buy her a drink. ese The other problem came to light when the ice cube receptacle was removed. These aren’t removable for cleaning — something has to go wrong and then the repairman dismantles the thing. Again, you wouldn’t believe the crud. Down the sides, on the ledges and under the tub was suck a collection of crumbs, coffee grounds, unidentifiable globs of glue, hair, lint and other debris I was left with a sick stomach. From now on, the bottom shelf of my freezer will be covered with a protective layer of plastic wrap so that bits of trash can’t drop down the sides and back. Meanwhile, I’m sorely tempted to switch to distilled water or in- stall a filter — and buy some ice- cube trays. esa 8 More about water: A few weeks ago, I cautioned readers not to use hot water from the tap for cooking purposes. A reader called and disputed the notion, said she preferred drinking warm water and had been using the hot tap forever. It was quite a coincidence that our plumber was here doing some work for us, rot five feet from the phone. I asked him for confirma- tion. “Barb, tell her to pour herself a glassful from the tap at the bottom of the tank,’ he replied. The reader argued that the water in the sink tap comes from the top of the tank. What she didn’t realize is that the water in the tank is in constant circulation. See Purchese Page 37 ANNUAL VENTORY SELECTED MODELS EVERYTHING ON SALE. <@MANUFACTURER’S CLEARANCE CHERRY FINISH TRIPLE CHIME MOVEMENT ETCHED BEVELLED GLASS CLEARANCE — 1499” MODEL W384 SHOWN TRIECIMSICKCAINERY/ Park Royal Shopping Centre downe Park Guildford Town Centre 926-2036 278-1631 384-2729