My husband and I got into a debate recently over the pros and cons of eating rust flakes. I said that I couldn’t imagine anything good about ingesting something that could be scraped off the bottom of an ocean tanker, with the exception of barnacles. We once ordered a barnacle appetizer in Portugal. It was delicious.
My husband, on the other hand, argued that in small doses rust is probably relatively harmless. And not only would the iron oxide potentially satisfy the NIH’s recommended daily intake for iron, he pointed out that as an added benefit you wouldn't have the adverse effects associated with red meat, which is a good source of iron.
We got onto this rather strange line of conversation because I noticed some rust-colored flecks floating in my ice water. While it may taste a little weird, I didn't think we had a heavy metal problem in our drinking water here in Cambridge, Mass.
Our investigation quickly fingered the automatic ice dispenser in our Frigidaire Gallery Series refrigerator, where we observed an abundance of rust-colored shavings around the outlet for the dispenser. Closer inspection revealed corrosion in and around the metal cutting blades. Apparently, they are not of the rust-resistant steel variety or made out of titanium or other rust-free material.
This area of the kitchen isn’t well lit, so for all we know it’s been going on for years. So the good news, I suppose, is that a little rust hasn't actually killed us, proving out my husband's theory. And it does give a whole new spin on the drink called a Rusty Nail!
This premature failure stuff is getting old. My mother, for example, just replaced her 35+-year-old refrigerator. And that’s because she finally got tired of the avocado trim.
I do not know the exact vintage of our refrigerator, but I am guessing it’s somewhere between six and eight years old. It and all the other “designer” appliances that came with the house when we bought it four years ago have stainless steel finishes, which I think came into vogue around that time. They may look hot, but they are proving to be junk.
I know I am starting to sound like an old person, but they really don’t make stuff like they used to. Planned obsolescence sounds like more than just a conspiracy theory at this point. And, let’s face it, design engineers everywhere are increasingly under pressure to trade off quality and reliability for price, excessive gadgetry, and designer looks.
At this point an ice pick is starting to sound like a really good options.Is product quality and reliability really going downhill, or am I just an unlucky cynic? Let me know about your worst (and best) experiences, and I will share them in this blog.
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Comments (1)
I just came across your post when I googled "how to get rust out of ice maker".
I also noticed some rust in my ice/water in the fridge and upon removing the entire ice maker unit, saw that half of the ice in the unit was rusty. I emptied all the ice out and it turns out that the propulsion spindle itself is rusty. So now I'm looking for solutions on how to get the rust out. (Dish detergent doesn't help).
Any suggestions?
Posted by Alex | October 12, 2008 9:53 PM