Rapaire, take a photo of that old setup and put in the caption "accident waiting to happen!" Whew! But then, you've had lots of stories about odd wiring and fixtures and burials around that property.

I am pleased to report that all by itself the fridge has once again decided to start cooling. Old Guy, you're right about that piece of cardboard to unscrew from the bottom of the back for cleaning, I encountered it this morning. First I mopped behind the fridge because I was afraid I'd stick to the floor like a fly to flypaper, and when it's dry I'll take that cardboard off and clean it out.

I think I'm still going to take out everything, put the frozen stuff in the neighbor's spare freezer, and let it sit open for a while. I can give it a good cleaning, any oddball thing that might have been frozen in an impossible-to-reach place can thaw and drain out, and I can plug it back in and see if everything works as it should. This fridge is too new for it to start having a major failure, and frankly, I have always found that Kenmore products were the prototype for the Eveready Bunny--they keep going and going and going.

Back to dishwashers--I have one that I use every month or two just to keep it running, but mostly we drain clean dishes in there. Every so often I pour in a cup of vinegar and run it empty, that seems to help with some of the chemical buildup. If I ever buy a new dishwasher I'm going to do research on those little commercial ones that take just a few minutes but really do the job. They tend to go on a countertop, though, so I'd have to be of a mind to redo the kitchen at the same time. So it's just a thought.

SRS