Wednesday, August 6, 2008

We got our new refrigerator today

and possibly some mold too. But more on that later.

When we first arrived in our apartment, we noticed that the refrigerator didn't keep food that cold. First, we thought that maybe the refrigerator had been turned off in between tenants and it had to cool back down. Then, after a week, we thought maybe the Swiss don't keep their food as cool as Americans do. Finally, after a little more than a month, we realized how ridiculous that sounded and notified our landlord.

Our landlord made an appointment with us for someone to come look at the refrigerator. The refrigerator guy arrived on time and spoke no English. I was able to pantomime through a few things, pointing out that we had had the refrigerator set to the highest setting and showing him how warm it was. After 5 minutes he told me "New one." I asked him if he would call our landlord and he shook his head yes. After that he left. Fairly quick visit. It must have been obvious the frig was broken!

Anyway, Brian checked his US office voicemail on a fluke on Monday. Lo and behold, there was a message asking to schedule delivery of our new refrigerator. Brian called our landlord and confirmed delivery for Thursday morning between 9 and 11 am.

So imagine my surprise when, at 8:30 am this morning, our doorbell rang. Half naked and about to step in the shower I almost ignored it. But I decided to throw some clothes on and answer the door.

And there, on the stairwell, was the delivery man. I asked if he was here for the refrigerator and he responded yes. He spoke English. I said, "I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow?" He just shook his head no.

What are you going to do? Tell him to come back later? No. So now we have our new refrigerator. And it works, although we don't have the cabinet doors to cover it yet.

Now, onto the possible mold. I don't really know what this is. But I noticed it this afternoon and it is kind of freaking me out.
What do you think?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

THAT IS MOLD.

NOT GOOD.

Get it checked IMMEDIATELY!!!!!

it's BLACK!!!!!!

ps-love the design of the fridge doors. very modern.
:)

Anonymous said...

pss- It looks like the mold is coming from previous or recent water damage.

Anonymous said...

I think Col is right. Perhaps this is an old/refurbished fridge...

Get it replaced.

This seems like roaches..you may see some but there's always more hidden.

Good luck..

mrsmac said...

Sorry, I should have clarified. this is not near the fridge. It is along the floor trim in between our foyer and family room. Brian contacted our landlord today. Hopefully they will do something quickly.

Katie said...

yes, my friend, that is most certainly black (at least it looks that way from the pic) mold. I hope your landlord responds quickly!

lindsay said...

you should have brought me with you as your personal translator. i could communicate with all these people for you.

like the others said it looks like mold to me. :(

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
mrsmac said...

oh boy. well that certainly is a consensus, isn't it? i'll keep you updated on what the landlord says.

vudean said...

yup, mold. and the brown is more moisture seeping through.

Pumpkin said...

Last winter we had a huge problem with mold due to poor insulation. Our landlord told me that I needed to open up all the windows once each day at the same time to air out the moisture in the apartment from the hot water heater. I did it every single day but the mold didn't go away until the weather got warmer outside. I am not looking forward to this winter in the same apartment and hope we can find a way to move soon.

Good luck and I hope your landlord is more helpful than ours! :)

Anonymous said...

FYI, mold won't disappear until the source of the moisture disappears. The wall may have to be cut open to find and solve the source of the moisture. In the meantime, I suggest you spray it once a day with Lysol or bleach to try and keep it under control. Good luck!!