Help! I need a new fridge (and microwave).
Help me Tildes! My refrigerator is leaking and I live in an apartment so I need to get a new fridge ASAP so that I don't cause water damage to my downstairs neighbors! Does anyone have a brand recommendation? All I really care about for this is avoiding brands that are known to be shitty.
I also will use this as an opportunity to replace the absolutely horrible microwave that came with this apartment. While all fridges are basically identical to me, I am very opinionated about microwaves:
- There must be a 30 second button that either starts the cooking or adds 30s more to the existing cooking
- 1-6 must be quick-access "microwave for this many minutes" buttons, so that i can press 1 and then 30 to microwave for 90s or 4 and then 30 for 4:30, etc
- I would really like a decent popcorn button that has a microphone to determine when to stop
- Multiple power levels that are actually good at being lower power (I am fine with power level 50 meaning "be on for 50% of the time" etc, I think that works pretty well)
- idk if this even needs to be said in the year 2024 but a spinning tray
- auto-stop on door open so I can press just 1 thing
- If I press 'stop' or open the microwave after it stops it's "haha I'm done" beeping sequence, it STOPS BEEPING (my current microwave keeps beeping even if I press stop and/or open the door and I hate it so so so so much)
Edit: Thanks everyone! Based on recs here I bought a fridge without an ice machine and not LG, and it will be installed on Monday! I don't live in a rented unit, but usually I just say "apartment" rather than "condo" when I'm talking about neighbors.
I didn't go for freezer on the bottom cos those all seem to be drawers and I guess I do have an opinion about fridges, which is that I don't want the freezer to be a drawer, I feel like I'd get too cold pulling things out of it. So I got freezer-on-top, fridge-on-bottom.
There was 1 microwave with all the features I wanted plus the feature I didn't know I wanted where the numbers are arranged the same as a phone instead of [12345][678910] in 2 rows (why would you reinvent how to display numbers like this????) so I bought that one, and everything will be delivered on Monday!
One thing to bear in mind, you say that you live in an apartment. If you're renting or leasing, verify that replacing the refrigerator is actually your responsibility and not the landlord's responsibility. Often, large appliances come with the apartment and are owned by the landlord. You wouldn't want to pay thousands of dollars for an appliance that you can't or won't bring with you when you move out. Also, the landlord might not appreciate a replacement appliance that is of lower quality than the original.
So, if you're renting this place, definitely get in touch with your landlord asap as it is the landlord's responsibility to fix the leaking, and also repair any damage that might be caused by it.
You're probably aware of this, but just in case you're not, I don't want you to make an expensive mistake.
The only recommendation I have is to avoid getting a fridge with an ice maker in the top refrigerated section. We have had nothing but problems with our new Samsung one getting clogged with ice buildup, requiring us to regularly empty the fridge out and leave the door open for half a day to defrost the ice making mechanisms. And according to the tech that the store we bought it from sent to try to fix it, since it's still under warranty, that issue is super common in all fridges with the ice maker in the top section. And they also told us the ones that have the ice maker in the bottom freezer section don't have nearly as many issues.
p.s. As for microwave recommendations, this recent topic+article might interest you:
We tried and failed to find performance differences in our twenty-six microwaves
given the OP's edit,
Just to make sure other people aren't confused, the suggestion here was to buy an ice machine in the freezer compartment if you wish to have an ice maker. Not to avoid ice makers entirely.
I personally have my ice maker in the freezer compartment, and I haven't had any issues at all with it.
ah yeah I figured that's what was meant, but given that I rarely use ice, the comment made me think not only should I be ambivalent about an ice machine but I should probably avoid it altogether. I don't even like drinking cold water, I prefer room-temperature, so I've never gotten much use from either water or ice dispensers built into a fridge/freezer
so not to fear, I wasn't misled!
I ha[d] that issue. Solution: turn off the ice maker and use trays.
Just want to ask a possibly dumb question, but you said you live in an apartment. Do you own the appliances? In most apartments I've seen, fixing/replacing the appliances would be the responsibility of the landlord.
lol I realized after I sent this that someone would prob wonder about this, I live in a condo so I have downstairs neighbors but own the space! appliances are on me
I can't speak for anything new but my husband is currently looking at replacing our refrigerator. Right now he's planning on spending an absurd ~$3000 for an LG model with a window that lights up to see the contents of the fridge when you knock on it. There are cheaper ones with this feature, but he wants the one with a built in "craft ice" maker.
My personal suggestion is to go with a model with the refrigerator on top of the freezer. Cold air sinks, so they could in theory be more energy efficient, plus it's also more convenient to get to the refrigerator stuff, and feels like it might be more spacious than a horizontally-split model for the same cubic footprint. You can get one with a "flex drawer" on them that can be either a refrigerator or a freezer, but it seems like an extraneous feature - plus it gets rid of the "counter depth" line which I find visually appealing.
Maybe don't go with LG, though? I've heard bad things about their compressors failing. Right now they are facing a second class-action lawsuit over them, I believe. They also make the Kenmore brand. Between this and Samsung's issues with their washing machines, I don't have a ton of faith in Korean large appliances at the moment. I'd say to look into one made by Haier (a Chinese company who's biggest fridge brand is GE), but there's a pretty good chance they're using LG's compressors, too. That's kind of the state of manufacturing in the globalized marketplace. But don't take anything in this paragraph seriously; it's all based on vibes and isn't at all reliable.
I have a Sharp SMC 1452CH microwave, bought it in 2020 from w either Lowe's or Home Depot. It looks like this newer model is either identical or very similar. I think it ticks most of the boxes, though I'm not sure how the popcorn feature works.
For refrigerators, all I will say is make sure you measure that space you have. The last time I went refrigerator shopping, I found that different models vary in width and height by a few inches, which can make the difference between fitting and not fitting. (We ended up not buying one after our home warranty paid to repaire the old one, which was over ten years old. )
We've had side by side refrigerators that came with the houses for the last 10ish years. If I were buying a new one, I'd buy one with the fridge on top with french doors and the freezer drawer underneath. The french doors mean they don't take up so much space when open. The ones we've used at various Airbnbs have been nice.
I would steer clear of gimmicks. Anything with an internet connection (tablet on the door) probably depends on a service you can't count on to be around and wont get updated to newer versions of android. We used one like this one that has a door that gives you quick access to the shelf in the door from the outside, and I found it annoying (sometimes you open the wrong door by mistake) and not that useful. The ones with the middle drawer that can be fridge or freezer might be okay, but if I could just get one that had a refrigerator compartment the size of the top + middle, I would choose that instead.
I think you just adjust to whatever the fridge is, so while the options may seem overwhelming, probably whatever you end up with will be fine.
I've got one of the French door fridges with a two-depth opening. But mine doesn't have the see-through plastic. Just metal still.
Interesting that you don't like the feature of opening the shelf vs. opening the door. I can't say it ever boiled over to being actively annoying. Ha
We're always futzing with what best to put there and try to optimize our use of it. So far ... Ketchup and a bunch of hot sauces.
I think the way I come down on it is, if the only fridge that was the size and configuration I wanted had that, I wouldn't not buy it. But I wouldn't pay extra for it over an otherwise equal model.
I like Whirlpool for refrigerators. I have two of them, and a full standup freezer. The only thing I had to fix across all 3 over the past 7-15 years is replacing the thermistor and a light on one of the fridges which was an easy fix. Parts are easy to get. Samsung appliances are absolutely awful and LG has continued issues with refrigerators in particular. Bosch can be a good option but at a higher price.
For a microwave, mine is an Electrolux but it's built into the wall above my wall oven so you probably don't want that. A Toshiba EM131A5C should check all your boxes for a countertop microwave.