We've had an issue with our ice machine since we originally purchased it. Or at least we think we've had an issue. We didn't know about the issue for a good while because we didn't understand how the machine worked and what the little CL that flashed meant.
At first, I'd open the door and see first, "Ice" and then "CL" flash shortly afterwards. I didn't remember it doing that before, but we'd only had the machine for about eight months. I told my husband it looked like maybe it was doing a clean cycle and was letting us know.
A few months later I realized it was always doing the clean cycle so I did some more investigating. The manual didn't answer all my questions. It talked about putting the machine into clean mode and most importantly about how you had to use the manufacturers cleaning solution, because it was special and formulated and, of course, they made money from you buying their specific product. (It didn't say exactly that in the manual, but I got that impression.)
So I called the company for more information. I got a very nice lady on the phone and she explained that that little flashing CL was the machine telling us it needed to be cleaned and could we please schedule it into our week to empty the machine of ice, pour in a pack of cleaning solution and then press the magical combination of buttons to put the unit into a forty-five minute clean cycle.
After talking to her I did decide to order their cleaning solution. The price was reasonable and I couldn't find a similar product online that was more competitive. Then, when the solution arrived, I prepared the machine to be cleaned.
And this is where the problem started. Because we couldn't get the blooming thing into clean mode. We read the manual, we followed the instructions, we went online and read forums, we watched the YouTube video. We were doing everything you needed to do to put it into clean mode, but the display wasn't registering.
Here's what you need to do: Hold down the power button. Wait, it's not a button, it's a touch-sensitive panel. While doing that, press the Light button three times. Hold for ten seconds. Boom, cleaning mode is activated. Only our buttons flickered. We would try to press the button once and we would get seven fast flickers. Or, we couldn't get the power button to register we were touching it. In short, it was a picky display.
Finally, after about thirty minutes of button pressing, swearing, closing the machine, another twenty minutes of button pressing (or contact pressing rather) we somehow got clean mode initiated. When it was done, I wasn't sure it was all that different in the ice we got, but hey, it didn't flash CL anymore.
The representative told me it would need to be cleaned every six months or so and when it started flashing again, I was ready. Only we've never been able to get it into clean mode since that initial time. It's been close to two years now and the main issue is thinning ice cubes. Our cubes were very thin and we needed to do something.
With another issue on another appliance as well, I called service. The technician said he was well aware of the issues with these touch screens and that the company will most likely replace the control panel. I called and yes, they would be willing to replace the panel for their newer model, one with real buttons (which makes me think we weren't the only ones with the problem.) In the meantime, he told the repair man to disconnect the control panel, wait forty seconds, reconnect it and see if we could get it to work better.
And that did it. We had unplugged the machine, but that didn't change things and yet this worked. We got it into clean mode and the very next cubes that came out felt like little bricks of ice in comparison to the diaphanous cubes we'd been getting the day before. We have a replacement panel coming in soon, but for now, we have sturdy ice again.
The Big Boy Update: Napping in the box that's a house that held a car. We had a large cardboard box that had a children's car in it. The children colored on it and their teacher cut out a door and windows. Yesterday, he had a nap in the "house" with his blanket and Mickey Mouse
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Home in the same pair of pants from school. This doesn't happen often: my daughter comes home in the same pants as she was sent to school in. This is largely due to her desire to do water work at school coupled with not making it to the potty in time. I hardly recognized her in the same clothes at pick-up it was so unexpected.
Fitness Update: The ten miles didn't happen because my neighbor's husband had to unexpectedly go out of town. We plan to run long tomorrow afternoon. Today I ran three miles with my neighbor who's training up to run the army ten-miler next month.
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