Refrigerator drawers

[AMandM]

Our fridge--ugh!  Some of the plastic drawers, and some of the plastic moldings attached to the wall that hold the drawers up, have cracked and snapped. One of the drawers is almost broken in two.  To buy replacements from the parts stores online would cost almost as much as a used fridge. (That is honestly tempting because I could get one that fits better in the space!) Is there any other frugal option? Could I mount slides to the inside walls of the fridge and use wire baskets as drawers?

[Fishindude]

See if you can find some type of tupperware or plastic container that fits in space where drawer was.   Something like a plastic wash basin, etc.

[AMandM]

Oh, that's a good idea!  It doesn't have to be an official drawer necessarily. Thanks!

[Roadrunner53]

Look on ebay for a replacement drawer. I have sold knobs from washer, driers, stoves. A whole control panel from a dryer, grates from a gas stove, Keurig parts from a broken coffee maker.

If the drawer could be glued with gorilla glue. There is a clear gorilla glue. Or find some other strong adhesive and try gluing it back together.

[Christof]

We used professional tape (https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Outdoor-Masking-and-Stucco-Tape-5959/?N=5002385+3293193665&rt=rud). It’s being used in car repair shops, so they might give you the little you need if you ask nicely.

[zolotiyeruki]

The transparent drawers can be repaired with super glue -- it has the correct type of solvent for that type of plastic.

We have the same problem with our fridge.  My guess is that it's because we load up those drawers with lots of heavy produce, plus our kids are constantly in there eating said produce.

[GuitarStv]

I've repaired several of our fridge drawers with a combination of epoxy, tuck tape, and pieces of wood screwed into the drawer.  They don't look pretty, but they're functional.  :P

[EricEng]

JB weld two part expoy (not the quick dry junk).  I've got dishes I repaired with this years ago that have gone through hundreds of dishwasher cycles, bumps, and use and still together.

[J Boogie]

Our fridge--ugh!  Some of the plastic drawers, and some of the plastic moldings attached to the wall that hold the drawers up, have cracked and snapped. One of the drawers is almost broken in two.  To buy replacements from the parts stores online would cost almost as much as a used fridge. (That is honestly tempting because I could get one that fits better in the space!) Is there any other frugal option? Could I mount slides to the inside walls of the fridge and use wire baskets as drawers?

Sounds like it's in pretty rough shape overall. I always hate super gluing something only for it to quickly break again because the problem was that the joint was under engineered from the start.

You probably can gut your fridge's shot components and replace with semi custom inserts. I would recommend buying clear polycarbonate restaurant pans as they are sturdy, readily available, and come in a variety of dimensions. You can use 3M VHB tape or similar to mount a 1 x 4 PVC trim board to the interior sides of the fridge so the pans can be slid in and out. If you're feeling really courageous you can screw the trim boards.

[HPstache]

Check on eBay.  I bought replacement drawers for our current fridge there.  Turns out there are people who "part out" fridges and have reasonable prices.

[AMandM]

I can't repair one of the drawers because the broken-off pieces are lost. I looked on ebay and found a replacement for about $50. That's still not exactly cheap but it's less than retail Since any other replacement solution would cost something and require a fair bit of work for uncertain results, I think I'll go with that.

The cracked one I will try gluing.

Thanks again, all!

[Jon Bon]

Buy a new fridge.

Yeah I know what website I am on, but why put up with a defective product on something you use 20x a day?

A brand new fridge costs maybe $1000, a fancy one $1500. Honestly they are an amazing deal for what you get. They can last for decades, kind of feels like one of those things where dealing with the day to day hassle of a broken one is just silly.

I've gotten used ones as well, so maybe a new to you fridge is in order. But why put up with food falling off the shelf every time you open it. MMM is not about saving the most money, its about finding the most happiness. Dealing with a jacked up fridge would piss me off daily.

But to each their own, good luck in whatever you try.

[StashingAway]

Buy a new fridge.

Yeah I know what website I am on, but why put up with a defective product on something you use 20x a day?

A brand new fridge costs maybe $1000, a fancy one $1500. Honestly they are an amazing deal for what you get. They can last for decades, kind of feels like one of those things where dealing with the day to day hassle of a broken one is just silly.

I've gotten used ones as well, so maybe a new to you fridge is in order. But why put up with food falling off the shelf every time you open it. MMM is not about saving the most money, its about finding the most happiness. Dealing with a jacked up fridge would piss me off daily.

But to each their own, good luck in whatever you try.

It appears that this is on the table for OP as an option, but they are trying to fix it in a way that doesn't "piss them off daily" first. Which would be my recommendation as well. Can it be fixed unobtrusively? Does the fridge still work fine otherwise? Then why not try a nice repair first. New fridges break just as often (they haven't really fixed the plastic drawers breaking thing on the $1500 models).

But if the ice maker is shot and the seals are falling apart and the handles are loose and it doesn't fit in the space well, then sure, a new fridge would be a good solution. With as few bells and whistles as possible!

[Dicey]

^^Totally agree with this.^^ The only counter depth that would fit in the custom kitchen cabinetry in the five year old house we bought cost almost $3k. Within a year, the front of the door shelf that holds gallons of milk cracked because someone lifted out, not up. We've been ignoring it for years, but at some point we might try a little creative repair rather than replacing it. No way are we going to buy a new fridge until this one's well and truly dead, hopefully many years from now.

[zolotiyeruki]

^^Totally agree with this.^^ The only counter depth that would fit in the custom kitchen cabinetry in the five year old house we bought cost almost $3k. Within a year, the front of the door shelf that holds gallons of milk cracked because someone lifted out, not up. We've been ignoring it for years, but at some point we might try a little creative repair rather than replacing it. No way are we going to buy a new fridge until this one's well and truly dead, hopefully many years from now.

A similar thing happened to one of our fridges.  The bar-like thing in front of the milk shelf cracked.  Since its cross section is like an upside-down letter J (and the rounded part of the "J" is what cracked), I simply epoxied a section of wooden dowel into it, and you'd never know it was ever broken.  If you're looking to go super-strong, you could use a carbon fiber arrow shaft :)

[Dicey]

^^Totally agree with this.^^ The only counter depth that would fit in the custom kitchen cabinetry in the five year old house we bought cost almost $3k. Within a year, the front of the door shelf that holds gallons of milk cracked because someone lifted out, not up. We've been ignoring it for years, but at some point we might try a little creative repair rather than replacing it. No way are we going to buy a new fridge until this one's well and truly dead, hopefully many years from now.

A similar thing happened to one of our fridges.  The bar-like thing in front of the milk shelf cracked.  Since its cross section is like an upside-down letter J (and the rounded part of the "J" is what cracked), I simply epoxied a section of wooden dowel into it, and you'd never know it was ever broken.  If you're looking to go super-strong, you could use a carbon fiber arrow shaft :)

Oh, Z, that's brilliant! I love this community!

[AMandM]

I did indeed find a replacement for the broken drawer on Ebay. Now the grandchildren aren't at risk of being beaned by a cascade of cheese and lunchmeat.

As for the drawers that need mending... I've gone to the hardware store three times and forgotten to get epoxy every time.