As it happens, our three-week-new refrigerator turned out to have a tri-phasic sound emission system synchronized with my trigeminal nerve relay. In other words, the beast was a migraine trigger.
The motor revved up its chilling power with a sound my husband dubbed The Percolator, only it was much, much louder than a humble percolator. It began with a rumble-roar worthy of a juvenile tyrannosaurus, and modulated to a bone-chilling, whiny shriek. It did this several times throughout the day and night. Its normal running sound was more bearable: a low rumbly-hum, like a small pet gravel truck in the kitchen. By the time it reached target temperature and cycled off, my reaction to the sudden silence was, “What was that?!”
A nice warranty-paid repair man came out and installed an after-market “quiet kit.” It made no difference.
We are doubtless very fortunate at this stage of our lives that saving $41 a year on energy costs is not a big selling point for us. What is, is quiet, and I had simply failed to associate energy efficiency with noise-shielding insulation. And so, we upwardly exchanged our new noise hazard for a new energy-efficient model that steadily hums at just one frequency, mostly to itself, alternating with the sort of quiet a cat makes padding in and then going silently to sleep.
Given the low life expectancy (avg. 14 years) of contemporary refrigerators, it is possible that I might actually live to acquire a new one. I have a couple of things for myself to remember that might be helpful for others who are sound-sensitive, if they’ve not already figured these things out.
A good appliance dealer will plug in a refrigerator for you so you can hear it run. It did not occur to us to request this the first time, but the second time it was the prime objective. The appliance store is carpeted; our kitchen has hardwood floors. The refrigerator will sound more quiet in the store. A vibration-reducing mat underneath the fridge might be a good idea at home.
The store was great to us. They picked up the first new refrigerator and delivered the second without charging us for the extra delivery. I expect they’ll be around for our next refrigerator purchase, 12-16 years down the road.
Eel Creek Chronicles 