CHAPTER XXII
BUYING A REFRIGERATOR
"SOMETHING in refrigerators?" said the clerk politely to Mrs. Dixon and Bettina.
"You talk to him," said Mrs. Dixon. "I don't know a thing about a refrigerator; that's why I begged you to come."
"Well," considered Bettina, her red brown head on one side, "we want one that will hold not less than a hundred pounds of ice. The large ones are much more economical in the long run. Here, Mrs. Dixon, is a hundred-pound fellow. May we examine it, please?"
"Certainly, madam."
"No, this won't do. See, Mrs. Dixon, the trap is in the bottom of the food chamber. That is wasteful and inconvenient, because in cleaning it you would have to leave the door of the larger compartment open. That would let the cold air out and waste the ice. Anyhow, you know the trap is the sewer of the refrigerator, and has no business in the food chamber. The trap really ought to be in the bottom of the ice chamber, where it can be cleaned without removing the food, or opening the door of the food compartment. Besides, I prefer to have the ice put in at a door on the side of the front, not on the top. Yes, here is the kind I mean. I like this trap, too. See, Mrs. Dixon, isn't it fine? It has a white enamel lining and shelves of open wire that can be removed."
"It looks nice, doesn't it? And when I get some white shelf paper on those shelves it will be like an attractive cupboard."
"Oh, my dear! You mustn't do that! That would prevent the circulation of air through the ice-box, which is the very thing that makes the food compartment cold. You see, that circulation of air goes on through these open-wire shelves. Another thing, I've seen people cover the ice with newspapers to keep it from melting, as they thought. But they were mistaken. Any friction causes warmth, and ice keeps better when there is nothing touching it."
"Well, if you like this one, I'll ask the price of it."