Sears Response to the Complaint
Plastic Chip Digestion Research
WARNING - If you own a Kenmore Refrigerator with IIcemaker, YOU ARE PROBABLY DIGESTING PLASTIC CHIPS, and don't know it!
The goal of this website is to force Sears to recall their poorly designed icemakers and expose their terrible customer service.
This is a photo of the icemaker cube tray used to hold the water until it is frozen. The tray is made of metal with a plastic coating. The photo clearly shows the plastic coating chipping away from the metal. These plastic chips are winding up in your glass and YOU ARE PROBABLY DIGESTING THEM!
This photo shows a plastic chip frozen in an ice cube. The ice cube needs only to melt a small amount for the plastic chip to wind up in your glass, as the chips are on the outside edge of the cubes.
This is a photo of a plastic chip taken from the Plastic Chip Digestion Research. I'm holding it on my finger to give it some scale. The research clearly shows I WOULD HAVE DIGESTED THIS CHIP IF I WAS STILL USING THE ICEMAKER!
I GUESS THE BIG QUESTION IS WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CHIP ONCE IT IS IN YOUR BODY AND WHERE DOES IT COME OUT, IF AT ALL?
Infamous Khumbu Icefall on Mt. Everest? I've always wanted to go. Maybe, Sears should fly me out there, for free, in exchange for all this quality assurance research that they have failed to perform? Anyway, my Kenmore refrigerator had a small leak (design flaw) for well over a year. 10 or so water drops per day does seem like much, but over a year this is what you get. When the repairman removed the icemaker to repair the leak, I discovered the plastic coating chipping away from the ice cube tray. I was shocked to think about digesting plastic chips! The repairman was going to charge $169 to repair the leak (design flaw) and do nothing about the ice cube tray, so I refused to pay and made him leave immediately. What was the point in repairing the leak only to be digesting more plastic chips?
After the repairman left, I removed the icemaker, melted the Khumbu Icefall, purchased new ice cube trays, and started complaining to Sears.
Sears Really Stinks! I tried to talk with Sears Customer Service Department about the problem, but in my opinion, they are a bunch of jerks. I filed a complaint (Better Business Bureau Complaint) and Sears finally replied (Sears Response to the Complaint), but the bottom line is that it is cheaper for Sears to fight the complaint than fix their problems. I Believe A Government Agency or Public Outcry is Required to Force Sears to Recall Their Ice Makers! Please contact Sears (Contact Information) and tell them you don't want to digest plastic chips!
I decided to conduct some research (Plastic Chip Digestion Research) on how many plastic chips I have been digesting. The answer is 2.5 large plastic chips per day and could be as many as 912 plastic chips per year. The next thing will be to find someone willing to do a chemical analysis on a plastic chip to document the potential health hazard and post the results on this website. Independent of the chemical analysis, I still feel digesting even one plastic chip is too much!
Sears has been informed of the plastic chip problem and clearly indicated they knew of the problem from their response to my complaint, but have chosen to do nothing about it. You would think the least they could do is provide a Nutrition Facts Label for their plastic chips on the front of their refrigerators!
As to Sears lame excuse about hard water causing the plastic chip problem, this is a photo of our water softener. It was tested when we moved to our new house 2.5 years ago and at the same time the new Kenmore Refrigerator was purchased. It has always been properly maintained and we have not had any other problems with plumbing or appliances. In addition, I feel the Kenmore Icemaker should have been designed to work with such a common problem as hard water.
Above the entrance to every Sears Store they use to display a sign that read - Satisfaction Guaranteed Or Your Moneyy Back. Sears use to sell quality product and is the why I purchased the refrigerator, current washing machine/dryer, craftsman tools, and other appliances. I Will Never Purchase Anything From Sears Again!
Many other people have had similar problems with Sears which are documented at - http://www.searsscrewscustomers.com. Sears Really Stinks!