SORABYCO | Life in Japan

I keep a tiny refrigerator upstairs near our bedroom. It is not our main fridge. We bought it simply because going downstairs to the kitchen every time we wanted a drink at night was inconvenient. Most of the time, it holds only bottled water and a few other drinks. There is also a very small freezer compartment at the top, but we rarely use it. Recently, though, I started noticing water underneath that little freezer compartment. At first, I assumed one of the bottles had leaked. I wiped everything dry, but the moisture came back. That made me wonder: Is the mini fridge leaking, or is it just condensation? Water Inside a Mini Fridge Does Not Always Mean It Is Broken If you find a small amount of water inside a mini fridge, especially directly below the freezer compartment, condensation or melting frost may be one possible cause . Before assuming the fridge has failed, wipe the area dry and take a closer look at what is happening. A few simple things are worth checking first: Is there ...

When air circulators first became popular in Japan, I bought one without thinking too much about it. It looked smaller than a regular pedestal fan, which immediately appealed to me. I imagined carrying it easily from the living room to the bedroom, and I assumed it would cool me just as well while taking up less space. Since Japanese summers are incredibly hot and humid, it sounded like the perfect solution. Unfortunately, my expectations and reality turned out to be quite different. The airflow didn't feel as comfortable as the breeze from my regular fan. Instead of feeling cool, I often found myself moving closer to the air circulator, wondering if I had simply bought the wrong model. Maybe it was too small. Maybe I should have spent a little more money. Then I discovered another problem. Cleaning it wasn't nearly as simple as cleaning my fan. With my regular fan, I can remove the front grille, wipe the blades, and put everything back together in just a few minutes. The air c...