 | | | The ice-catcher Photo provided
| | | | | | Isn't it unpleasant to have ice jump all over the floor when using the refrigerator ice dispenser? Unpleasant and even dangerous, as William W. (Bill) McCandlish experienced when his wife almost slipped on one of those loose and hard-to-see ice cubes. But McCandlish is not one to be intimidated by a fridge.
The retired mining engineer has a practical mind and likes to use household things to solve problems. "I was repairing a vent deflector that someone had stepped on when, looking at it upside-down, I thought it would make a great ice catcher," said the Moraga resident. The deflectors have magnets at each end to attach to heating vents, so it did not require any work to be converted into an ice-catcher. If the magnets won't stick, McCandlish recommends using hot glue.
McCandish has been a reader of The Handyman Magazine for years. Every month the publication highlights a particularly ingenious element designed by one of their readers. "I decided to send them an email describing the system with a few jpeg pictures to illustrate it," McCandlish said. "I was happily surprised when they called me about it."
"McCandlish's entry, 'Ice Cube Catcher,' was chosen from more than 1,500 DIY tips submitted [this] year to appear in The Family Handyman's most popular section, 'Handy Hints'," said Doug Ruchefsky from The Rosen Group. "'Handy Hints' celebrates the true spirit of ingenuity where homeowners offer inventive ways to tackle tricky home repair issues, as well as recycle and 'upcycle' DIY materials." McCandlish's tip will be featured in the April issue of The Family Handyman, a national publication that reaches 4.6 million people each month.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA