Field Notes · series 2 of 4
Lake Air: Moisture, Glass and Seals on Mercer Island
Water where it should not be is the commonest complaint from wine and undercounter owners here. Mercer Island sits in the middle of Lake Washington, and the air that reaches a glass door each time it opens carries more moisture than a showroom ever did. These notes follow that moisture onto the glass, into the labels, past the gasket and onto the coil.
The notes, in reading order
- Water, Frost and Ice Inside a Built-In Sub-Zero
Where the meltwater stops: a drain, a defrost circuit or a door seal, told apart before anyone opens the cabinet.
- Condensation on a Sub-Zero Wine Door: Reading Where the Water Forms
Mist on the room side, haze on the cabinet side, beads on the bottles: which side of the glass the water is on, and why that matters.
- Damp Labels and Mold Inside Wine Storage
Soft labels, spotted capsules and a musty smell: how damp gets into a wine cabinet, how to clean it out, and when it keeps returning.
- How a Glass-Door Gasket Fails, and What It Does to the Zones
Hardened, flattened, split or lifted at a corner: how the seal on a wine door gives out, and what each zone does about it.
- Afternoon Sun on a West-Shore Kitchen and the Wine Unit in It
What UV-resistant glass keeps from the wine, what it lets through, and how to tell sunlight from a failing part.
- Frost Where There Should Be None: The Wine Evaporator
White on the back wall of a wine zone: why it forms, how to melt it without damage, and which part it points to.
- Docks, Decks and Boathouses: Undercounter Units Outside the Heated House
Undercounter units on decks, docks and in boathouses: which are built for it, what lake weather does, and the off-season.
If water is dripping rather than misting, read the gasket note first.
The other three series
- Holding the Zones Why a wine zone drifts, what the display leaves out, and restarting after the wind.
- Under the Counter Undercounter refrigerators, beverage centers and drawers — small machines with little air.
- One Bridge The phone call, the parts wait, a long absence, a remodel and two units on one trip.
Mercer Island, WA
Not sure which note fits?
Describe what the unit is doing and we will point you at the right one, or book the visit. The $89 call is taken off the repair once you approve it.
Island visits 8:00 am – 8:00 pm, seven days · the line rings through 24/7