Warning! Danger when installing a latch on a refrigerator door, don’t drill them in

We had a bit of a disaster when trying to solve what we learned was a common problem. You may want to inform your readers of the dangers and ask for suggestions as to how people solved the original problem.

Our six-year old was all too fond of helping himself to the fridge at five o'clock in the morning and taking various foods into his room for breakfast. Although we do take care to throw out possibly spoiled foods, we worried he might still get something he shouldn't. Not only that, but last night's scalloped potatoes aren't the best breakfast for a six-year old.

We have a pretty standard fridge with the freezer on the top and two doors. We looked around for a way to lock the fridge and came up with putting two small latch clamps - one on the bottom of the top freezer door and one on the top of the fridge door, then using a long padlock through both eyelets of the latches. Simple and effective, right?

Although we asked about the drilling and the type of screws to use, no one warned us about the dangers of putting screws in the side of the fridge. As luck would have it, on the last screw of the second bracket we heard a large whooshing sound. We had punctured the coil and the gas was escaping. Naturally this was on a Sunday when we couldn't even call someone. From a friend we understand we are now looking at having the fridge completely disassembled, the coil welded and the fridge coolant recharged - a very expensive lesson. And we still don't have a lock.

In talking to friends and hardware store staff we learned that this is a common problem with children and even pets. Of all the features manufacturers include with fridge’s why not have some form of locking? We put lock s on our medicine cabinets and kitchen cabinets to protect small children. What about medications that must be kept in the fridge? Equally dangerous.