The other day one of my trusted home inspectors sent me article about refrigerator tips for saving energy and food safety. I read through the tips and realized 2 things: #1) I really take my refrigerator for granted and don’t clean and maintain it as much as I should. And #2) Some of these tips were worth repeating to readers. Of the 57 tips mentioned in the article by homedashwizarddotcom, here are 12 quick tips I think you’ll find valuable. Hey, if you’re enjoying the content, please subscribe to my channel and click on the bell and the like buttons. I appreciate your support.
Here are some food safety and energy saving refrigerator tips:
- Don’t store perishable foods, like eggs, milk, and yogurt, on the door of your refrigerator, despite the nice fit. The temperature of the bins on the door can be about seven degrees warmer and can fluctuate more than the temperature in the cabinet. Items that are better to store on the door include condiments, sodas, and butter.
- The bottom shelf of your refrigerator is the coldest part (since heat rises), and this is the best place to store fresh meats, fish, and poultry. The other benefit of storing these foods at the bottom is that any leaks will not drip down and contaminate other foods.
- Don’t set your refrigerator’s temperature too low. The colder it runs, the more it costs. Set the refrigerator’s temperature to between 38 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer section to between 0- and 5-degrees Fahrenheit.
- To accurately check the temperature inside your refrigerator, put a thermometer in a glass of water and place it inside on a shelf for 24 hours, Test the temperature in your refrigerator in several places inside it, to ensure that it is below 40 °F throughout the entire cabinet.
- Avoid putting warm foods directly into your refrigerator. Let them cool first and then put them in. But don’t let them sit out at room temperature for more than two hours. If you are in a hurry to put hot food into your refrigerator, then it can be rapidly chilled in an ice or cold-water bath before refrigerating. STOP. I have one caveat to this. The only item I make an exception for is rice. I purposely cook extra rice to freeze. This rice goes straight from the rice cooker into the freezer to keep it moist and tasty. I do try to keep it isolated so it won’t warm up any neighbors.
- Your refrigerator works best when it’s full, but be sure and leave space between items for proper air circulation. When the refrigerator is almost empty, put in a few bottles of water to help store cold inside when the door is opened.
- Clean your refrigerator regularly and wipe spills immediately (with a mild soap and water solution, not bleach). This helps reduce the growth of bacteria and prevents drips that can allow bacteria from one food to spread to another.
- Make it a weekly habit to throw out perishable foods that should no longer be eaten. A general rule of thumb for refrigerator storage of cooked leftovers is 4 days, and for raw poultry and ground meats, it is 1-2 days.
- Vegetable bins, meat drawers, and the bottom shelf are usually the most bacteria-laden areas, so you will want to pay extra attention to cleaning these areas.
I like these 3 tips the best:
- Did you know that air circulates between the refrigerator and freezer compartments? Because of this, odors from expired leftovers or spoiled produce can make everything from ice cubes to ice cream taste bad. Wipe up spills and toss expired perishables immediately.
- Defrosting frozen foods by putting them in the refrigerator for two days helps to cool down your refrigerator, so it has to work less hard and therefore consumes less energy.
- And the last refrigerator tip is: Once a month, clean your door gasket with 1 tsp. of baking soda dissolved in a quart of warm water. In addition to cleaning the gasket, it will keep it soft and pliable.
And If you want to get the entire list of tips, here’s the link to download.
Thanks for watching and in the words of the American author, Robert Fulghum, “On a very local scale, a refrigerator is the center of the universe. On the inside is food essential to life, and on the outside of the door is a summary of the life events of the household.” I’ll see you next week!
