If you’ve ever arrived home to see a puddle on the floor in front of your fridge freezer or ever opened the freezer door to find everything inside is a little too soft and well, defrosting, then you’ll certainly understand the value of a healthy fridge freezer in your home. They really are priceless. Not only does a breakdown cost considerable money to fix or even replace, but it also costs a lot in wasted food.
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to ensure your fridge freezer remains healthy and fully functional, phew!
Don’t overfill: This is such a common issue, and it really can restrict the airflow of the machine. We’ve all been guilty at some point of finding something in the bottom drawer of our freezer that has been residing there for a good few year, but it just isn’t necessary, or healthy! Don’t let your freezer get to the point of overflowing; if you are forcing drawers shut then it’s time to make some room. The same goes for your fridge, though units that are fuller work better than those that are empty, they do not work quite so well when they are bulging at the door.
Maintain temperature: A freezer should be kept at -18 Degrees Celsius to ensure food is kept safely frozen. Check your thermostat once in a while to ensure the freezer part of the machine is still running at the desired temperature. Also, if freezing cooked food, make sure it’s cool before putting it in the freezer as warm food being placed inside can alter the overall temperature. A fridge should be running at a temperature of 4 Degrees Celsius or lower, but be careful not to turn it too low as you could find your lettuce beginning to freeze!
Maximise space: To ensure you don’t overfill your freezer, make sure you’re using containers/zip bags for the safe storing of food. Not only do containers stack well, but they also take up much less space – just make sure you label and date each one with what’s inside and the date it was frozen! This way, when you come to do an ‘empty’ you can get rid of any frozen foods that have been forgotten and left in the freezer for quite a while.
Bin rotten food: Ever opened the fridge door and thought oh, what is that smell?! Yep, we can surely tell when food has gone off! Make sure any food that has seen better days is removed from your fridge, not only are you removing unhealthy bacteria, but you are also keeping your fridge smelling fresh and reducing the risk of mould appearing.
Keep those coils clean: If the condenser coils become covered with dust then you can bet your machine isn’t going to work properly. This is easy to manage though; every 6 months simply remove the machine from the wall and check the behind for dust. A quick unplugging of the machine and vacuuming the back will soon get rid of this dust for you, just remember to plug it back in pronto!
These are just a few of the things you can do to maintain the life of your fridge freezer and carrying each out regularly should massively help to prolong its lifespan.
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