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Keeping Your Fridge in the Cool Zone

Stephan321 September 5, 2019

Refrigerators are an essential component of the kitchen. They play a vital role in maintaining the quality of food and help in its storage.

Over the years, technology has enhanced the concept of a conventional refrigerator and provided a variety of models to meet most of the people’s needs.

Keeping Your Fridge in the Cool Zone

What is the ideal temperature for a refrigerator?         

35 to 38-degree Fahrenheit is the perfect temperature range for a refrigerator. This temperature ensures no frozen food items and no ice crystal formation. It is imperative to set your fridge on the correct temperature to prevent the growth of bacteria over the food items.

Measuring the Temperature of the Refrigerator

Most of the refrigerators come with adjustable temperature settings. Still, there’s a need to invest a bit more on purchasing an appliance thermometer.

A good quality thermometer would give you the exact readings, ensuring that your fridge is in a safe zone.

For most precise and accurate results, place the refrigerator thermometer in the center of the area whose temperature you want to measure. Close the door of the fridge and wait for a couple of hours and carefully examine the readings. Make the changes following the result.

A refrigerator thermometer also measures the temperature of the freezer, whose ideal range is from 0 degrees Fahrenheit or -18 degrees Fahrenheit.

Storing food in the refrigerator

The cooling temperature of the refrigerator varies as per its parts. Hence it becomes a necessity to monitor them, ensuring the quality of the food. For instance, the back and bottom shelves are coolest, and the upper ones are a bit warmer.

Let’s see where to store what in the refrigerator

  • The Upper shelves

You can store the leftover food and snacks in the upper shelves. Reason being temperature here is more consistent, and food items are easy to access.

  • At the Fridge Door

You can store the condiments here but not the eggs or milk. It’s because spices, pickles, jam, etc.; have the right amount of preservatives in them, making them less prone to spoilage.

  • Storing the butter

Many of us might not have realized, but there is a special compartment meant to store butter. Butter is a sensitive milk product that needs to be kept in a cool place. The special chamber supports a little door that keeps the area cool even if the door of the refrigerator is open for most of the time.

  • Drawers for Meat

Many fridge models have specially designed meat drawers that are cooler than the rest of the parts. If your refrigerator has temperature controlling options, go for 36-degree farthest for cooked meat and 32-degree Fahrenheit for raw meats.

The lower temperatures particularly slow down the growth of bacteria and prevent their multiplication, which in turn keeps the meat soft and fresh for longer.

Utilizing the Lower Shelves

In case if your fridge does not contain a meat drawer, it’s better to store it on the bottom shelves. Since bottom shelves are coolest of all, foods that are likely to get spoilt quickly can be stored in them. It also prevents cross-contamination of odors.

Crispy Drawers

These drawers are also known as fruits and vegetable drawers. They are not cooler as compared to other parts of the refrigerator but control the level of humidity. In that case, vegetables keep well under high humidity levels.

Keeping your refrigerator at a Safe temperature

The below tips ensure safety and proper functioning of the fridge.

Refrigeration as early as possible

It is recommended that food should not be stored at the room temperature for more than two hours. This is done in order to meet the safety food standards.

Check the Refrigerator Gasket

Firm examination of the fridge gasket is to be made. A small tear would let the cool air escape out, disrupting the cooling process. find the fault in your cool room quickly and begin the cold room repairs immediately, to protect your assets and get you up and running again in no time.

Cleaning the Coils

Coils are on the top, bottom, or back of the refrigerator. 

Over time these coils can get covered with dust particle and cause the compressor to overheat.  So, cleaning the coils will protect the refrigerator from getting damaged.

To clean them, unplug the fridge. Then take a coil brush to remove the dust particles from the coils.

Over time these coils can get covered with dust particle and cause the compressor to overheat.  So, cleaning the coils will protect the refrigerator from getting damaged.

To clean them, unplug the fridge. Then take a coil brush to remove the dust particles from the coils. It’s smart to get the coils cleaned at least once in a year to avoid any complexity in its working.

Final Words

The tips mentioned above ensure the proper working of the refrigerator, keeping it in a consistent cold zone without any damages. Also, we have a clear picture of storing food items as per the temperature requirements in the refrigerator.

These steps would safeguard your fridge without compromising with the quality of the food and safety of your health.

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