Refrigerator without secrets

You won’t last long without it! There are plenty of models available on the market. We will suggest what features you should be paying attention to while purchasing the fridge and how to use it, so it lasts for years.

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Before you buy…

Think about the space you can allocate for your fridge – where will it be standing? How much food you are going to store there? And do you really need a fridge wit freezer (maybe refrigerator itself will be enough). Think about functions you are going to pay a lot. Maybe you won’t need those? There are four types of fridges to choose from.

Best Refrigerator Temperature to Keep Food Fresh – How Our Testing Works

We start by setting the ambient temperature in our climate-controlled chambers to 70° F, which simulates the conditions in most kitchens. Then we determine which temperature setting on each refrigerator will get the refrigerator temperature in the center of the unit to between 36° F and 38° F. We do the same thing in the freezer, figuring out how to get the freezer temperature to between -1° F and 1° F.

Temperatures inside the one of our highest-scoring models GE GFE26GSHSS, stay right around 37° F mark in the fridge and 0° F in the freezer when it’s set to these temperatures. But other refrigerators are wide off the mark. With the LG LFXS32766S for example, you need to set the refrigerator temperature to 40° F and the freezer to 2° F to achieve 37° F and 0° F conditions.

Refrigerator without freezer

The temperature inside is 37-120 °F, There is no freezer. However, in some models there are special cooling chambers (in there, the temperature drops even lower). The biggest advantage of these refrigerators are their small dimensions (height approximately 50-180 cm, width 45-60cm, depth about 50cm), as well as their low price (from €125).

Refrigerator with freezer

It is the most popular type of fridge. In addition to cooling chamber, there is also a freezer, where temperature drops to about -418 °F. There are two models available: one or two doors. In the first one, the freezer is inside the cooling chamber. In the second one, it is outside of it.

Side by side type of fridge

Similar to the previous type of fridge, but it has wing-opening doors. The advantage of this type of fridges is their capacity. You can store there much more food than in classic fridge. There are also a lot of additional functions (like for example water filter, cold accumulators that keep the temperature low when the power goes off, and even built-in TV). A downside of these fridges is their cost and large size (they are great for large kitchens).

Built-in fridge

It has flat doors that make it easy to have other built-in equipment in the kitchen. Most of popular brands already have three types, so that they can be built-in.

While purchasing, we should pay attention to:

The capacity of refrigerator and freezer – think about how large fridge you need. Bigger equipment takes more power, so we will have to pay more for unused space.
Type of doors – today most of fridges has got a double door assembly (it is up to us in which way the doors will open). It allows us to freely set the equipment in the apartment. It is much better to ask the seller for proper installation. You should also pay attention to the fact whether the fridge is equipped with hinged doors. It is useful. Some refrigerators are also equipped with alarm signal that will notify us about doors being ajar.
Shelves – is there a possibility to set their height according to our needs. Folding shelves are very convenient because thanks to them we can better manage the interior of the fridge.
Freezer equipment – functional freezer should include drawers, shelves, and a container (ideal for freezing products that easily stick like for example dumplings or fruits).
Refrigerator feet – they should be adjusted in order to set it on the right level.
Energy consumption – it depends on the energy class of refrigerator. There are 7 of them, from A (the most effective) to G. Most of refrigerators available on the market are in A or B class. We can also find very economical refrigerator marked with A+ symbol. In practice, it looks that A class device is cheaper in utilization than class C or B by about €25 a year.

How to store food

The taste and the validity of products, namely the health of your family, are dependent on the way you arrange them. In most refrigerators, the lowest temperature is on the highest shelf. That is why you should put there products that expire quickly: milk, kefirs, yogurts, etc. On the middle shelf you should store cheese, meats, or home-made dishes like for example a pot of soup (do not put in warm ones because the fridge will consume a lot of power). Lower drawers are ideal for vegetables and fruits. Such products like lettuce, parsley, or chives are best stored in plastic bags. Remember to make holes in there that will allow access of air, otherwise vegetables can start to mold. Put hard cheeses in the bottom drawers. They ripen there best. Shelves on the doors are best for open jars with already processed food, horseradish, ketchup, and carton juices. If you store food in plastic containers, choose rectangular, not round ones. There is better air circulation in there, so they are evenly cooled.

Did you know that:

You can get rid of the unpleasant odor from the fridge by putting a half an apple or a plate with baking powder.
In modern fridges the temperature is not dependent on where the freezer is located.
The rear wall of the refrigerator cannot be dusty – the dust that builds on the refrigerator cause the engine to be poorly ventilated.
The refrigerator should not be empty – it consumes a lot of power.

How to clean refrigerator

You should always clean refrigerator if you defrost it (if you have one door for refrigerator and freezer). If you have separate doors for freezer and refrigerator, you can wash the latter more frequently. Pay particular attention to the appearance of dirt on the seals. Clean those spots with water only, since detergents can damage them. The interior of refrigerator should be washed with warm water with, for example, dishwashing liquid or water with vinegar. Finally, wipe the fridge dry. Remember that you can store food safely only when your fridge is clean.