Growing up, the only constant was your family. And some furniture too.
Although, another constant that has always been around are household appliances. But the one that stood out was sometimes in the background of our cooking experiments or sometimes as a paid actor in our childhood photographs. It was perhaps the most loved, most frequented and most used appliance – the refrigerator. While most refrigerators have a life expectancy of around 5-10 years, you could prolong it with ease. A little extra attention, a lot more care, and you’ll have a refrigerator as good as new!
These are a few steps that you could easily get used to and add to your daily routine:
(Don’t) top it off
One of the main reasons why most of us feel low today is probably because of a lot of pressure. Our refrigerator is no different. The pressure that is applied due to the addition of extra items affects the refrigerator greatly. It causes the to overwork while also causing improper heat dissipation. So steer clear of items on top of the refrigerator and just remember that storage is on the inside, not on the outside. Especially not on top of the fridge.
Fill, not overfill
Leaving your fridge empty is going to leave two things unhappy – one, the refrigerator itself and two, you of course! So stock up your fridge. But also know when to draw the line between filling and overfilling. It’s a very real thing, and it happens to the best of us. You start off with leftovers and extras and usually end up with expired condiments from three years ago.
Deep clean
Dust and grime builds over time. Vacuum the small nooks and corners as often as you can, but at least thrice a year. The condenser coils are usually the most filthy and hence require extra care. If you have a vegetable sorting system like Liebherr does, take it all out. The shelves, bottle holders, drawers, ice trays etc. shouldn’t be spared either. Those spilled stains ain’t gonna clean themselves buddy! To sum up, a deep cleaning session is a must!
Let it chill
When you let something breathe is when it finally feels free. That’s what chilling means to a refrigerator. But isn’t cooling a refrigerator’s basic job? If this is what you’re thinking, then here’s what you should know. The refrigerator will cool and continue performing its job, no matter what. But by helping out, you could just speed up the process. Leaving hot food items to cool down to room temperature, before you frantically toss them into the refrigerator is the best practice. So the next time you run out of patience, remember you’ve got to “let it chill”.
Sealing the deal
The most significant part of the process is cooling. And how can a refrigerator cool if the door doesn’t shut properly? Quite often we slam the door of the refrigerator and don’t realize that it’s still open. This causes the stored stuff inside to spoil, while also causing imbalance in the refrigerator’s functioning. Next time, focus more on closing than on opening, will ya?
These were a few tricks of the trade that one can easily adapt.
Get in the habit of it, and the longevity that you’ve been chasing for years, may just become yours! Maybe, think of it like this: the longer your fridge lasts, the longer you get to hide your chocolates, stuff your ice cream and of course, continue the midnight raiding in the kitchen.
