How do I check the temperature in my refrigerator?
Whether your refrigerator is working or not depends
primarily on how well your refrigerator is cooling your food. If your
refrigerator is not cooling food efficiently, the food will spoil and lead
to food borne illness. You clearly want to make sure that your refrigerator
is working properly, and this involves “taking its temperature” as you would
a child – to make sure that your fridge is at the proper temperature.
However, this is not accomplished simply by placing
a thermometer on your top shelf and seeing what happens. That is because you
are not trying to make sure that there is an adequate temperature in the
fridge itself – you are trying to make sure that your FOOD is kept at a
temperature that will prevent it from spoiling as quickly. A refrigerator is
useless if it is not dispersing cool are properly around your fridge, and if
even if the air in the fridge is at less than 40 degrees, that does not mean
that the food inside of the fridge is also at such a temperature.
How to Check Your Fridge’s Temperature
1.
Get a thermometer, preferably one designed to be used inside of a fridge so
that you know it will not break or have any problems.
2.
Fill up a glass of water and place the thermometer inside.
3.
Place the glass of water in the fridge, ideally in the front of the middle
shelf. Do not place the glass of water all the way in the back as this tends
to receive the most cold air and may not be an accurate measurement.
4.
Let the glass of water and the thermometer sit inside of the fridge for as
long as 6 hours, without opening the fridge door.
5.
Once the time is complete, check the thermometer. Ideally the temperature of
your refrigerator should be at approximately 38 degrees. Any warmer and you
risk spoiling your food, any colder and you are probably wasting energy. If
your refrigerator is not at 38 degrees, adjust the thermostat accordingly
and retest.
An additional test that you may want to perform is
to place the glass of water in the front door of the fridge to give you a
good idea of the warmest that your food can possibly be in the refrigerator.
The shelves inside of the door are known to be the warmest, so if they are
at roughly 38-40 degrees, you can be sure that your food is cold enough.
Checking the temperature of your fridge is designed
so that you can be certain your fridge is working well and keeping food cold
(as well as if there are any leaks or reasons to be concerned over your
refrigerator’s ability to cool), but also making sure you are not
overcooling your fridge beyond its necessary temperature. 38 degrees is the
most energy efficient temperature that will still safely keep your food
cold, and the thermometer will tell you whether or not your fridge is able
to effectively keep your food around this temperature.
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