Maintain safe refrigerator temperature - brittag/maintenance GitHub Wiki

Aspect	Info
Context	Residence
Date started	N/A
Date finished	N/A
Status	Complete
Summary of outcome	Success

Background

Occasionally refrigerators stop cooling correctly and need repair or replacement.

Problem

I ran into this problem several years ago when milk kept going bad faster than expected. The fridge was still cool, so it took us a while to realize that it was not keeping a low enough temperature. The difference between food-safe temperature and not-quite-food-safe temperature was a bit subtle to observe without a thermometer.

Approach

Get a fridge thermometer and put it in the fridge. Glance at it regularly to check whether it's within the proper temperature range. I like this thermometer ($8) because it has clearly-labeled safe zones:

Outcome

If my current fridge stops working properly, I expect to figure that out more quickly because of this thermometer.

Next steps

Buy some for friends and family and give them as gifts. Fun stocking stuffer!