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Defrost your freezer and warm up to cool savings

By Kerry - 0 Comments

Tasty Trash: The $55 million Squawkfox Food Waste Challenge is a series aimed at helping your family save up to $1,500 this year by reducing food waste. The environment may also thank us. To start from the beginning, read the introduction.

When your freezer is a time capsule celebrating the Ice Age, then maybe it’s time to join the Modern Age by thawing your deep freeze.

The Ice Age Cometh: It’s time to thaw that frozen mess.

Photo Credit: Conny Liegl (flickr/MoonSoleil)

These Titanic-sized icebergs require a good melting session.

The causes of freezer frost

There are two common reasons ice may be forming in your freezer.

1. Take a peek. Freezer frost grows when moisture from the air condenses on the walls and turns to ice. Every time you open your freezer to take a peek, a blast of humid air sneaks in and builds up a thin layer of frost.

2. Blame the seals. If your freezer turns into a block of the cold stuff quickly, it’s likely your door seal. Cracked, worn, or misaligned freezer seals can let warm air in and cold air out. Yep, this is costing you some cool cash, so check those seals and stop gawking into your open freezer.

The cost of growing glaciers

Your freezer needs to work harder to keep your food cold since ice acts as an insulator. If you’re growing glaciers in parts of your freezer, you’ll use more energy to keep the internal temperature low. Plus, your food may not be stored at a low enough temperature, leading to food waste. According to the USDA, frozen food should be kept below 0ºF (-18ºC) or spoilage can occur.

Hold the ice: There’s no space for food.
Photo Credit: “Bennet” (flickr/bennett4senate)

Where’s the beef? Or frozen veggies, or stored leftovers? A lot of ice buildup can turn your ice box into an ice block, making it impossible to store perishables and access food. Why bother plugging the thing into an energy sucking socket if you’re just using your freezer space to foster frost?

How to defrost your freezer

You can beat the glaciers into a hasty retreat in five easy steps. Here’s how to get ready for the great freezer thaw:

Stuff you need:

bucket

hot water

towels

vacuum cleaner

dish soap

plastic spatula

freezer thermometer (optional)

Total thaw time: One hour — longer if you’re storing the arctic.

STEP ONE: Free the food. Start by emptying your frost-filled freezer and moving the perishables to another ice box or transferring the goods to a cooler.

If it’s a cold winter’s day, you can probably store your freezer contents in bins outside — as long as you don’t have any wildlife or hungry neighbors nearby.

This is a great time to take a detailed inventory of what’s hanging out in your deep freeze. Toss out or compost anything that’s gone bad.
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