Do you know what the temperature inside your refrigerator is suppose to be?

Your refrigerator should be between 35 to 40 degrees.

All foods have bacteria on them. The purpose of a refrigerator is to slow down the growth of bacteria. Too high a temperature will spoil foods too quickly and can cause food poisoning, and too low a temperature in the refrigerator will freeze foods.

Use a refrigerator/freezer thermometer to check the temperature, which can be purchased in the kitchen section at most grocery stores.

Give your refrigerator 24 hours to reach and maintain the new temperature you want. Keep checking until the thermometer is right.

Your freezer should be set at 0 degrees or below.

Did you know that at room temperature, bacteria in food can double every 20 minutes. The more bacteria there are, the greater the chance that you could become sick.

That's why it is important to refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food, and leftovers within 2 hours to keep most harmful bacteria from multiplying. When temperatures are above 90 degrees F, discard food after 1 hour.

A lot of people think it will harm their refrigerator to put hot food inside it, but this is not true. It won't harm your refrigerator and it will keep you and your food safe. You can divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quicker cooling in the refrigerator.

Also...don't pack your refrigerator too full. Cold air must circulate to keep your food safe.

And... marinate foods "in" the refrigerator, not on your countertop.

I don't have a refrigerator thermometer... all that I have inside my refrigerator is two knobs to control the temp. One for the refrigerator and one for the freezer. Inside it says normal is 5, so I have the refrigerator set at 5, but I have the freezer set at 9. I think the knob goes from 1-10. I wonder what temperature 5 is at?

Usually you can tell if your refrigerator is set at the right setting is if your food is cold, like for example, the milk, when you drink it, is it nice and cold? If it was too cold in your refrigerator... it would freeze the milk, and if it was too warm in your refrigerator, your milk would be like room temperature when you drank it, and no one likes room temperature milk!!

On Amazon the thermometers look like they go from $5 - $10. If you're already getting something from Amazon so that your total is over $25 and you get free shipping it wouldn't be too bad. It seems like I've seen those things in the grocery store in the isle where they have a few pans and other cooking utensils.

An important thing about freezers is to make sure you don't pack them completely full. Leave about an inch all the way around if you can, failing that never leave less than an inch on the back and top. If your freezer has vents on the sides instead of the back, then leave the room on the sides and top instead of the back. There needs to be room for the cold air to circulate.

Also with the fridge, see if you have a duct somewhere in the back on the ceiling of the fridge, and try to keep things away from that duct. For one things will freeze next to that duct most times, and for two you don't want to impede the airflow there either.

When you close the door to the fridge or freezer, don't just swing it and assume it closes. I like to hold my finger on the rubber seal while I close the door so I can feel the seal slowly compress as the freezer or fridge vacuums closed. That way I always know my fridge/freezer is closed.

I think I have been guilty of packing my freezer too full... sometimes I have to push the door shut! I don't do that too often though... only after a crazy stock up session at Costco.

Yeah, I don't think refrigerator thermometers are too expensive. I'm curious to see what my temperature in my freezer and refrigerator reads so I might have to get one.

I used to be bad about packing the freezer too. Then a few of my fridges died and the technician told me not to fill the freezer so full. When I had older fridges they would freeze up and I'd have to unplug it and try to defrost it with a hair dryer before my food went bad.

Sometimes it's really hard not to pack it full because I have a brother who cuts meat at the grocery store so I get dibs on stuff that's about to go on sale.

Did the technician say that your freezers died because they were packed too full??

Indirectly, yes. Packing them full lead to them freezing up which in turn lead to them dying.

Yeah, you are right for the temperature inside the freezer. The freezer must be below 0 degree or below so it easy to be frozen. Sometimes it's really hard not to pack it full because I have a brother who cuts meat at the grocery store so I get dibs on stuff that's about.