There are a few things you should do before you leave home for a while, whether it’s for a trip or an emergency.
You might not think about how to make sure your refrigerator has been running the whole time you’ve been gone. If you live in an area where the power goes out often, like during an ice storm or hurricane, it’s possible that your freezer won’t work for a long time.
Luckily, there is a very easy way to tell if your frozen foods have been tampered with. You’ll only need a mug, a coin, and some water to do this.
How the Trick with the Coin in the Freezer Works
So, here’s how it works:
Fill a small container with water and put it in the freezer until the water is solid. Next, put a quarter (or really any coin) on top of the ice and put it back in the freezer.
Let me explain. If you’re ever away on vacation or (unfortunately) have to leave your home because of an emergency and come back to signs that the power has been out, a lot of headaches and sickness could be avoided with just a little coin. It could give you a lot of peace of mind as well. When the power goes out for a long time, we all worry about whether or not the food in our freezers will stay frozen. This is especially true if you’re like us and always like to have a full freezer. That’s a lot of food that could be wasted.
It totally makes sense!
If you think your house has lost power, or even if you’re not sure and just want to make sure, go to the kitchen and look at the coin in the freezer. If the coin is still on top of the ice, it means that the power came back on soon. Everything stopped moving and froze. When you see that the coin is at the bottom of the container, you know that the power was out for a long time and that most of your food probably thawed. If you see this, you should throw out everything in your freezer and start over.
