Opinion
Sometimes I have an opinion.
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Children Hurt in Washing Machines
According to information posted at the American Academy of Family Physicians web site, 19,109 washing machine injuries were reported between 1993 and 2000 in children under age 15. That’s a lot of injuries! I would suspect that many are related to falling injuries – where children are placed on a washer while a parent is loading the dryer. However, I can attest to the power of an agitator – it will break your arm if you stick it in there. The spin cycle on most top loaders runs at about 350 rpm – that too will break bones rather easily. Most washers have safety devices that stop the unit from operating during wash and spin cycles but still the danger is there.
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Warm Fridge and Bad Food
When servicing warm refrigerators, customers often ask me whether the food is good or not. My advice is always to err on the side of caution.
If your fridge has been above 40 deg for any longer than a couple of hours then I would begin to throw some stuff out. Certainly any dairy, egg, mayo and milk products. Condiments such as ketchup, mustard, pickles, etc. will usually be Ok for a while in a warm environment. Basically anything that you would not keep out on the counter for a day should be thrown out.
On the freezer side, I say that if the product is anything but rock hard, either cook it (then refreeze it) or throw it out. This applies especially to any chicken our poultry products. If things stayed hard, then don’t worry about them – they should be good. Breads, concentrated juice cans and the like can become a bit soft and be refrozen without any problems.
Finally, if the power is out or if your fridge is not working – LEAVE THE DOORS SHUT!!! Every time your ‘check the fridge’ to see if it is still cold you warm it even more. Every time the door is opened, all the cold air literally falls out of the fridge and is replaced with warm air from the room. When the power is out, don’t even check the fridge – believe me, the power is out in it as well. Just leave it till the power comes back on, and then check your food to see how warm it got.
A chest freezer will stay frozen if full of food for up to 2 days with out running. Again, don’t open it – just let it be till the power comes back on.
Finally, if you have any doubt – throw it out. It’s just not worth getting sick over.
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Post Number One
Welcome to post number one. What I hope to do here is post the happenings of the Appliance industry along with whatever thoughts and comments pop into my mind. I urge anyone reading these posts to make comments on anything you read here (agree or disagree.) If you hear of something that you think the rest of the world should know about or if you would like a soapbox to editorialize on something appliance related please drop me a line at neighbour@neighboursappliance.com. Thanks – and have fun reading.