Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-03
CARE OF THE REFRIGERATOR

The refrigerator is an absolute neces-
sity in every home, and to purchase
one without some thought as to its
build and requirements will be found a
very expensive proceeding. In the first
place, do not buy cheap one, and in
the second place, do not buy small
one.
Both will be found to use up a large
amount of ice. which will melt and run
off, and the box be nothing but dark,
unventilated piece of furniture. A new
refrigerator should stand for twenty
four hours after the ice chamber is
filled before any article of food is put
into 1t.
1t is also important that there be
little IL any wood in the interior of the
refrigerator. If it were not for the
question of cost there is no doubt that,
taken all in all, tiled, porcelain-lined
or enameled refrigerator would be the
best. Such surfaces are smooth, easily
kept clean, and do not absorb odors. A
refrigerator should always be well ven-
tilated. and so arranged that the cold
air from the ice chamber should circu-
late frely in the food chambers.
When there are no separated and
quarantined divisions, neither fish,
cheese, cabbage, onions nor bananas
should be kept in the general refriger-
ator. Their flavor will not only affect
the other food, but will render the
butter, milk and any gelatinous prepa'
rations absolutely unfit for use. with
artificial ice care must be taken not to
let fish come in contact with 1t, as the
ammonia used in the freezing affects
the fish Meat should never be laid
directly on the ice, natural or artificial,
as it extracts all the good meat juices.
Half of the success in preserving eat
ables during the warm weather is IN
the care of placing them. The refrig-
orator should stand in cool, well
lighted place. A fact that Is not often
recognized, even by the careful house
wife, Is that the refrigerator should
never be in a damp and airless place. 1t
should always be placed where 1t can
be drained easily. Dampness will warp
the wood and by so doing make the
tight closing of the doors impossible.
This will admit the warm exterior air,
melt the ice and defeat the purpose
for which the refrigerator was built.
Proper ventilation is an absolute ne
cessity. Another point to remember is
that the doors should be opened as
rarely as possible and shut tight as
soon as possible. When a pan is used
for the water from the refrigerator 1t
should be so large that it cannot over
flow before the time comes for empty
ing it. If the water from the waste
pipe is not caught in pan, it may be
carried into the cellar, where the waste
water can drip into sink. The waste
pipe should never be connected directly
with the plumbing. In large cities the
board of health regulations don't allow
the outlet pipe to connect with the
sewer as formerly many of them did;
but in some towns this is still allowed,
though distinct menace to health.
Better the trouble of emptying the pan
twice a day than run the risk of sewer
gas getting into the refrigerator.
Keep the ice compartment full of ice.
The more ice the greater the economy
There are many people who from
false idea of economy fail to get the
best results from the use of ice and
refrigerators. A common mistake Is
getting a small piece of ice every day
or every other day, instead of filling
the ice chamber two or three times a
week. If you keep the box we'll filled,
you will have the benefit of the maxi
mum cooling capacity of your refriger,
ator; otherwise the temperature Will
never be very low and things will not
keep as we'll. A small piece of ice can
not reduce the temperature sufficiently,
and the result is that each new piece
melts more rapidly and the food cannot
be kept long. When the box Is kept
thoroughly chilled, the ice itself does
not get a chance to melt The Ice
compartment should never be openeH
unless absolutely necessary.
1t will be found at the end of the
season that the cost of ice and waste
of food have been much greater than If
the ice chamber had been kept well