Evening star., 1942-05-08
Refrigerator
Must Have
Attention
Frozen Production
NeceSSitateS Its
Conservation
By the Bureau of Home Eco.
nomics, U. s. DepfTrssFfs
of Agricnltnre.@S "

VI - ~ ~ ~sSSs
Now that the War Production
Board ghas frozen" production of
family-sized mechanical refrigera-
tors, every homemaker who owns
on ~ Hant to take better care Of
hers than ever. noN
So believes Lenore Sater.% chief
of the household equipment divi-
sion of the United States Depart
ment OF Agriculture's Bureau of
Home Economics.
"A homemaker who runs her re-
frigerator eff1ciently will be helping
the war effort in more ways than
one" points out Miss Safer. For
not only does she conserve valuable
materials that make up her refrig-
orator, but the energy that it takes
to run the refrigerator as well.
I'm peacetime about 20 per
cent of the electricity used in homes
goes to run electric refrigeratorS.
Now that electrical energy has be-
come a critical need of war pro-
duction, it is absolutely necessary
to use it as economically as possible. ;"
In the following paragraphs, Miss
Safer lists some of the simple pre-
cautions homemakers can take to
make their gas or electric refrig-
orators last longer, serve better and
conserve energy.
The amount Of energy a refrig-
orator uses depends partly on the
temperature of the air right around
the cabinet. The warmer this air,
the more energy it uses.
Place Away From Heat.
The refrigerator should be set
out of the sun and not too close to
the stove. There needs to be space
enough for good circulation of air
at the back and top.
Allow at least 21z inches leeway at
the back of an electric refrigerator
and 6 inches, preferably IL, at the
top. A gas refrigerator needs also
2la inches at the back and from
10 to II inches leeway at the top.
An electric refrigerator less than
5 years old rarely runs more than
one-third the time at average room
| temperatures. If it runs more than
| this, find out why. Maybe you need
a new gasket around the door. Or
perhaps the hinges need tightening.
You can check the tightness Of the
| gasket by closing the refrigerator
door on a new dollar bill. If the
dollar pulls out easily with the door
| closed, you need a new gasket. If
neither gasket nor hinges seem to be
causing the trouble, have service
man check the refrigerator.
Keep the refrigerator cold-but
not too cold. You're wasting energy
if you keep the temperature in the
cabinet below 40 degrees F. even
in the coolest spot This coldest
spot, reserved for milk and raw
meat, needs to be between 40 and
IS degrees F. at all times. You're
not getting safe refrigeration if any
part of the cabinet gets above sc
degrees.
II you think your refrigerator
temperatures may be out of line
have them checked by the home
service department of the company
that furnishes you gas or electricity
Or get a reliable refrigerator ther-
mometer and check for yourself
If you do not have the proper tenn
peratures at the normal setting OF
the temperature control, call a serv-
Ice man.
Don't make the refrigeratine
mechanism work overtime by open
ing the door more often or for q
longer time than necessary. Wher
you turn the temperature contro
down for quick freezing, remember
to turn it back again to norma
setting as soon as the quick freez.
ing is finished. To save on gas Of
/ electricity. it's a good idea not tc
do too much quick freezing.
Store Foods Carefully.
I Bring all warm foods to room tenn.
perature before you put them II