Refrigerator & Freezer Costs in Electricity Outages

Direct Loss of Food

• Assuming you keep the door closed, a full, unopened freezer can keep food safe for up to two days. A half-full freezer gives only one day. The foods in a refrigerator have an even shorter life once power goes out: about four hours. According to Louisiana State University's AgCenter, some food can be saved if the outage didn't last much longer than that and the temperature of the foods didn't get too high. Foods with ice crystals can be refrozen. Hard and processed cheese can survive an extended outage, as well. Sugary items such as jelly likely will be fine, as will vinegar-based condiments. To mitigate costs, consumers should educate themselves about what foods may and may not survive.

Indirect Loss of Food

• If food has gone bad, you might be facing a second wave of loss. The smell from the initial spoilage may have permeated the inside of your refrigerator or freezer. New food can absorb the smell, ruining it. Several actions can save the situations, according to the AgCenter. The appliance must be completely emptied, thoroughly cleaned and then disinfected. It must be aired out, as well. If that doesn't work, the AgCenter says to warm and ventilate the inside walls of the refrigerator and freezer with something such as a blow dryer. This warming, air-out process might need a few hours to work. A remaining slight whiff of odor can be tackled with charcoal filters or activated carbon, obtainable from drug stores, advises the AgCenter.

Medicines and Vaccines

• There are many drugs and vaccines that must be kept refrigerated or frozen. According to the Therapeutic Research Center, millions of dollars worth of drugs are lost each year due to improper storage, including within refrigerators or freezers suffering a power loss. When medicines have potentially been compromised by a power loss, it's important to consult a pharmacist, doctor or public health organization for advice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises clinics that have suffered an electrical outage not to use vaccines but not to throw them away; instead the CDC recommends they contact public health officials. If you have refrigerated medicines, invest in a refrigerator thermometer. You'll need to know what temperature the inside of your appliance reached.

Appliance Loss

• Many consumers are aware that power surges from lightning strikes can damage appliances, including refrigerators and freezers. Few realize that power restoration after an outage also creates damaging surges. Delmarva Power company advises its customers to protect against this circuit overload by unplugging the refrigerator and freezer when power is lost. Once power comes back on, plug appliances back in.