fridge

removing magnets from the fridge saves exactly zero euros on your bill, although there are other things that do work

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The magnetic decorations that decorate refrigerators in many homes have been the subject of a curious urban legendthat they make our appliance consume more. “Everything in this myth is false,” Endesa pointed out one of the last times the rumor resurfaced. Refrigerator magnets do not have an impact on the electrical consumption of these appliances since the magnetic fields of the magnets that we place in our refrigerators are very weak. So much so that “they don’t even go through the refrigerator door,” the electric company continues to explain on the company blog. And it is that some of the magnets we place on our refrigerator barely have the strength to keep themselves in place, but nor the most powerful magnets in this range they could do it. We would need a very powerful magnet, outside the range of refrigerator magnets to affect its operation. “Only (would consumption increase) if the magnets on your refrigerator were electromagnets” answered a forum user Physics Forums back in 2012 when another user raised this question. Endesa has not been the only company that has spoken out in recent years about this urban legend. When we asked LGthey told us that it was a “myth”: “fridge magnets have no effect on consumption, shelf life or food. The magnets located on the outside of the refrigerator do not influence the operation or the internal cooling capacity of the appliance.” In that same line he answered us another manufacturer, Bosch, which assured that the magnets were not going to affect the operation at all beyond causing scratches on the surface or, if someone feels especially inspired and fills the door with magnets, they could affect the useful life of the door hinge if its weight increases a lot. In any case, they were very emphatic about it: it will never affect the electrical consumption of the appliance. How to save with the refrigerator. The refrigerators can assume the largest source of energy consumption behind heating and hot water and can account for almost a fifth of electricity consumption. They must be plugged in and running all day, which limits possible strategies to save on expenses, although some exist. The option that most reduces electricity consumption is one that may not be available to everyone: obtaining a more efficient refrigerator. We may not have yet paid off the one we have or we may not yet have the budget to change it, but opting for more efficient models will imply less long-term savings. Other ways to save are well known: keeping the door open as little as possible or not putting hot food in it are well-known tricks. Maintain seal from the refrigerator, yes, it goes a little further. To achieve this we must always make sure that there are no foods that could make it difficult to close and that the sealing elements (the rubber) are in good condition. Where we place the refrigerator can also affect its performance. Embedding it, placing it in sunlight, or near a heat source such as a radiator or oven can cause it to require more energy to keep its interior cool. Finally, we must keep the freezer frost free as far as possible. The frost works as an insulator (as if we had an igloo inside the freezer. This causes the freezer to require more energy to cool the products inside. In the midst of a unique energy crisis in almost half a century, saving electricity has become an obsession for some and a necessity for many. That is why it is important focus on those strategies that do allow us to save energy and money. Image | Giulia Hetherington A version of this topic was originally published in 2023. Unfortunately for science, it is still fully valid in 2026…

There was a time when we went to supermarkets to fill the fridge. We do it more and more to eat in them

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There was a time when people went to supermarkets to fill their pantry. Not anymore. Or at least not only does it for that. As The tastes changedhabits and especially Rhythm of life It has also been doing our relationship with retail chains. When today we go to a super we can do it to take food that we will then cook at home, but also to buy already prepared dishes or even (increasingly) stay lunch inside the premises, as if we were in a bar. In 2025 the super do not compete only with neighborhood stores, they do it with restaurants to which every time They cost them more Offer profitable menus. What happened? That our way of consuming is changing. And with her the super. Black left over white A report of the consultant Worldpanel by numerator Efe revealed that it confirms that hypermarkets are no longer just places we go to food to prepare food at home or already prepared dishes. In addition to all that, every year hundreds of thousands of people cross their doors to do something else: breakfast, lunch or snack right there. Yes, as if they were in a restaurant or a bar. What do the figures say? According to Veronika Khurshudyan clarifiesspokesman for the consultant, throughout the last year (at the end of July 2025) 6.9 million people have gone to hypermarket and supermarket coffee shops to buy food they have then consumed away from home. The data is interesting, but the report includes another that is still more: about 1.3 million customers chose to stay in the establishment and eat food in situ. The data is significant for two reasons. First, its reach. Second, the trend. Those 1.3 million consumers double the figure of the previous year. “Shows an increasing interest in enjoying the experience within the establishment itself”, Notice Khurshudyan. The most common is still that we buy food to consume it at home (31% of the time) or in the place where we work (16%), but the data reflects a growing business for large chains. “The coffee shops in the hyper and super begin to consolidate as a flexible point of consumption that combines the practical ‘to carry’ with the possibility of staying and enjoying at the time,” insists the consultant’s spokeswoman. Is there more data? Yes. And while they are not so clear about where we eat and if we do it inside or outside the hypermarkets themselves, they show a clear trend: we are increasingly going to the super search of cooked food. No paste packages, tomatoes or minced meat trays. No. What we want is the ration of carbonara spaghettis already prepared. Dishes that we can devour instantly. Another report by Worldpanel by numeraton, Posted in August by Five daysshows that food sales ready for consumption have shot in the last three years in the Spanish premises 49% in terms of value. Where do we eat? The report reflects that although in most cases (80%) we realize those dishes already ready in our own homes, it is increasingly common for us to consummate them, far from the table of our living room or kitchen. That study Specifically, I did not delve into details, but it did slide that the ‘extra -adomatic enjoyment’ was growing double digit: with the data and April in the hand it was 15% if we talk about frequency and 29% in terms of sales value. Worldpanel is not the only one who has found the growing interest in already cooked dishes. In his Sectorial Report In March, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Map) points out that the consumption of prepared dishes increased 6.4% in the last year until leaving the average consumption per person in 17.47 kg. Not just that. If we take into account that indicator (the average per capita intake) the prepared dishes are the ones that grow the most between the categories identified by the map. While the food set was reduced by 0.5%, with falls in the case of fish and vegetables, already ready foods grew by 5.4%. Why do we do it? For comfort. Or rather, changes in priorities to Manage our time. Worldpanel and the Promarca association contributed Some keys A while ago with a survey that reflects that 47% of Spaniards consider that they lack time throughout the day, which provides a golden opportunity to those known as “convenience” products, those who focus on the ease and comfort for the consumer. According to The same study “convenience” is the main motivation that moves customers in 45% of the occasions when they demand food and drink. It may seem little, but it exceeds other reasons, such as health (18.6%) or pleasure (22.6%). The trend is clear enough to A few months ago The president of Mercadona, Juan Roig, recognized his conviction that in not much time the Spaniards will feed ourselves with the food we bought outside the home. Not with the ingredients, no, but with the already prepared dishes that we take to our home. “I said and kept it: in the middle of the 21st century there will be no kitchens”, He settled. The data of prepared dishes manufacturers suggest that it is not disenchanted: in 2024 its consumption increased in Spain 6.6%. How do companies respond? Roig has not only shared his forecast. His chain has been preparing for that stage (gastronomically speaking) apocalyptic with his line ‘Ready to eat’a branch of the company whose origins can be traced to 2018 and that is committed to the sale of dishes, from incoming to pizzas, lentils, or meatballs, between a long etcetera. In your last Annual Report Mercadona pointed out that last year the service was extended to a hundred and a half of premises, which raises the network to 1,260 supermarkets, 1,200 in Spain and the 60s of Portugal. Moreover, the chain ensures that the section “has not stopped growing” and Keep incorporating it to more premises. And Roig’s company … Read more

There are people putting toilet paper in the fridge. What does science say about the trick to eliminate bad odors

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If one day we open our fridge and encounter A roll of toilet paper insidewe might think that we live with a very clueless person who has confused the fridge with the bathroom closet. We would probably be wrong: There is a reason To put toilet paper in the fridge. The question is whether it is a good idea. The first question that comes to mind is: why? What is sought with this strange idea is to reduce the bad odors that are sometimes presented in our fridge. The “trick” also promises to extend the life of our food and even save energy consumption. Ok and work? Although we have not tested the method, the toilet paper could help us Eliminate bad odors from our fridge. Although there are some issues to consider to go for our paper rolls. The logic behind is that the toilet paper can absorb moisture (this paper is absorbent so it is capable of collecting environmental humidity by dehumidifier) ​​and with it the bad smell of our fridge. It would also help to preserve food better, reducing the rhythm to which they spoil and avoid passing that emit new bad odors. Insert paper into the fridge is one of the “tricks” that he proposes The Food Security Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), but not as a way of maintenance but as a way of ending persistent odors in our fridge. In an article dedicated to how to eliminate bad odors from the fridge, the service suggests filling our fridge of Rolled newspaperthen close the door and leave it like this for several days. After taking out the paper, they recommend cleaning the fridge with water and vinegar. Using newspaper has the advantage that this will be a role that will be discarded equally, but it is also an increasingly weird paper to find in our homes. If we use toilet paper we must avoid using paper that we have had stored in the bathroom outside its wrapping since it will have been accumulating moisture and will be more “loaded” from it. Avoiding bad odors It should be noted that the use of paper, whether newspaper or hygienic, is not the first method suggested by the USDA on its page as a way to eliminate bad odors from our fridge. The first thing to do in these cases is to eliminate any food spoiled that could be causing bad smell. Then, remove all the trays and drawers from the fridge and clean them with soap and water. Then we can give them a bath with a “sanitary solution” making a tablespoon of bleach not aromatized in 3.5 liters of water. Also use this solution to clean the interior of the fridge. After that we must leave the appliance open for a quarter of an hour. Appliances manufacturers are also A good source of information when looking for tricks that allow us to improve our use of the devices that manufacture. These methods include several cleaning products, we must be aware of Do not mix them. For example, mixing bicarbonate and vinegar will cause the different levels of acidity of the products to be annulled since vinegar is acid, while bicarbonate is a base. Mix vinegar and bleach, on the other hand, It is a risk to our health since the mixture will release harmful gases. Interestingly, this “trick” could help us save energy. Every time we open the door of the fridge we can generate air currents that introduce warm air from abroad into the fridge. When we close the door, the fridge must renounce this air, spending more energy. The more full the fridge is, the less air it can be exchanged with the outside, so a fridge fills less energy. If we put a roll of toilet paper (as if we put a brick), the fridge will cool it once alone, and not as many times as we open and close the door. This “trick” can be useful in very specific contexts, if for example we have our refrigerator halfway fill more or less constantly. In Xataka | The International Space Station receives its first space refrigerators: with them they hope to improve the astronaut diet Image | Xataka with Gemini

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