Hey Iowa, Put a Quarter in Your Freezer To Make Sure It’s Working

Mother Nature dealt Iowa and much of the country a full helping of winter weather in the past 9 days. Record snowfall, freezing temperatures, and wind chill advisories for days on end. We're not exactly out of the woods with the cold weather just yet because tomorrow (January 19) and Saturday (January 20), we can still expect high temperatures in the single digits.

Once we make it to Sunday (January 21) the cold streak should snap and we can expect next week to mostly be in the mid-30s. I don't think I've ever been this excited to see mid 30s in my life.

When weather takes a turn for the worse it can cause a lot of issues. Roads can become undrivable, windchill can make going outside dangerous, and it can be a big mess around the house. We have to shovel our driveways and walkways, we potentially stock up on extra food/supplies, and in a worst-case scenario...we can lose power to certain appliances, or lose power to our entire house.

Did you know that after a massive cold streak or anytime you lose power, you can use a quarter to make sure your freezer is functioning correctly and/or the food in your freezer is still safe to eat?

The Old Quarter in the Freezer Trick!

If you're ever curious to see that your freezing is operating at 100% or if the food is safe to eat, there is a really simple trick you can do, using a quarter and a small cup of water. This trick comes in handy after losing power and you want to find out if the food in your freezer is still safe to eat.

First, you put a small cup of water in your freezer and wait for it to completely freeze. Once the water is frozen, place a quarter in the cup and put the cup back in the freezer. After an hour or 2, go check on the quarter. If it's sitting on top of the ice and hasn't moved, the food in your freezer is most likely safe to consume.

If the quarter has sunk, your freezer is either not operating at 100%, or when you lost power, you know your food was not being frozen for a significant period. If the quarter is in the middle, you're most likely still okay to eat it but if you feel iffy about it in any way, you should throw it out.

Here's hoping you won't have to worry about losing power for the rest of the winter season and here's also hoping you don't need a new freezer!