A seemingly-obvious fridge feature has left Brits mind-blown.
With rising still hitting cash-strapped households, many of us are trying to find ways to lower our electricity usage. The Food Standards Agency recommends setting your fridge at 5C or below to slow down the growth of harmful bacteria (with the 'danger zone' being classed as 8C or higher).
If your appliance is set to a near freezing 1-2C, knocking the temperature up a few degrees won't pose a risk to your health - but could end up saving you money in the long run. However, if you think that the numbered dial in your fridge is code for 1-5C, you're wrong...
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Taking to Reddit, swathes of users debated over whether the dial makes the fridge hotter or colder - and it appears nobody really knows the answer. "Fully grown adult - have never been able to work it out!" one person commented.
Another agreed, writing: "Thank god I'm not the only one confused by this." A third added: "I just whack it on the middle one," while a fourth penned: "Nobody knows and anyone who says they do is a liar."
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However, experts over at has set the record straight. Well, kind of... "The numbers relate to how much power the fridge is using," they said. "So the rule is always the same: the higher the number, the colder the fridge. Setting the dial to five will make the fridge coldest it can be.
"Because every fridge is different, one fridge's number five setting might be colder than another's. Instead, you need to know the temperature inside the fridge." The pros added that any changes to your fridge's power dial may take up to 24 hours to come into effect.
To make things more complicated, the reports how some models of refrigerators will actually use dials that do correlate with the temperature degree. Therefore, it's important to read your appliance's instruction manual to figure out.
How to check your fridge's temperature"Pop a thermometer into a glass of water and leave it on the middle shelf of the fridge for 12 hours, or overnight," advises. "The fridge will cool the water to give you an accurate reading of the internal temperature. Be sure to check the temperature the first time you open the fridge door, as you won't get an accurate measurement if too much cold air escapes."
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