As far back as 1000BC, the Chinese collected ice as they understood that if food was stored in ice or cooler temperatures food kept well and the process of spoilage was retarded.    Even so in 500BC the Indians and Egyptians used earthenware pots to turn water into ice by placing them outside on cold nights which they used to preserve food. People even used ice and snow which they collected from the mountains to cool their food. Holes were dug and lined with straw or wood and was packed with the ice or snow they collected. Prior to the invention of the refrigerator, ice houses were used to preserve food for long periods and these were built close to fresh water lakes or packed with ice or snow. 

 

In the early days toxic gases were used as refrigerants and many fatal accidents were caused by the leakage of these gases. This was soon replaced with the discovery of Freon which was thought to be a safer product and became the standard refrigerant used in freezing units for several decades until it was discovered that the ozone layer over the whole planet was endangered by the worldwide use of these chlorofluorocarbons. It is now an offence to use units that uses harmful chlorofluorocarbons and only units with CFC free gases are permitted today.

 

Of the hundreds of models that are available in the market today, the three doors or better known model called the French door refrigerator is the one that is gaining more popularity.  

 

 

 

The reason these French door refrigerators are becoming more popular than the standard ones are because they are built with convenience in mind. 

These refrigerators are designed with two doors placed side by side and located on top forming the refrigerator section while the freezer compartment is just under at the bottom of the unit. This is done so because the freezer compartment is not used as frequent as the refrigerator. You will find some units that have a single or even multiple freezer drawers with some models presenting a middle drawer with temperature settings which can be adjusted. 

 

Here are some examples of the pros and cons and the benefits of using a French door refrigerator: 

 

· The crisper drawers in a standard refrigerator are always found at the bottom of the unit. Every time you need to reach into this drawer to find anything you are forced to bend over and it does not make things easy in finding what you want. Having the crisper unit at an easily reachable level as in the French door refrigerators makes it the refrigerator of choice. 

· The French door refrigerators are energy efficient. Having the refrigerator fitted with two separate doors placed side by side, you don’t have to open the full ‘fridge, thus keeping the rest of the unit from losing its coolness unlike when you open the door each time of a standard refrigerator it requires a whole lot of energy to replace the temperature that is lost from the entire unit in the process of opening and closing of the door.  

· Having two doors instead of one saves on space in front of the unit and gives the illusion of a larger kitchen area. Besides the weight of the doors when loaded with bottles are distributed and are not as heavy as a single door. 

· This model offers much more flexible space for storage. Even though it is equipped with side by side doors the space within is connected to give you the full width of the ‘fridge to accommodate large items. 

· The multiple levels and deep freezer compartments enable planned storage of frequently used items to be placed on top and those that are used less frequently at the bottom. 

 

Most of these appliances can be matched to the surrounding décor by selecting the colour and material of choice. 

 

Taking good care of these valuable home appliances will no doubt give any home owner many years of quality usage. 

 

(Written by Sylvia Page)