I once got back from a vacation to a freezer that felt... slightly off. My ice cream had crystallized, my frozen prawns were stuck together flat at the bottom of the drawer, and my chicken had freezer burn. Although I couldn't say for sure this was the result of a power cut, I felt it was safer to throw out the entire contents of the freezer. It was an expensive day.
Even now, I've got no idea whether that was a necessary precaution to take, or a total waste of food and money. But I've discovered a simple hack that gives me some major peace of mind before I go away, and I've never looked back.
It involves two things: a cup full of frozen water and a coin. Here's how it works.
The coin hack in action
Here's how the coin hack works. You freeze some water overnight (I use a ramekin dish to do this) and then place a coin flat on top of it.
Last time I came back from vacation, my coin was still laying flat on top of my ice. That means my block of ice never melted, therefore my freezer was working throughout my trip, and my precious frozen meals are almost certainly still safe to eat.
If you come back from vacation and the coin is now frozen inside the ice, as opposed to sitting on top of it, that means your freezer has defrosted while you were away, and your ice has re-frozen around the coin after it melted.
The hack reminds me of my traumatic freezer incident of 2023. I could maybe have overlooked the prawns being slightly too flat, and freezer burn can happen even if your freezer hasn't stopped working, but the cookie dough pieces in my beloved Ben & Jerry's ice cream had sadly sunk to the bottom of the pint. That would never have happened unless the freezer was broken for long enough for the ice cream to fully defrost.
So while the coin hack isn't a perfect system — you can't tell how long your freezer was defrosted for, or what caused it — it's a super cheap and last-minute trick that will work in a pinch if you're about to go on vacation.
More ways to look after your freezer while you're on vacation
I don't have any trouble keeping my freezer full. I'm currently testing the Ninja Creami Swirl, and it's full of pint containers ready to be turned into delicious soft-serve. But if you're about to head on vacation, it could be a good idea to fill up your freezer.
“It might be surprising, but a full freezer is actually more efficient to run," says Matthew Glynn, Senior Product Manager at Hisense. "The appliance doesn’t need to work as hard to supply freezing air. Therefore, if your freezer is only half full, consider using bottles of water to fill the space so that you save on energy costs.”
“If you’re heading off for a longer trip of two weeks or more, it may be wise to consider how your fridge will be running in your absence," says Glynn. "Depending on what food you have left and the use-by dates, you should consider either switching to a dedicated holiday mode or turning the temperature to a slightly warmer setting to use less energy and ultimately save on running costs. This helps to reduce energy consumption and avoid returning to any unpleasant surprises."
More from Tom's Guide
- 18 foods you should never keep in a freezer
- Why is my refrigerator not cooling? Common reasons and expert advice on how to fix it
- French door vs side-by-side refrigerators: Which should you buy?
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