Is The Coin In Frozen Water Lifehack Helpful During Hurricane Evacuations?

Due to the alarming number of hurricanes and the wildfires that caused people to be evacuated from their homes, a viral “lifehack” has surfaced. It is called the “one cup tip”.

It was supposed to help you check if the food that you left on your fridge is still safe to eat. It will also indicate whether your fridge lost a significant amount of power during your absence.

How does the “quarter in a cup” trick work?

First, you need to freeze a cup of water in your fridge. Once frozen, place a quarter on top of the frozen water.

When you come back from evacuation, you’ll be able to know if your food went bad and just refroze or if it still safe to eat.

How would we know if the food is still safe to eat? If the coin remained on top of the ice when you came back, it means your fridge did not lose a significant amount of power, therefore the food inside is safe to eat.

What if the coin is in the middle of the ice?

If the coin is in the middle of the ice, it may mean that the electricity went out, but it has not lost a significant amount of power.

Your food may still be useful to eat, but its freshness may have been compromised.

What does it mean if the coin is in the bottom of the cup? If the quarter went to the bottom of the cup, it only says that your fridge has defrosted and that you need to throw the food out before you get sick from eating spoiled food.

Is the viral life hack foolproof?

Unfortunately, this trick is based on pure assumptions. Other factors were not considered such as the temperature of the freezer before losing power, or the temperature of the house.

The quarter in a cup lifehack maybe useful, or it may be not.

It all boils down to you, if you don’t feel right about the food on your fridge after coming home from evacuation, then ditch it out. The critical thing is for all of us to be safe.