Refrigerator problems are household emergencies that require immediate attention and sometimes a call for refrigerator repair services. There is a lot to lose when this important appliance is not working well, so refrigerator repair becomes a priority. Despite the fact that sometimes homeowners end up calling for home appliance repair, modern refrigerators do a much better job at extending the life of food than the methods of the past.
The concept of cooling food to preserve it is actually very old, but true refrigeration did not come about until more recently. Considering the long development of refrigeration and refrigerators, anyone dealing with appliance repair can hopefully look on the bright side when getting their appliance repaired.
Early Food Preservation Techniques
Long before the invention of refrigeration, man was preserving food in the only ways possible, using the elements provided by nature. These included cold streams, snow, and ice, and the eventual realization that food could even be kept cooler when stored in caves and underground areas. Around 1,000 BC, the Chinese figured out how to cut ice into blocks or chunks and use it in enclosures to keep food cool longer. Around 500 BC, the Egyptians and many Indian tribes had discovered how to make ice by freezing water in pots, using that ice to keep food preserved. These two basic, yet important ideas were the main ways that cold food storage was done until the invention of mechanical refrigeration.
Progression to the Ice Box
Until the 1700's, people stored sheets of ice by packing them in salt, wrapping them in flannel, then burying them in underground ice houses so they stayed frozen until summer. By the 1800's, people had insulated ice boxes in their homes where they could store naturally made ice purchased from ice houses. During this time period, the first studies on evaporation and its cooling effect were going on as well, with the invention of refrigeration not far behind.
Process of Refrigeration Is Born
Research on the idea of cooling through evaporation continued, and would eventually result in the very first evaporation unit used for cooling, built by Englishman William Cullen in 1755. The idea, which used a vacuum pump and diethyl ether, successfully created a small amount of ice; however, Cullen’s idea did not seem viable at the time. It was modified a number of times by different individuals, until the eventual invention of a system that could create cool air, and even freeze water, through the processes of evaporation and condensation.
Using methods developed by Englishman Michael Faraday and American John Gorrie, mechanical refrigeration was invented. Development progressed even further in the mid-1800s due to ice shortages caused by warmer weather. Gorrie’s refrigeration box that could make its own ice and blow cool air provided the basic idea behind what quickly became the first real refrigerators.
Although today’s refrigerators are vastly different than the first appliances that appeared in the 1800s, the basic principle on how it all works is still the same. Fortunately, today’s appliances are much more powerful and convenient, and easier to use. Modern refrigerators and freezer units also enable people to preserve much greater quantities of food, for much longer periods of time.
It is also easy to know when there is a problem with a modern refrigerator that requires refrigerator repair. When refrigerators cannot cool efficiently, or food begins to spoil sooner than it should, there could be a problem that suggests appliance repair may be necessary. Appliance owners can usually troubleshoot their refrigerators at home first, and avoid unnecessary refrigerator repair services. Refrigerators are essential home appliances that need immediate home appliance repair at the first sign of trouble, to reduce unnecessary food loss!
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