Many may deem it strange to have a fridge in their bedrooms. After all, food belongs in the kitchen, not where you can get your bedding and other items sullied. Yet, students living in dorms, people who live in a bachelor’s pad, or even some who prefer having a cold bottle of water or snack nearby all see this as quite normal.
You can certainly place a mini fridge in your bedroom. There are no direct dangers to having a fridge in any room so long as good caution concerning electrical and gas appliances is practiced. In many cases, you may have no choice but to have a mini fridge in the bedroom.
People may still be cautious about putting a mini fridge in their room due to fears regarding the gas component that runs conventional and modern refrigerators. While these fears are not unfounded, the chances of accidents happening are minuscule and can be completely avoided. Feel free to learn more about the reasons, dangers, and benefits of having a mini fridge in your room.
Can You Put A Mini Fridge In Your Bedroom?
Certainly! People have been putting mini-fridges in their bedrooms for ages and all sorts of reasons. A lot of times, it may come out of a necessity; people living in student housing often have shared kitchens, but they don’t know whether or not their landlords provide a fridge, whether the fridge will have enough space, or if they can leave their food and ingredients in it without others taking it.
If you are living or are going to live in a studio apartment, i.e., an apartment in which all living areas are part of a single room, your kitchen will be very close to your bedroom (without a wall separating the two). Naturally, if you opt for having a fridge or a mini-fridge, it will have to be in your bedroom.
There are many more cases where it becomes necessary to place a mini fridge in your room if you want to keep fresh refrigerated foodstuffs in your home. Yet, many people put mini-fridges in their rooms simply due to convenience. For example, people working from home often have their office space in the bedroom, so it may be nice to have an energy drink or snack while working on their craft.
Possible Dangers Of Having A Mini Fridge In Your Bedroom
Although having a refrigerator in your bedroom is generally considered completely safe, there are a couple of possible dangers that could threaten your health. While these threats are not limited to only the bedroom (and can affect you wherever your fridge might be), they are more severe in the bedroom since you could be sleeping and not noticing that your health is being jeopardized.
Chronic Or Acute Refrigerant Poisoning
Refrigerant, also known as freon or coolant, is a liquid or gas compound of fluorine, carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and bromine. As a liquid or a gas, freon is clear and smells like freshly cut grass. It is also found in air conditioners.
Chronic refrigerant poisoning is rare within the home but could be problematic for those who have a fridge in the bedroom. It refers to long-term exposure to small amounts of freon, which eventually causes adverse health effects. Chronic freon poisoning is most commonly found in technicians who work with industrial refrigerators or those who often service refrigerators.
Acute refrigerant poisoning may pose similar symptoms to chronic poisoning, though often more severe. When you come into contact with high freon levels in a short timeframe, you may develop acute refrigerant poisoning. It is advised to call 911 and seek emergency medical assistance.
Symptoms may include various cardiovascular issues, such as swelling in the throat and sinus, difficulty breathing, and an irregular heartbeat. It can also affect your skin, causing a burning sensation when it comes into contact with you, often in the nose, throat, and sinuses. You may lose vision and even faint, and it can cause vomiting and diarrhea, stomach pain, and even blood in the stool.
Acute refrigerant poisoning, without appropriate medical care, may be fatal after 72 hours or cause permanent brain damage. Chronic refrigerant poisoning does not have a specific fatality estimate, but it is equally important to monitor symptoms and receive treatment when the first warning signs present themselves.
Combustibility Of Gas Components
Different types of refrigerant display different levels of flammability. Modern-day refrigerant is usually not flammable but may still be combustible/cause explosions in environments with high atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, high temperatures or a combustion agent (such as a fire) must be present.
Although the explosion itself may not cause too much damage (as freon is highly regulated regarding flammability), the gases suddenly released in high concentrations are dangerous. If you are close to the fridge when the explosion occurs, you may suffer serious burns and physical trauma. The chances of these explosions occurring are very small.
Benefits Of Placing A Mini Fridge In Your Bedroom
You will certainly enjoy a few benefits from having a mini fridge in your room, mostly saving you time and effort, though it may also be that it is the only place you can put your fridge. Before buying a new mini fridge or carrying your current one to the bedroom, you should weigh the pros and cons of this practice. Some benefits are:
- Your favorite snacks or drinks are safe from others’ hands.
- It is easy to grab something from the fridge, even during work. (i.e., online meetings, streaming for your fans, etc.), saving you time and effort.
- You won’t have to fight for storage space when sharing a communal refrigerator.
- Mini-fridges are cheaper than regular fridges.
- Mini-fridges are energy efficient.
- It is easy to transport mini-fridges.
- If you’re living in a dorm, your room can become the new spot to hang out (everyone loves a cold brew).
- A mini fridge can remind you to drink lots of water.
- You can store things on your mini-fridge, such as your hot beverage (tea/coffee) appliances.
- Not only are they cute, but mini-fridges come in all sorts of aesthetic styles, tying your room together.
Drawbacks To Placing A Mini Fridge In Your Bedroom
Despite the wide range of benefits, there certainly are a couple of drawbacks to having a mini fridge in your bedroom. While the dangers are not necessarily serious enough to prevent one from having a mini fridge nearby, some cons are very inconvenient. You’ll have to look to yourself to decide whether these cons may be detrimental to your enjoyment of a mini fridge in the bedroom.
- It can disturb sleep by being noisy at night.
- A fridge can attract cockroaches if you don’t clean it and use it with good practice.
- A power outage could cause the fridge to defrost and leak water into the bedroom.
- You may be tempted to snack too often.
- If it is your only fridge, your storage space will be limited.
- It may increase the temperatureof your room.
Conclusion
Having a mini fridge in your room is possible, and your landlord should also have no opposition to it. Just manage your fridge use safely and ensure you take precautions to avoid refrigerant poisoning. Other than that, enjoy your new cooling buddy!
