What happens when you accidentally left your freezer door partially open for 1 week?

Question

i just came home after being away for a week and i just found out that i didn't closed properly our freezer door. some foods were thawed and tiny droplets of ice hang on the racks.

did it consume much energy while it was open?

Answer 1

HVAC Tech.:  I would not eat any of the food. You can cook it and feed it to the dogs. Even re-frozen food is bad for you. As you could see ice hanging from the shelves all the components are likely to still be working. Best bet would be to clean it out. Turn it off let it stand wide open for 24 hours, plug it back in give it 4 hours to chill out and begin refilling it.

Answer 2

if it was open for one week dump the food and start over again it is not worth the possible harm that can happen if any of the food is bad ,you might want to check with your insuranc e rto see if your covered for food loss and deprieciation wether you are a renter or an owener

Answer 3

Yes...U made the freezer work it's little tail off.  Don't worry....its just ur wallet gonna hurt.

Answer 4

It probably did eat up some energy, hehe.  Depends on how 'open' the door was.  If you're really curious about it, you can probably contact your electric company (or check your last bill, in which the meter was read, not estimated), and compare the current reading.  If you go out and read the numbers off left to right (write them down), they can tell you what youve used this billing cycle, and what your average is.

I'd be more concerned about the possibility that the compressor may have overworked itself.  Has it kicked on since you walked in?  

Keep an eye on your food for the next few days, to see if any appears to be getting warmer.  If it is, you may need to repair or replace the unit.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Some good answers were offered.  The freezer did run far more often as it struggled to maintain the temperature of the freezer compartment.  The freezer should be cleaned out and unplugged while it is cleaned.  Once cleaned, plug the unit in and see if it operates properly.

The food is nor the freezer would be covered under your insurance policy as most policies only cover an occurrence when it falls under one of sixteen(16) named and covered perils.  Unfortunately forgetting to close the freezer is not one of them and this is not considered a 'Power outage' once of the 16 named and covered perils under most policies.