should we switch fridge freezer off every time?

Pop some square ice cubes in a tupperware dish and put them in the freezer. Check them when you arrive. If there's been a power cut they'll have melted and frozen into one block.

Only if the fridge or freezer is completely empty should it be switched off.
If you use the fridge for storage for your jams etc, even after a couple of weeks they can turn mouldy if the jar has been opened.

This is a good question and something that always worries me since I bought a new F/F which you cannot isolate the fridge on (my previous model enabled you to isolate the freezer and leave the fridge working as I need to keep my supplies of Insulin cool) when I lived in France my neighbour asked me to turn it off (she was looking after my house, and having read about fires caused by those appliances felt better if it was completely off,,,,,so I did and she stored my insulin in her garage fridge !) better to be safe than sorry ...I contacted Hoover (my new F/F/ supplier who told me there is a 'holiday mode' that can be enabled ...I have yet to look online at the manual as the print in the one that came with it is too small for me to read ! If I think it is ok I will leave it on, but if not, I will have to find someone to store my insulin in theirs ...............still worries me though, especially after Grenfell and now that I live in a block of retirement flats (no cladding) but it was ok for this weekend when I went away for three days, but have got lots of holidays booked (all cancelled from 2019 or 2020) so I need to look hard at the options ! I would I think prefer to switch it off and then have a good shop to re fill it when I get back ................

Wouldn't dream of turning it off but I would not keep too much in it (in case of the power cut problem). But cleaning it out every time must be a real pain. If your husband wants to turn it off, get him to clean it out each time!

He sounds like a right mardy bum.? Just a fridge freezer should'nt use that much electric.Top up the meter with about £20, should be enough, even when they run out there's emergency credit on them too. I certainly wouldn't want to go to all that bother having just travelled back home! Is there anything you can do about the 'trip switch' in case that happened again?- most modern fridges/freezers come back on automatically anyway don't they? In any case try the bicarb trick as suggested- and you can get a couple of fresheners from lakeland.com or amazon-even if worst happened, at least you're only cleaning it all out once, not everytime you return! Silly man?

ALANaV I agree, if you're going to worry then switch it off.

He sounds like a right mardy bum.?
(had to look up mardy)
Yes, a very often exasperating but lovable mardy bum!

Seriously - do you have many power cuts...? In the times of year when you are away...? Defrosting, cleaning and starting up all use more power than just leaving it alone. Perhaps he'll change his mind if you are too busy to do it and he has to?

A few years ago, we asked the advice of our fridge repair man because we used to go to Australia for 2 months each year and had heard it was better to switch off the fridge. He said that he always switches off his fridge and especially if you are going to be away for an extended period of time. The main reason is the risk of fire which shocked me. We have a chest freezer which we leave running. I don't actually know whether a chest freezer carries lower risk than a fridge!

What’s the point of a fridge freezer if you turn it off?

Keep it on. You can fill the extra space with lidded empty plastic cartons if you are worried about wasting money, Apparently if you fill the space there is less cold air circulating which means it costs less to keep cool.
But I don't think it would cost a lot to run anyway, unless it was enormous or very old and inefficient.
Must be a real pain to have to keep cleaning it!

What exactly is the point in turning it off? Just bizarre.

Jam and marmalade in the freezer?! Leave it on - if you have a power cut and it defrosts you should be able to claim on house insurance. If you turn it off and get delayed away you have no claim

We lost a lot of frozen food a few years ago when there was a power cut while we were away for 2 weeks, including bulk buys of local farm produce, jointed lamb carcasses and Dexter beef joints and steaks. Our next door neighbour was keeping an eye on things, but didn’t think to check on the freezer. Tried to claim on house insurance, which said it covered it, but we were actively discouraged from doing so by the person we spoke to at the insurance company, who said our premiums would go up by roughly the amount we were claiming, were we sure we wanted to make a claim. We didn’t in the end, but I resented it. Why pay insurance at all if that is what happens.

Tell your DH to clean it out each time and replenish it!! He might see the convenience of leaving on!

I leave both fridges & freezers on the whole time we are away in Greece for 2 weeks every year ( but not this one!)
I clear out the perishables & leave things like butter & cheese.
They are always fine when we get back.

Jam and marmalade in the fridge Caro57.

Nothing to do with cost, just fear of power cut which as someone said are cery unusual .

Never thought of fire. I don't think I would worry. It's only the caravan. Different if its your home.
Insurers often very unfair Oofy

Definiely leave them on. We also do the trick of leaving ice cubes in a small bowl (in fact we have them in there all the time) and if if they melt whilst we're away, we know that the contents will have defrosted and need to be thrown away - however that's never happened in 30 years. This way, we always have a meal to come home to (and saves us having to rush straight out to the shops the next day when there's all that unpacking to be done).

Definitely keep it on!!!!

We are away at the moment for two months and we’ve left everything on, just as it was. The only thing I switched off was Alexa as she randomly lights up for no reason! Wouldn’t want to empty the freezer at all costs!

The countryside does have a lot of power cuts in all fairness, especially in the summer/harvest months

I leave mine on, when we go away 4 or five times a year.

Mine has a holiday setting but we've never used it as we don't go on holiday! At least not in the last 18 months.

Keep it on what is the point of having one if you have no food to come home too also what do you do with all the food in the freezer. Presumably you have to eat it all or throw it away!

If you're concerned about power.outagea, you could leave a frozen cup of ice in the freezer, and just before leaving put something on top of the ice. If there is a power outage the item will drop down into the melted water in the cup - and you'll know that the power was out. Fun home science

I leave mine on, but I do use the coin on top of the ice trick. We did have a power cut a couple of years back when they were all those wildfires in Spain and everybody had to evacuate, but because I wasn’t there the door wasn’t opened so there wasn’t a nasty smell. (It all melted then re-froze).
In my case I need to have some food in readiness because I tend to arrive either quite late or on Sundays, and most of the year there aren’t any shops open in our part of Spain on Sundays. I don’t leave perishables in the fridge in Spain, but take the risk in the UK because I’m only away for a short time each trip.