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Shelfy: At a Glance
Rating: 4.5/5
If you ’re anything like me , you buy perishable food to the full intend to eat them . But then one thing or another make in the elbow room and you finish up make to throw them out because they go bad . For me , the biggest perpetrator is fresh cauliflower . I have great purpose when I corrupt it , but for some reason , I always put off fix it , and I commonly end up thresh it . I feel shamed every time I do .
When I heard about the Shelfy electric refrigerator freshener , I was cautiously optimistic . I ’d already tested severalair purifiers , and I sympathise the conception of how they decoct airborne bacteria and pathogen . By filtering those pollutants out of the air in a electric refrigerator , fruits and veg should — theoretically — last longer before going bad .
I recently put the Shelfy by Vitesy air purifier to the mental test in my own fridge . Ahead , find out my overall impressions of its performance , what I liked best , and what I think could make this piddling food saver even comfortably .
Photo: Glenda Taylor for Bob Vila
Specs
Testing the Shelfy
test the Shelfy fridge air purifier was square . It does n’t come with many extra component part — just the main purify unit of measurement , a USB - A to USB - degree centigrade charging corduroy , and a humble instruction booklet in several languages .
Before starting , I purchased tonic yield and vegetable for the test , including leafy kale , packaged salad , fresh Japanese radish , grape , love apple , Madagascar pepper , mushrooms , and asparagus . I have an averagerefrigeratorwith no extra bells and whistles designed to help reduce intellectual nourishment spoilage . Over the next 2 weeks , I monitor the experimental condition of the produce item day by day to see if any were going regretful .
After 5 days , the box salad looked fairly wet and wimpy , but keep in mind that it was in a sealed bag and the Shelfy could not refresh the airwave inside the bag . That made sense . The other items sat in uncovered stadium or plate , either next to the Shelfy or on a shelf above or below the unit . All the other fruits and veggies hold out longer than I await , but the mushroom lasted the full 2 weeks and were still firm and fresh at the end of the test .
Photo: Glenda Taylor for Bob Vila
Setting Up and Syncing the Shelfy
The Shelfy is a smart electric refrigerator tune purifier , mean it join to a smartphone or other digital twist via a home Wi - Fi connection . I downloaded the app fromVitesyand followed the simple step to connect the Shelfy to my phone . It sync without a preventative . When I opened the app the first time , it told me my electric refrigerator was in bad shape — in all probability because the Shelfy was sitting on my desk ( I had n’t put it in the fridge yet ) . After I commit it on a fridge ledge , it started to cool down ; it went from Bad to Poor and finally to near condition . I breathed a suspiration of relief .
As far as I can tell , Shelfy ranks the health of the fridge by its temperature , and the app gave me real - metre read-out of thetemperature in the fridge , along with the amount of sentence the fridge door was undecided . It also counts down the daylight until the filter require to be washed ( 30 days ) and when it ’s clock time to clean the electric refrigerator ( 120 days ) .
I like both reminder . After all , keep the Shelfy in top working guild and occasionally cleaning out the electric refrigerator are both substantive to keep open bacterial levels down in the mouth so food lasts longer .
Photo: Glenda Taylor for Bob Vila
Smart, Sleek, and Always Alert
The Shelfy is comparatively compendious at just 6.6 inches tall by 4.5 inches wide of the mark by 2.6 inches deep , and unless yours is a mini electric refrigerator , it should n’t take up too much blank . It also looks good . I liked the streamlined pattern , but I was a little unnerved at first when its release lit up every time I enter the fridge door . It made me experience as if it were take in me wait for something to eat ( although that might in reality be dependable for my diet ) .
Realistically , though , the brightness is triggered by light-headed / motion . This mean opening the door will turn the luminosity on , and the Shelfy app will record the time the door stay open . I happen this to be a helpful feature because it prompt me to get what I want out of the fridge and not just stand there with the threshold open . Remember that Shelfy ’s success in your fridge will depend upon conserve a low level of bacterium and pollutants : Every fourth dimension you get to the door , you ’re letting more airborne pollutant in .
Reducing Waste and Saving Resources?
If your destination is to keep perishable fruits and vegetable newly longer — and your kinsperson wo n’t be launch the fridge door every few minutes — the Shelfy should be capable to do its task and reduce food dissipation .
Considering how much food I ’ve thrown out over the years and then multiplying that by the amount of food millions of other families have tossed , there ’s a good chance Shelfy can reduce solid food waste when used in a attached and creditworthy fashion . That also translates into a smaller carbon footmark . Since user wo n’t need to fox out spoiled foods as often , this further reduce the demand to grow more intellectual nourishment for human consumption .
While the Shelfy is n’t the only method of reducing food waste material , it can be a step in the veracious direction .
Photo: Glenda Taylor for Bob Vila
Cost Considerations: Is Shelfy Worth the Price?
At the time of this piece of writing , theShelfy betray for $ 149.99on Amazon and $ 179 on Vitesy — the manufacturer ’s land site . That ’s high-priced than theGreentech pureAirfridge freshener that sell for $ 49 , and theBluappleethylene absorber that sell for just $ 26.99 . But keep in judgment that Shelfy employ innovative photocatalytic engineering science to trim down bacteria , offers fresh connectivity , and prompt users when it ’s time to wash off the filter or clean the fridge . Shelfy also monitor the temperature in the fridge to ensure it ’s conducive for safely storing perishables .
That said , I ’d like to see Vitesy cut down the price to make it more affordable to more exploiter : perhaps around $ 80 to $ 90 . Having an air freshener in the electric refrigerator make sentiency if you ’re like me and block to use the fruit and veggies you purchase until they ’re no longer desirable for eat .
Buy the Shelfy at :
Photo: Glenda Taylor for Bob Vila
Product Comparisons
So, is the Shelfy fridge freshener right for you?
If you ’re serious about reducing perishable food dissipation and prolonging the utile life of the fruit and vegetable in your electric refrigerator , theShelfy smart melodic phrase purifiercan assistance . It trickle out the airborne bacterium that boost decay and waste , give you a few extra day to utilize up what you bought .
However , it does n’t serve preserve intellectual nourishment in seal containers . I typically opt keeping unlike produce items in separate containers or bags , so I had to get used to leave them in open bowls in the fridge for the best solvent .
The Shelfy is a large little appliance for someone like me who enjoys having everything “ voguish ” and connected . I like monitoring the temperature of my electric refrigerator from my phone and knowing how long I ’m leaving the fridge threshold receptive .
Photo: Glenda Taylor for Bob Vila
Still , you could spend a slew less and reduce food for thought waste by using one or more of the products in our Product Comparison chart above . Sustainable nutrient practices also involve take over a mindset of buy only what you may practice when shopping .
Meet the Tester
Glenda Taylor is a product examiner and author for BobVila.com . She test a wide mountain range of tools , DIY products , and appliance . As someone who too often purchases solid food that goes bad before it ’s eat on , she ’s determined to find way to keep down food waste .
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