How To Prevent Ice From Melting

If you are hosting a party, planning outdoor event or going out on a trip, you will need ice to last for a longer period of time. It will be required for the purpose of keeping your drinks and foods cold. Though electric freezer is the most convenient option to prevent ice from melting, the option is not available to you when you are outside the house. Besides, during parties and other such events, you need to keep the ice out for a longer time. Though it is very difficult to stop ice from melting in the outer atmosphere, there are certain ways to keep it frozen for a longer time. We bring you some handy tips on how to prevent ice from melting, in the below lines.

Ways To Prevent Ice From Melting

Use light color containers for the ice, especially when it is placed out in the sun. Light colors absorb less amount of heat and thus, the melting of the ice is considerably less. You can line the interior of the container with aluminized bubble wrap as well, to make it more effective in storing ice.
Keep ice close to some other cold and chilly substances. Ice absorbs heat from the outer atmosphere and melts. Thus, the surrounding of the ice gradually becomes cold. If there are colder things around, the surrounding will be further cold which can reduce the melting time of the ice considerably. You can use things that may not be chilly, but just cooler than the room temperature, like the punch bowl or the fruit platter.
Using insulators can be a great idea to prevent the melting of ice. Insulators are designed in such a way that there is no flow of heat either from within to the surrounding or vice versa. Coolers and ice buckets use the principle of insulators and thus, can be highly helpful in keeping the ice solid for a long time. You also get a variety of insulators like the Styrofoam form, nylon lined fabrics, thick hard plastic and thermal insulation. In case you do not have these insulators, use some thick blankets to wrap the ice.
Reflective containers are also highly beneficial in storing ice. These containers work on the principle of reflecting the sunlight away, without absorbing it. This helps in keeping the contents of the container cool. In case of absence of reflective containers, you can use aluminum foil to serve the same purpose.
Look around for shady places to keep the ice, if it has to be put outside. The hotter places will tend to melt the ice faster, owing to the high temperature. Shady tree, umbrella and even the space below the serving table will be ideal places to keep the ice.

Tips

Make use of larger pieces of ice, rather than the smaller ones. The large pieces of ice have less surface area in comparison to the small pieces, relative to their mass, which makes them less exposed to warm air outside. Thus, they last longer than the smaller ones. In fact, you should use blocks of ice, rather than the ice chips, ice cubes or crushed ice.

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