Why You Should Never Ever Store Dry Ice In Your Freezer

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Dry ice is a great option for keeping things frozen during warm weather and you can safely use dry ice in your coolers throughout the summer as long as you know how to properly use and store it. When storing your dry ice, it's important to steer clear of the freezer at all costs. It may seem silly to avoid putting ice in the freezer, but dry ice exists at minus 109.3 degrees Fahrenheit, and your average freezer maintains a temperature of about 0 degrees Fahrenheit. It may be tempting — and even feel like the right thing to do — to store dry ice in your freezer, but the extreme cold of the dry ice can damage your freezer and cause some big, expensive problems. 

To add insult to injury, or possibly injury to insult, when dry ice melts, it sublimates, meaning it doesn't melt into a liquid like standard ice. Instead, it turns into a gas; carbon dioxide, to be exact. If you store it in a non-ventilated area — like your freezer — you're basically just building up a giant, dangerous cloud of carbon dioxide, and no one wants that science experiment to take place. Don't give up on your dry ice just yet, though, because smart storage methods will get you the most out of your next ice block.

If you're wondering how long dry ice lasts outside of the freezer, it's time to learn about proper storage. Dry ice should be stored in a container that has some form of ventilation. You may get an insulated foam container from suppliers where you can buy dry ice, which works great, or you can opt to use a ventilated cooler like the YETI Tundra, which is built to handle extreme temperatures like that of dry ice. If there's still room in the cooler after you've added the dry ice, pack the remaining nooks and crannies with crumpled-up paper (Junk mail works great) to reduce the amount of oxygen exposure.

This practice, known as suffocating, will help your dry ice last as long as possible before it completely sublimates. Of course, nothing will make it last forever, so expect it to still grow smaller with time. When you've got your dry ice nice and cozy in the cooler with some paper, make sure to place the whole container in a cool, well-ventilated area. Dry ice is great for freezing food and chilling drinks, or for special effects like spooky fog during Halloween. When you know how to properly handle dry ice, you'll look for any chance to use it.