Dry ice needs to stay cold. As soon as dry ice warms up, even slightly, it is going to let off that smokey effect. Quite cool but, let’s be honest, you probably want it to happen at a moment of your choosing. Because of this, a lot of people wonder whether they can slow down the speed at which the dry ice vaporizes. So, can you put dry ice in the freezer?
No, you cannot put dry ice in the freezer to keep it from melting or vaporizing. Not only is the freezer going to be too warm for the dry ice, but it is highly likely that the dry ice will damage the components inside of the freezer. It may even ruin the food you have stored there.
Let’s go into a bit more depth on this because I cannot stress enough just how important it is that the dry ice doesn’t go anywhere near that freezer.
Can You Put Dry Ice In The Freezer?
No. Under no circumstances should you put dry ice in the freezer. It wouldn’t really help to ensure that the dry ice doesn’t start to vaporize anyway.
Dry ice remains in a solid form as long as it is kept below -110° F. Your home freezer runs at 0° F.
This means that your freezer is simply way too warm for the dry ice to remain a solid. Put it in your freezer, and it probably won’t be too long before you have toxic gases floating around inside, and not a whole lot of dry ice.
There are freezers designed specifically for dry ice, but you aren’t going to find them around the typical family home. The only places that actually own freezers good enough for dry ice are going to be ones that are commercially selling dry ice in the first place.
What Happens If You Put Dry Ice In The Freezer?
I am going to assume that the loss of your dry ice is probably the main reason you would want to put dry ice in the freezer in the first place. Dry ice can be expensive, and you really don’t want it to melt. Understandable, but dry ice should be nowhere near your home or restaurant freezer.
Dry ice is exceedingly cold. It is going to mess up your freezer’s temperature settings when it starts to vaporize. This means that the cooling system in your freezer will stop working. There is a good chance that this could result in your food starting to defrost.
While dry ice is exceptionally cold, it doesn’t really do a good job of cooling the surrounding area.
In other cases, people have found that putting dry ice in the freezer has the potential to send their freezer components into overdrive. You could end up with a broken freezer (and still no dry ice!).
Can You Put Dry Ice In The Freezer With Food?
If that wasn’t enough, you now have melted dry ice gas floating around in the freezer. When you open that freezer, you are going to get a face full of the stuff. Trust me, this gas is not the sort of thing that you want to breathe in. People have put dry ice into standard walk-in freezers, and they have made themselves very sick.
In addition, that gas is going to be penetrating your food no matter how well it’s been sealed up and you want to avoid that at all costs.
So, by putting dry ice in a regular freezer you are going to experience a ton of negative effects, and you are going to receive absolutely no benefit from the dry ice being in the freezer. It doesn’t really seem like the sort of situation that you want to be in, does it?
The One Time You Can Use Dry Ice In The Freezer
If the power is out, you may find that dry ice will be enough to keep the freezer cold. However, I cannot stress enough just how important it is that the dry ice is removed as soon as the power returns.
Honestly, I don’t think even this is a very good idea. If your power goes out for a few hours you would be better off by just not opening the freezer door. If the power goes out for much longer, the dry ice will be long gone before the power is back anyway.
Where Should You Store Your Dry Ice Instead?
Of course, since you can’t put the dry ice in the freezer, you are still left with quite a problem. You have something that is going to melt unless it is kept cold and, assuming you do not have a special dry ice freezer, you are stuck.
Sadly, just about the only thing that you can do is to leave the dry ice in the box that it came in. The dry ice box will be specially insulated. The dry ice inside is going to melt, but it shouldn’t do so at a rapid rate (assuming you leave the lid of the box on).
I’d also suggest that you try and get dry ice delivered a few hours before you need it. Unfortunately, dry ice is not the sort of thing that you will be able to store long-term in your home.
Note: Even when stored properly dry ice melts at a rate of 5 to 10lbs every day.
Can You Put Dry Ice in The Freezer – Final Word
Dry ice shouldn’t be stored in the freezer. Not only will the dry ice melt, but you run the risk of seriously damaging your freezer. Always keep dry ice out of the freezer, stored in the insulated box that it came in.
