Ice cooler boxes in Singapore are a must-have in every household thanks to how convenient they make food transportation over a long distance. Whether you’re going for a picnic, on vacation, or to visit someone that lives far away, you will probably want to pack food with you for the journey. However, food can easily go bad if not kept at the right temperature.
This is where ice cooler boxes come in; they can conveniently help to store food and maintain their temperature for long periods.
If you’re wondering how to use one, here’s a guide!
How Do You Clean An Ice Cooler Box?
An important part of maintaining your ice cooler box is keeping it clean. But it’s also important to know how to clean your box, so you don’t accidentally damage it. Although most of these boxes are made of high-grade material and are hard to damage if they do somehow manage to get damaged, it would affect their ability to insulate your goods from the outside and ultimately affect their ability to keep your food cool.
Hence you should know the right way to clean them.
This involves the following steps.
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For the exterior:
The exterior needs to be cleaned much less regularly than the interior of the ice cooler box. Use a non-abrasive cloth and any lanolin hand cleaner or baby oil to clean the exterior.
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For the interior:
The interior usually need cleaning more often because it is where the goods are stored. You can clean the interior using soap or detergent.
If that doesn’t work, you can use a mixture of 50 parts water and one part bleach, which should do the trick.
Why Does Your Ice Cooler Box Need To Be Cleaned?
Oftentimes, the edibles stored in the box, along with the ice, stay in there for hours and hours on end.
This can cause the food odor to be absorbed into the box and cause the container to start smelling like whatever was stored.
After a while, your box will probably start to smell really bad, and when that happens, it’s time to clean it out.
How Much Ice Should You Place In The Ice Cooler Box?
Ideally, the more ice there is, the better. The more ice you have, the greater the cooling effect will be. Not just that, but it will also last longer.
However, just to be safe, you should fill at least one-third of the box in with ice when using it.
Additionally, using seawater for ice or adding salt to the water before freezing can help the ice last longer. You should also avoid the mistake of taking out the melted ice that has not become water because even if it isn’t icing anymore, the cold water can help the ice stay cooler for longer. Adding to that, let the ice remain loose and free in the box, and don’t put it in a plastic wrap for best results.
Is There A Way To Keep The Box Cool On The Inside Without Using Ice?
Sometimes, ice is not the material to keep your things cool in the box.
There could be many reasons, including the fact that ice melts into water and makes your stored goods wet.
If you keep goods that need to be kept dry specifically, then using ice may not be the best idea.
You might think using ice by putting it in a plastic wrap may be better, but that can diminish the overall effectiveness of the container in keeping things cool.
So, in this case, it is best to use something else to induce the coolness, and that something else can be gel packs.
It is also much easier and cleaner to handle than ice, so those that want to make the job even easier should use gel packs instead of ice.
You should use one large gel pack for every 20 liters of capacity that the box allows.
Make sure to freeze your gel packs at least 24 hours in advance for the best results.
What Should You Place In Your Ice Cooler Box?
An ice cooler box can be used to keep any food cool, from vegetables to meats and poultry, drinks, items that will melt (e.g., butter and cheese), etc.
Bonus tip: Putting frozen food in an ice cooler box will help prolong the time it will remain cool in the box.
How Do You Use The Box To Keep Things Warm?
As many of you probably know, an ice cooler box isn’t just useful in keeping things clean but can also come in handy when things need to be kept warm over a long distance.
After all, you are often in need of warm food or hot drinks when going out as well, so it only makes sense if an ice cooler box were able to keep things warm as well.
But you must be wondering what to use to keep things warm inside the box.
For this, you can use hot water bottles and heat packs inside the box.
Using hot water bottles will help maintain a warm temperature inside your food.
Conclusion
Now you know how to use your ice cooler box in Singapore and can make the best out of your trips away from your house by packing homemade food with no worries!
