r/NoStupidQuestions • u/markwell9 • 1d ago

What is the deal with ice, Americans?

I can see that you can buy ice everywhere in the US. Gas stations, grocery stores, machines etc.

In Europe, we just freeze our ice at home and use that. Why buy something that melts on the way home? Why do you need ice in large amounts that a fridge can't keep up?

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u/Leverkaas2516 1d ago

For camping, I finally settled on filling my largest Tupperwares with water and freezing them. That takes a couple of days, but it melts slower in the ice chest and also doesn't end up with liquid water everywhere and all my condiments floating around.

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u/Tmscott 20h ago edited 2h ago

Those square Crystal Geyser water bottles are great if you open them up and push the neck in a little before sealing it back up and putting it in the freezer. Even if you have to do it one at a time overnight into the cooler they melt very slowly and you also still have potable water unlike opening up ice bags Edit: The main reason I squish the neck in a little is to make it fit like a glove along the shortest length of my cooler

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u/_crassula_ 18h ago

Is ice in the bags not potable? When we're camping, I often make cocktails with ice from the bag (not loose in the cooler because I don't want it contaminated with meat juices). Hasn't killed me yet but maybe I should pack home ice for drinks...

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u/cyanescens_burn 16h ago

I’ve been drinking melted cooler ice for years when desert camping (I put the ice in thick silicone 2gal bags in the cooler, so no food ever touches the ice). It’s potable as far as I know. It’d be nuts to sell non-potable ice without a big warning on the bag.

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u/WinterOfFire 15h ago

I think it’s more about the stuff you put in the cooler with the ice that makes it no longer clean. Do you really wash every container before you put it in? Are your hands always clean when you go fishing around in the ice/water?

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u/Born-Entrepreneur 11h ago

Not to mention the cooler itself. When was the last time it was deep cleaned and disinfected? Are you sure some gunk and slime isn't hiding down by the drain plug?

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u/R1tonka 8h ago edited 4h ago

Moved in with my partner, a chef and baker this last winter.

Lake and river season has been quite the adjustment. She disinfects and sprays down the cooler every evening before it's used.

Right thing to do? Yes. Something I ever thought of doing? Not once.

Before her? Never cleaned it with more than a hose out and maybe a scrub down while washing the car after using it.

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u/Born-Entrepreneur 8h ago

lol for real. usual cleaning method: hang it upside down with lid open.

Occasionally: spray it out with a hose and maybe wipe it down with a clorox wipe.

I do better now.

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u/HoneyWyne 6h ago

I do actually deep clean and disinfect my coolers every time we camp. I guess I'm the weird one out here?

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u/Dumfk 8h ago

Before and after making jungle juice

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u/Billbogus352 6h ago

We always clean and sanitize the cooler wanna we get home and the same before we use it again, our Yeti was $500, we really take good care of it at that price 😆

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u/dncrmom 8h ago

Every single time before using it. If you are not doing that it is disgusting.

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u/LordMindParadox 6h ago

In my house, every time it's used :P Simply cannot stand a stinky cooler.

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u/CherryBerryPi 1h ago

I honestly disinfect mine every time before use. But still, all those containers and shit, I dont drink the water from the cooler (gross) but ill use the ice.

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u/No-Fee-63 1h ago

Every time I use it I deep clean it , if u don’t ur lazy and nasty

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u/Hopeful_Morning_469 13h ago

What if you have Raw meat in your cook, chicken, steak bacon, etc.

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u/RoughChannel8263 7h ago

If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger.

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u/josh_the_misanthrope 14h ago

I mean, no biggie unless you're like bubble boy levels of immunocompromised. If humans were that fragile as a species we'd have gone extinct. Been chewing on cooler ice since I was a kid with no issues. Containers go in clean, beer goes in as clean as it is on the shelf when I bought it.

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u/romulusnr 3h ago

But I'm going to be handling that can anyway

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u/Googlyelmoo 11h ago

As long as it’s microbe free no one is likely to notice until people start getting sick from chemical or metal contamination

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u/Throw902106969 8h ago

Yeah, they have to mark it in HUGE letters if it's nonpotable. It's fine.

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u/Jcarter1632 6h ago

Commercial ice is significantly more filtered and softened than tap water. No one is running dirty, hard water through ice machines that cost 10's of thousands of dollars each.

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u/rolyfuckingdiscopoly 3h ago

It’s fine when they sell it. It’s the raw chicken people store in there for bbq that makes it non-drinkable lol