is it better to leave the melted water in a cooler or to drain it as it is melting.?

Question

which way would keep things cooler.

Answer 1

Keeping the water will make the ice last longer and stay cooler longer. If you really want to chill something fast, add salt to the ice and the water will be as cold as the ice.

Answer 2

If boating, fishing or being at the beach is your favorite summertime activity, the last thing you want is a food-borne illness. But you, and others, could be taking some chances. Too much sun and heat can make perishable food (food that can spoil) dangerous. Perishable picnic foods and fish you catch to eat must be handled with care. Otherwise they can become contaminated with bacteria and cause food poisoning. Remember:

Perishable foods, like lunch meats, cooked chicken and potato or pasta salads, should be kept in a cooler.
Pack your cooler with several inches of ice, or use frozen gel-packs.
Store food in water-tight containers to prevent contact with melting ice water.
Keep the cooler away from the sun and covered with a blanket, if possible, for further insulation.
If you don't have a cooler, try freezing sandwiches for your outing. Use coarse-textured breads that don't get soggy when thawed. Take the mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato with you to add at mealtime.
If you bring a cooler, keep the lid closed as much as possible. Store soft drinks and nonperishable favorites in another cooler.
Put perishables back on ice as soon as you finish eating. Don't let food sit out while you swim or fish. Food sitting at outside temperatures for more than two hours is not safe. At 90oF or above, food should not sit out over one hour. At high temperatures, food spoils quickly. If you have any doubts, throw it out!
Not all foods need refrigeration. Some good non-perishable foods for boat trips are fresh fruits and vegetables, nut and trail mix, canned meat spreads, peanut butter and jelly. (Once canned meats are opened, put them in the cooler.)

Answer 3

Forget about the ice and water and think about it this way.

You have stuff in the cooler that is colder than the surrounding air. Would dumping some of that stuff out and letting in some air make it colder in the cooler? Of course not.

The best way to keep stuff in a cooler cold for the longest possible time is to not open the cooler unless you absolutely have to and then be quick about it when you do.

Answer 4

Leave it in the cooler. Because it is cold, it helps the ice not melt so fast. Whereas, if you keep draining the water, the ice will melt faster.

Answer 5

Well, it could be better to drain it. If the ice has melted, the ice has gotten too warm, right? So the water will probably be warming up as well now that it's just water. If you drain the water & there's only ice in there, there's only cold stuff to keep the stuff cold. No warmer water to keep the temperature up!

Answer 6

keep the water in it. The water will stay cold and keep your food or drinks cold aswell. Just be sure to drain out all the water and reminaing ice, if there is any, when you are finished using the cooler, otherwise you'll get some funky smells coming out of it, lol.

Answer 7

Leave it cause the water would be ice cold and still keep things cold in there. However if you drain it every time it melts, chance are there'll still be stuff left over to kept cold but nothing to kepp it that way.

Answer 8

I can't say for sure, but the restaurant I worked at for many years would always ice the salad bar and then pour cold water in. Could be they just wanted every inch of the crocks to be surrounded by the cold??? Seemed to do the job either way...never failed a temperature inspection.

Answer 9

leave the water in. the water from the ice melting is very cold so it makes the rest of the ice melt slower so your drinks stay colder. then when the ice is gone you still have a bunch of ice cold water to cool your drinks

Answer 10

Leave it in... it's only a few degrees warmer than the ice itself and will "touch" more surface area of the contents of the cooler. The only problem it causes is seeping into packageing that you don't want wet.