EmailA cooler is essentially an insulated box made of Styrofoam, nylon or polyester, metal and/or molded plastic. Plastic coolers are lightweight, but they are harder to store than soft-sided coolers, which collapse for storage. Many plastic coolers have lids with cup holders, drains that don't require you to tilt the entire cooler, large wheels and telescoping handles. The newest coolers even have radios and MP3 or CD-player inputs.
A cooler must, above all, keep food and drinks cold. Experts say that food needs to be kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or cooler in order to inhibit bacterial growth. Styrofoam coolers are inexpensive and widely available, but their lids don't form a tight seal and they break easily. For this reason, experts recommend that you buy a sturdier cooler if you plan to use an ice chest more than once or twice a year. If you plan to take your cooler on long trips or plan to keep it on hand in case of power outages, you'll want something with more insulation. If you plan to tote the cooler, you should look for a wheeled cooler with a large, rugged handle.
Reviewers say the following about buying and using a cooler:
- Use ice packs or frozen bottles of water instead of loose ice. Ice cubes or blocks of ice may be convenient and cheap, but over time, their weight and irregular shape can deform the interior of the cooler. If you use gel packs or frozen water or milk bottles, you'll never have to drain much water from the cooler. Gel packs can cost from several dollars up to about $15 depending on size and the quality of the outer material.
- Pack your cooler with chilled food and drinks rather than room-temperature items. Cold provisions will remain fresh longer.
- Keep your cooler in the shade. Keeping your cooler out of the sun will slow melting. If that's not possible, covering it with a light-colored towel or tarp can help reflect sunlight. At the beach, you can dig a shallow hole for your cooler in the sand and shade it with a beach umbrella.
- Never put a cooler in the freezer. This may cause it to crack.
- Pack the foods you plan to use first near the top of the cooler. That way, you won't have to rummage through the cooler to find the food you want, and the foods you plan to use last will stay cooler. The exception to this is meat, which should be placed at the bottom of the cooler, where it's coldest.
- Add ice packs last. Chilled air sinks, so placing food and beverages at the bottom of the cooler ensures that they will remain cold.
- Consider buying separate coolers for food and drinks. Drinks coolers are opened more often than food coolers, causing ice packs to melt more quickly.
- Allow the cooler to dry thoroughly before storing it. This will prevent the growth of mildew inside the cooler.
- Disinfect your cooler after each use. Spray the inside of the cooler with a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water and wipe with paper towels. If stains persist, scrub them with a paste of equal parts baking soda and water.
- The more ice packs, the better. The more air inside the cooler, the faster the ice packs will melt.
- Don't use your cooler to store perishable leftovers. If foods containing eggs, mayonnaise and other perishable ingredients have been exposed to heat for more than one hour, they should be thrown away.