How to Freeze Homemade Ice Packs

Use household items to make your own ice packs.

Icepacks are a handy item to keep around the house. They're good for bumps and bruises, but they can also be used to pack coolers, and in a pinch, they can provide a welcome relief from summertime heat waves. Storing a large number of store-bought ice packs can be a hassle, but with a few household items, you can easily make your own. The key to freezing a homemade ice pack is making sure that the pack doesn't solidify. There are a couple of different ways to accomplish this, but they all achieve the same end result.

Things You'll Need

• Zippered freezer bag (quart size)
• 1/3 cup vodka or 1 cup rubbing alcohol
• Food coloring (optional)

Instructions

1. Pour 2 cups of water into a zippered freezer bag. Close the bag tightly and check to make sure there are no leaks.

2. Add 1/3 cup vodka or 1 cup rubbing alcohol to the bag. Carefully push the air out of the bag and seal it tightly. Mix the contents by gently massaging the bag. Alcohol has a lower freezing temperature than water, so the addition of the vodka or rubbing alcohol prevents the liquid inside the ice pack from solidifying. Note that if you use rubbing alcohol, the final mixture will be slightly slushy.

3. Add a few drops of food coloring. This step is optional, but it will aid in identifying the ice pack later in the freezer.

4. Place the homemade ice pack in the freezer. For best results, let the ice pack sit in the freezer for at least one to two hours.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're worried about your ice pack leaking, place it in a second zippered freezer bag. This way if the inside bag breaks, you will still have a backup.

• Make sure the zippered bags you are using are marked for freezer storage. Regular plastic bags are not meant to withstand freezing temperatures for a prolonged period of time and may leak over time.

• Ice packs should not be consumed, especially if they contain rubbing alcohol. Adding food coloring helps you readily distinguish a homemade ice pack from other items in the freezer.

References

• Scientific Ameriken: Alcohol Percentage and Freezing