20 Interesting Ways You Can Use Dry Ice

Think you know all the uses for dry ice? We bet you don’t! Here are 20 things you can do with dry ice, and we’re sure there are some we missed!

1. Making plants grow faster – In small amounts, CO2 will increase the growth rate of plants. Allow the dry ice to sublimate near plants for 10-15 minutes daily.
2. Removing bed bugs – Most of the chemicals used to control bed bugs are either banned or restricted; dry ice traps do the trick without the toxins.
3. Preserving food during a power outage – Put your food on dry ice to keep it from spoiling during a power outage.
4. Transporting perishable food for camping – Want to bring frozen food or perishables on your next camping trip? Bring along some dry ice and a cooler.
5. Slowing hair loss during chemotherapy – Many cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments use supercooled “cold caps” to reduce or prevent hair loss.
6. Dry ice blasting – Similar to sandblasting, dry ice blasting uses a jet nozzle and compressed air to shoot small pellets of dry ice.  The extreme cold causes targeted material to shrink, allowing for easier removal.
7. Preserving game for hunters and fishermen – Use dry ice to minimize spoilage when you transport wild game.
8. Flash freezing fish – Dry ice can be used to flash freeze fish, keeping them fresh for up to ten days longer than regular ice.
9. Creating Halloween effects – When combined with hot tap water, dry ice will produce a spooky display of voluminous fog.  Use a pound of dry ice for every 4L of hot water for 5-10 minutes of maximum effect.
10. Freezing fruit – Place dry ice in the bottom of your cooler and the fruit directly on top. Close cooler and let fruits freeze for 20-30 minutes.
11. Preserving a body for a funeral – Dry ice can be used to preserve the human body until the funeral; this method is less toxic for the environment and less costly for the family.
12. Fighting fires – Dry ice can deplete oxygen in a space, which helps to control fires.
13. Trapping mosquitos – Mosquitos associate carbon dioxide with the presence of blog (since animals exhale CO2); as dry ice sublimes to CO2 gas, it is equivalent to over 1,000 people breathing at the same time in close proximity. Place 5-10 pounds pieces of dry ice away from areas where people are gathered.
14. Removing warts and moles – Doctors will often use dry ice to freeze and remove warts or other skin imperfections.
15. Repairing plumbing pipes – Dry ice can be used to quickly freeze pipes, stopping the flow of water at the point of contact. This method is very useful if you are unable to access the main shutoff valve.
16. Preserving grains and seeds – Bacteria, fungi, and insects can spoil a harvest, but sublimating dry ice will displace oxygen in a grain holder, keeping contents at low temperatures to kill fungi and bacteria.
17. Fixing car dents – Allow the dent to sit in the sun to warm up (or use a blow dryer), then place a 10-pound slab of dry ice directly over the dent. The rapid cooling of the metal will pop the dent back to normal.
18. Removing old floor tiles – Dry ice will freeze adhesive through vinyl and plastic tiles, breaking the adhesive bond and allowing you to remove tiles with far less effort.
19. Fitting metal – Dry ice works wonders for metal shrinking and fitting.
20. Theater effects – Use a fog machine or buckets of hot water and a fan to create mysterious fog effects.

Need dry ice for…well, just about anything? We’ve got it! To buy dry ice in Rochester or Buffalo, NY, trust the pros at Irish Carbonic. Contact us today to learn more!