How To Store Frozen Food While Defrosting The Freezer

There are plenty of freezer hacks that can make your life easier, but while freezers are among the most essential appliances in a kitchen, one part of their maintenance is often overlooked: defrosting. Despite being something you should do once a year, most folks tend to put off defrosting their freezers until the build-up is severe. Unfortunately, even if you do need to defrost your freezer, there's the issue of what to do with your frozen food so that it doesn't thaw out during the process. Thankfully, there are a ton of solutions that can work for any situation.

The easiest way to keep your food frozen while defrosting is by storing it in coolers packed with ice packs to keep the temperature down. However, if you don't have any coolers lying around, packing the food tightly in cardboard boxes with ice packs can also work. Alternatively, if you're defrosting your freezer during the winter, things will be easier when temps are below freezing because you can stow the food in a cooler or box and keep it outside in a safe place.

Now, if you're lacking coolers or boxes and don't have a lot of food to store, you can cook it up and either use it as a meal or refreeze it to eat later. You might also consider asking a nearby family to store your frozen goods or a neighbor. Defrosting can take between two and 24 hours, depending on the methods used and how thick the ice build-up is, so planning accordingly is incredibly important!

Although defrosting your freezer can be a bit of a hassle, it is necessary to keep it working correctly. The reason freezers need defrosting is because of temperature fluctuations that happen every time you open the door. Since warm air has more moisture than cold air, when it gets into the freezer, it condenses into liquid water as it cools, eventually freezing into ice.

This ice build-up can take up room, making organizing your freezer unnecessarily difficult. More crucially, it can accumulate to the point of covering vents and temperature sensors, making your freezer work double time to function. This could cause components, like the motor and condenser, to burn out over time. It can also raise your energy bills because your freezer will use more power due to running more as it attempts to maintain its temp.

However, some freezers don't require manual defrosting. Some freezers come with auto-defrost heating coils that melt ice before it can build up. Similarly, frost-free freezers have a fan that removes warm air before it can ever turn to ice. While these freezers won't require defrosting, not all have these abilities. If your freezer doesn't, defrosting manually will be essential if you want to keep it functioning properly with enough room to store all your Costco frozen essentials from your latest warehouse run.