Loadshedding and unscheduled, power outages is something that has become a part of life for South Africans in recent years. While these unplanned power cuts can happen at any moment without prior notice or warning, the impact still poses a significant threat to many businesses and households in South Africa.
Loadshedding is known to wreak havoc on many kitchen and household appliances. While there are often schedules in place indicating the period of time that the power will be off, there are sometimes instances where households are left without power for longer durations which leads to hot water supply interruption and perishable foods in fridges being defrost and often going to waste. , this will interrupt their hot water supply and cause their perishable foods to defrost or spoil.
What is Dry Ice and what is it used for?
Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide which is typically used as a cooling agent in addition to being used in fog machines for dramatic effects, or for dry ice blasting, which is an effective method to remove unwanted material from equipment, machines and surfaces.
Carbon dioxide, or CO², is a molecule that consists of a single carbon atom which is bonded with two oxygen atoms. Dry ice is a colourless, odourless, and non-flammable solid form of CO² that can lower the pH of a solution when it is dissolved in water, forming carbonic acid or H²CO³.
The advantages that dry ice have include its cooling properties as a result of it having a lower temperature than water ice in addition to not leaving any residues.
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How can Dry Ice remedy some of the effects of loadshedding?
Refrigeration is one of the main solutions that households have on their side in preserving the freshness of food for as long as possible. Lower temperatures are proven to slow down the action of bacteria which means the colder the food is, the more stable it is and the longer it can be stored.
While loadshedding may only last for a couple of hours, if disruptions in the electricity supply were to be extended over longer periods of time as result of unforeseen circumstances, or there are multiple sessions during the day or over a few days, it could lead to food perishing, food poisoning, and other complications.
While solar electricity and other methods are helpful in countering the effects of loadshedding, dry ice and dry ice products have emerged as another effective way to keep food and medicine, such as Covid-19 vaccines, cold during periods where the electricity supply is compromised.
Dry Ice Africa offers customers with the following dry ice product range:
- Dry Ice Pellets
- Dry Ice Blocks
- Polystyrene Boxes
- Cooler boxes, and more.
Tips on using dry ice to keep foods and perishables cold include:
- Storing dry ice in a well-ventilated container so that the gas can escape.
- Ensure that the room in which the container is stored is well-ventilated, either in a garage or a room with a ground-level window.
- Avoid placing dry ice directly on top of bottles or cans as it will freeze them, which may cause bottles and cans to rapture.
- Do not come in direct contact with the dry ice, always follow the safe handling precautions to avoid injuries while protecting perishable products and food.
Dry Ice Africa is a cost-effective solution provider you need to consider when purchasing dry ice.
