Why Is Ice Melting So Quickly In My Hydro Flask?

If you've invested in a Hydro Flask only to find that ice is melting much quicker than you thought it would there may be a simple explanation to that.

In this article we'll look at the main reasons why your ice is melting fast and offer solutions to solve it.

How Long Should Ice Last in a Hydro Flask?

If you fill up your Hydro Flask with a good amount of ice and then fill it up with cold water (not room temperature water) and you're not exposing your bottle to extremely hot temperatures then you should easily get 24+ hours of ice retention from your Hydro Flask.

If, like this person you're finding that:

“I'll put ice in with cold water in the morning and by noon all the ice has melted. By 3:00 my water isn't even that cold anymore.”
– melrose7 (Windsor Peak Press forum)

If you're having this issue where the ice is completely gone quite quickly and then your drinks are warming up to room temperature you may have a problem with the insulation on your bottle or it may be something you're doing yourself:

Here are some of the major reasons ice may be melting so quickly in your Hydro Flask bottle:

1. Your Hydro Flask Has Lost It's Vacuum Seal

When people complain about Hydro Flasks not holding ice for very long usually this is the problem.

See Hydro Flask bottles work so well because they have two layers of stainless steel and inbetween the inner and outer stainless steel wall is a vacuum.

This vacuum is what does the majority of insulating. It's not the stainless steel, but it's the vacuum (the nothingness) that works so well to keep ice inside your bottle for 24+ hours.

However, this vacuum can be lost if the seal is broken. When the area between the inner and outer wall fills up with air the bottle will no longer insulate.

This can happen when dropping or denting the bottle, it can happen when putting your Hydro Flask in the dishwasher or it could just happen due to a manufacturing defect.

The good news is that Hydro Flask bottles come with a lifetime warranty and this protects you against loss of insulation.

In my article on what to do if your Hydro Flask gets a dent I talk about the Hydro Flask Lifetime warranty. You can also read about it yourself on Hydro Flask's site.

Hydro Flask's lifetime warranty DOES cover “Flasks that seem to have lost their insulating properties”.

If this has happened to you then Hydro Flask will replace your bottle free of charge.

There are a few ways to test this to see if this is what is causing ice to melt so quickly in your Hydro Flask bottle. Click here to read about ways to test if your Hydro Flask is working properly or not.

2. You're Filling It Up With Room Temperature Water

If you put ice in your Hydro Flask and then fill up your bottle with room temperature water from the tap or from some other source that warmish water is going to quickly melt your ice.

The heat from the water will transfer into the ice and make it melt, often quite quickly.

This will bring down the temperature of your drink, so you'll have nice cool water to drink, but it means you won't keep ice very long.

If you're drinking your water and the refilling multiple times with tap water then this effective is happening multiple times and this can be the cause of your ice melting quickly.

A better solution is to fill up your Hydro Flask using pre-chilled water from the fridge. This will melt the ice less and allow you to keep ice longer.

You can also read these 8 tips about how to keep ice longer in your Hydro Flask.

3. Your Ice Is Warm

Water turns to ice at 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degree Celsius. This is also the melting temperature of ice.

Freezers are usually kept at 0° F (-18° C) which creates ice that is much colder than it's melting temperature.

However, if your freezer is warm or you're using an ice machine or getting ice from a service station this ice can be “warm ice”.

This means the ice is much closer to it's melting temperature of 32° F (0° C) and therefore it will melt much quicker.

So make sure you are using the coldest ice you can get your hands on.

4. You Need More Ice

It is possible that ice could be melting quickly in your Hydro Flask because you just aren't using enough of it.

If you're filling up your Hydro Flask and then just throwing in 2-3 ice cubes then those ice cubes are going to melt really quickly.

If however you put in A LOT of ice then it's going to last a lot longer.

Larger ice cubes also last longer than smaller ice cubes so the larger bits of ice you can use the better.

5. You're Leaving The Lid Off

If you're leaving the lid off your Hydro Flask bottle while it's sitting on your desk or in your cup holder and you're not screwing it on properly then you're allowing the warm air from the environment to get into your bottle.

This warm air will warm up your drink and thus melt the ice quicker.

Make sure you keep your lid closed and only open it when you're going to have a drink. Then close the lid and screw it on tight after drinking.

6. You're Drinking The Water

If you're drinking all your water quite quickly then your Hydro Flask bottle is going to have a lot of air in it.

Each time you open up the bottle the entire bottle fills up with warm air from outside, melting your ice faster.

The more cold water you having in your bottle and the fuller it is the less warm air is getting into the bottle.

So maybe ice is melting so quickly in your Hydro Flask because you're drinking all your water, which is exactly what the bottle is for.

If you're drinking your water and the refilling your bottle with tap water multiple times a day this will definitely cause the ice in your bottle to melt quickly.

Time To Upgrade?

While Hydro Flasks shouldn't lose their insulating ability over time maybe this is the perfect excuse for you to upgrade your Hydro Flask and to get that new size or color your wanted.

See the latest prices of Hydro Flask bottles at Amazon

If you need help picking which Hydro Flask is the best size for you then click here to see the Hydro Flask Size Chart so you can compare the sizes to each other.