DETROIT, MI (WXYZ) — People standing outside U.S. Ice Corp on 8 Mile are waiting to buy ice.
“It has not stopped since Thursday morning. We open earlier. We close later than usual,” said Jacob Abbo.
He’s the Vice President of the company that is working around the clock to help neighbors who currently don’t have power.
“The community center in Dearborn was giving out dry ice, we are grateful for that, but they ran out,” one woman said. So she came by the factory.
Abbo tells us in just two days they’ve sold 25,000 pounds on dry ice. A specific type of ice that last longer.
“That stuff actually evaporates right back into CO2. There is so much pressure dropped to a certain temperature it actually solidifies,” Abbo said.
It can also be dangerous.
“Some people call it hot ice. You actually just hold it in your bare hand it will cause some damage. Because it's 109 degrees below zero,” he said.
Abbo says it’s best to store dry ice the the highest point in your freezer. That way it'll last.
”It depends on the outside temperature, how full the freezer or fridge is because the more full it is the more space that’s available, the more air that hits the dry ice, the faster it evaporates,” he said.
Dry ice is not like regular ice. You cannot eat or put it in your drink.
Abbo says it is meant to keep frozen products frozen. If you’re trying to keep things cool. He suggests just buying regular ice.
