The Wet Paper Towel Hack: How to Chill Warm Drinks in 10 Minutes
- Lifestyle
- Exienent
- · Updated
The fastest way to chill a warm drink is to wrap it in a damp paper towel and put it in the freezer. Thanks to evaporative cooling, a room-temperature can may get ice-cold in roughly 10 to 15 minutes instead of the hours a fridge takes—just set a timer so it doesn't freeze and burst.
Picture this scenario: It is a sweltering hot summer afternoon. You've just arrived home carrying a 12-pack of your favorite sparkling water, soda, or maybe some craft beer for a weekend barbecue. You're incredibly thirsty, and all you want is an ice-cold beverage. But when you pull a can out of the cardboard box, it's lukewarm.
Putting it in the refrigerator means waiting at least two to three hours before it's actually refreshing. Tossing it straight into the freezer is faster, but it still takes about 45 minutes to an hour. And if you forget about it? You risk a messy, frozen explosion.
The usual workarounds—drinking semi-cold beverages or awkwardly stuffing full cans into a cup of ice—aren't great. The wet paper towel trick sounds almost too simple to be true, but it can legitimately be a game-changer.
Why Does a Wet Paper Towel Cool Drinks Faster?
A wet paper towel speeds up cooling because of a principle called evaporative cooling.
When you place a wet paper towel into the freezing dry air of a freezer, the water in the towel begins to rapidly evaporate and then freeze. Because the wet towel is in direct physical contact with the surface of the aluminum can or glass bottle, it pulls heat away from the beverage much faster than the cold air of the freezer could do on its own. The towel basically acts as a super-conductive cooling blanket.
How Do You Chill a Drink in 10 Minutes? (Step-by-Step)
Chilling a drink this way takes one paper towel, a freezer, and a timer, but a few key details make it work reliably:
- Get a quality paper towel: You just need one single sheet. Don't use a thin, cheap napkin that will disintegrate. A standard paper towel works best.
- Wet and wring it out: Run the paper towel under cold tap water until it is completely soaked. Then, gently wring it out so it is damp but not dripping wet. If it's holding too much water, it will just form a solid block of ice around the can rather than chilling the liquid inside.
- Wrap the beverage tightly: Take your warm can or glass bottle and wrap the damp paper towel completely around it. Make sure the paper is clinging tightly to the surface of the container. The more surface area the towel touches, the faster it will cool.
- Place it in the coldest part of the freezer: All the way in the back, directly on the wire rack or the freezing shelf, is a good spot.
- Set a timer for 10-15 minutes: This is the most crucial step! Because this method cools things down so rapidly, a glass bottle or aluminum can will freeze and potentially burst if you leave it in there for an hour. Set an alarm on your phone immediately.
Does It Work on Glass Bottles vs. Aluminum Cans?
It works on all three common containers, but the material changes how fast the drink cools:
- Aluminum Cans (Soda, Seltzer, Beer): This is where the hack shines the brightest. Aluminum is a fantastic conductor of temperature, so a wrapped can chills fastest and can turn frosty within the 10-minute window.
- Glass Bottles (Wine, Specialty Sodas): Glass is thicker and insulates the liquid more than aluminum. The trick still works, but a glass bottle needs extra time in the freezer to reach the same icy result.
- Plastic Bottles: It works on plastic too, but plastic is the worst conductor of the three, so expect the longest wait. Check on it periodically rather than forgetting it.
This trick is especially handy when guests come over unexpectedly and the fridge isn't stocked. Try it out the next time you bring home groceries—you may be amazed at how fast you can enjoy a cold drink!
