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How to Properly Clean a Chest Freezer Cold Plunge, Step-by-Step

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I discuss how I built my chest freezer ice plunge in a previous article and one of the most frequent questions I get is, “How do I keep it clean?”

Properly maintaining a chest freezer is really important to not only extend the life of your freezer but also to keep the water sanitized, especially if you’re dipping your head under.

To maintain clean water you have to make sure to filter and sanitize the water on a continuous basis.

  • Filtering removes debris. You can use an aquarium filter like the Marineland Magnum Filter and an Evob Skimmer net. I run the filter 24/7.
  • Sanitization kills bacteria. Sanitization methods includes adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and Epsom salt to the water and using an ozone generator. UPDATE: I have now added an ozone generator. More on that here.

Taking care of those two methods and showering prior to getting in (especially if you’re sweaty) is important for extending the life of the water.

But it’s also important to do a through cleaning on a reoccurring basis. I empty and clean my tank every 3-4 months.

Here’s what you’ll need and how to do it.

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Hack Your Sauna Experience for Increased Benefits

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I’m constantly looking for ways to maximize the time I spend doing something, including my sauna time. Through extensive research, I have found ways to improve the sauna experience and increase the benefits you get from it (because there are a lot). 

I’ve broken down the hacks into Pre-Sauna (before you get in the sauna), Intra-Sauna (while you’re spending time in the sauna), Post-Sauna (what to do after your sauna session) and a few upgrades you can do if you have a Jacuzzi Clearlight sauna.

Keep in mind, this is just what I do. I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

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How to Build a Chest Freezer Ice Bath

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Before I jump into the details, I recommend joining my Fire & Ice Contrast Therapy (Hot-Cold) facebook group.

Daily 3-5 minute cold plunges have been the single biggest impact on my mood, productivity and health. I don’t miss a day.

But in order to do it daily, you have to have cold water consistently available. Filling a stock tub full of ice is time consuming, expensive and temporary. Cold showers are a great entry into cold therapy but to maximize the benefits, you need it colder.

The best option is to either buy a premade plunge like The Cold Plunge (use code TROY150 for $150 off) or build one yourself.

But before I jump into building one…

If you’ve found this article, you probably already know the many benefits of cold plunges. If you don’t, here’s a quick rundown —

Cold water therapy — whether it’s a quick swim in an icy lake, a post-workout ice bath, or a brisk shower — can benefit your health in several ways.

It may help you:

  • cut down on muscle soreness
  • cool down after a sweaty workout
  • get into a better mood
  • aid your immune system
  • boost your metabolism and calorie burning
  • increase insulin sensitivity and help control blood glucose levels

It can also convert belly fat into metabolically active brown adipose tissue, which will increase your fat-burning capacity.

Some advocates say it can also decrease inflammation, improve your sleep and recovery, sharpen your mental focus and potentially fight certain types of cancer as well as promote overall longevity. But more research needs to be done to determine if these benefits are supported by science.

A chest freezer ice bath allows you to avoid having to continuously purchase ice and have access to a desired temperature at all times.

Now, the details to getting started with a chest freezer ice bath.

Required Equipment & Material

Cleaning/Sanitizing

Temperature

Other Stuff

  • Clear Water Fun garden hose filter – filters out the chemicals in treated water
  • Gooseneck iPhone Holder
  • BINO Collapsible Basin – to clean feet in before going in
  • Rubber Ducky – for nostalgia 🙂
  • Personal Harmonizer for native EMFs
  • Magnesium flakes – I add this for the health benefits of soaking in magnesium salts. If you really want to revitalize and optimize your cold plunge solution, I recommend grabbing a back of Max Vitality Magnesium Salts (use code TROY for 10% off). In addition to magnesium, the sodium ascorbate in the blend will totally neutralize any toxic chemicals like chlorine or fluoride that may be in your cold plunge water, within just five minutes!  Every bag of their salt is also blasted with powerful heart opening, grounding and magnesium healing frequencies to accelerate healing and sensations of peace during and post-plunge.
  • My favorite supplement stack for maximizing the benefits of cold thermogenesis – contains 1) select from coffee of green tea for a bit of caffeine which can upregulate mitochondrial biogenesis even more when stacked with cold therapy and 2) Meriva (curcumin) which can  activate brown adipose tissue, enhancing the energy expenditure through heat production to burn more fat.
  • JED 303 Ozone Generator – Not mentioned in this video but I did end up getting this to sanitize the water. I discuss it in more detail in this video: Upgrades to My Chest Freezer Ice Bath

Instructions

  1. Place you freezer in a location that you will be able to drain it and have access to water, like a hose.
  2. Place boards under your freezer to support the bottom (see picture below).
  3. Seal all seems with the proper caulk or JB Water Weld.
  4. Let the seal dry for at least 24 hours.
  5. OPTIONAL: Place a pond liner in your freezer for extra leak protection
  6. Install your ozone generator, thermometer and water filter.
  7. Add hydrogen peroxide and Epsom salt.
  8. Fill with water. Be sure to mix the Epsom salt a little.
  9. Dump 100-200 lbs of ice to speed of the cooling process, otherwise the freezer will have to run for several days. NOTE: The chest freezer will get pretty warm from running.
  10. Prior to jumping in, UNPLUG THE FREEZER.
  11. Take the plunge!

A great resource is my Fire & Ice Contrast Therapy (Hot-Cold) facebook group.

Be sure to support the bottom of your freezer.

Upgrades

Related Articles

Here’s a list of studies if you’d like to take a deeper dive into the benefits of cold thermogenesis.

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. Oftentimes, I’ve worked out a discount for you. Please understand that I have experience with all of these products, and I only recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.

Fasting Round-Up

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The ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) Review

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Why I Chose to Try ProLon FMD

I first heard about Dr. Valter Longo, the creator of the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD), in the 2012 BBC documentary Eat, Fast, Live Longer but brushed his “Fasting Mimicking” plan off…it sounded interesting but too good to be true.

In early 2019, I was working with Dr. Perlman, an Integrative/Functional Medicine doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Florida, helping him set up his Integrative & Functional Medicine Clinic. As we were talking about his vision for the clinic, I mentioned that I’ve been doing semi-annual fasts since 2015. He said he was interested in implementing a fasting program for some of his chemo patients. He said Dr. Valter Longo’s research showed that fasting can help reduce the negative side effects for chemo patients. He went as far as speaking with Dr. Longo directly.

This re-sparked my interest in Dr. Longo. If Dr. Perlman found legitimacy to it, there was definitely something to it.

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