You’ve just come back from the shops with a carton of juice or a six-pack of soft drink, only to find yourself waiting — and waiting — for them to chill. Hours later, they’re still lukewarm, and you’re left wondering why your fridge doesn’t seem to work as fast as you’d like. The truth is, there are a few simple reasons drinks don’t cool quickly, and with the right strategies (and reliable appliances like a Smeg fridge), you can speed up the process.

Why Drinks Take So Long to Chill

Drinks don’t cool at the same rate as food because liquid retains heat more effectively than solids. A bottle of water or soda contains far more volume than, say, a piece of fruit, so it takes longer to lose that heat. On top of that, fridges aren’t designed to blast-chill — they cool gradually, maintaining a consistent temperature to keep everything inside safe and fresh.

Overloading Your Fridge

When you come home with bags of groceries and stuff everything into the fridge, you’re actually making the cooling process slower. The more warm items you put in at once, the harder the fridge has to work, and the less airflow it has around your drinks.

Quick Fix: Space items out when possible. If you need drinks cold in a hurry, avoid stacking them tightly together. Cold air needs room to circulate to do its job properly.

Where You Place Them Matters

Not all areas of a fridge are equally cold. Drinks shoved into the door, for example, will take longer to chill because that section is more exposed to outside air each time you open it.

Quick Fix: Place drinks towards the back or in the coldest section of your fridge. If you need them chilled quickly, lay bottles or cans on their side to maximise the surface area exposed to the cold air.

The Science of Pre-Cooling

Another common mistake is putting room-temperature drinks straight into the fridge. If you’ve left them out in the sun or in a warm car, it will take much longer for them to cool.

Quick Fix: Rinse bottles or cans in cold tap water before placing them inside. The surface cools instantly, giving the fridge less work to do.

Tricks to Speed Things Up

Sometimes you just don’t want to wait — and that’s when hacks come in handy:

• Wrap drinks in a damp paper towel and place them in the freezer for 15–20 minutes. The moisture speeds up cooling.
• Add ice packs around bottles or cans in the fridge to create concentrated cold zones.
• Use salt and ice in a bucket to create a quick-chill bath — the salt lowers the freezing point of water, chilling drinks faster than ice alone.

Is It Time for an Upgrade?

If you find your fridge consistently struggles to cool drinks or takes hours to bring items down to temperature, it might not be you — it could be your appliance. An older or overworked fridge may not circulate air properly, making cooling uneven and slow.

Upgrading to a modern, efficient refrigerator ensures even cooling and faster results. A good fridge not only chills drinks more effectively but also helps maintain food freshness, reduces waste, and makes your kitchen life easier.

Cold Drinks Without the Wait

The next time your drinks seem to be taking forever to chill, remember it’s not magic — it’s science and setup. By spacing items properly, placing them in the right spot, and using a few quick hacks, you can enjoy icy-cold refreshments in no time. And with a reliable fridge keeping everything consistent, you’ll never be stuck waiting around with lukewarm drinks again.