Bingley...you are right to be concerned.... especially the chemical leeching into the water. Answer.... constantly load/unload the water. South FL.... we put water in every day we go out and remove it upon return. The cooler.... depends on the size, amout and type of ice...etc. We have a very small (snacks) cooler that usually gets one ice pack. Don't always bring it in when we get home (parked in garage). It can stay cold for short time. Stays cool for about 4-5 hours (nowhere near cool enough for safe food storage but prevents melting of ie chocolate drizzle on Kind bars). After that..... not really. Out and about ..... doesn't stay anywhere near cool enough if the car is parked (not running). If we are running errands and A/C is on, obviously we get more time out of the cooler.

It has become part of our routine. Like gear on the belt or in our pockets. We load and unload each time. Annoying? Yes. But WE prefer the annoyance to the leeching or melted items. When we KNOW we are going out.... 2 large coolers with sufficient ice packs to protect frozen food if we happen to pick some up. That's in addition to the small cooler with water and the snack cooler.

We've been told we're nuts to do all that.....maybe so, but it works for us.