The Food App Every McFlurry Fan Really Needs

Are you a huge McDonald's McFlurry fan? No blame, no shame — the McFlurry is just about the most delicious thing on the Mickey D's menu, after all. (And have you tried that crazy good Oreo Shamrock McFlurry?) The biggest problem with the McFlurry is, when the craving strikes, those darn McDonald's ice cream machines never seem to be working!

Why is this so? No, it's not a sign that the universe is out to get you. Rather, it is because these soft-serve ice cream machines are actually pretty complicated to clean — and they can get super-gross if they're not cleaned on a regular basis. While McDonald's employees don't want to be serving up nasty unclean ice cream, neither do they always have the time to run the machines through that lengthy cleaning cycle. At times — ok, a lot of times — crew members may resort to telling a few fibs and calling the machines broken when, instead, they really just need a good scrubbing. 

So how can you tell whether your midnight McFlurry run to McDonald's is going to be in vain? Technology to the rescue!

While McDonald's recently announced its intent to roll out a device that could be used to monitor their ice cream machines' maintenance and increase their uptime, the device isn't going to be adopted by every franchise. Nor can it shorten the cleaning process for the machines — much less force employees to be truthful about whether those machines are actually in service.

If you want to make sure there will be a McFlurry waiting for you at the end of the drive-thru line, then you'll need to download Ice Check (only available on the App Store, sorry Android users). This app uses crowd-sourced data to update the status of McDonald's ice cream machines in real-time, and even provides directions in case you have to travel a few miles out of the way to find a McDonald's where the machine is actually working. App creator Raina McLeod told BuzzFeed she came up with the idea "after a late-night Oreo McFlurry craving went unfulfilled due to the ice cream machine being down" — a relatable reason if we've ever heard one.

If the app isn't performing for you, or you find yourself living in a McFlurry desert, then there's only one thing you can do — get thee to a Wendy's and become acquainted with the equally delicious Frosty, since Wendy's machines always seem to be in working order.