Does Water Expire?

Everything comes with an expiration date, but can water expire too? If not, then why does the water bottle come with an expiry date? Can bottled water expire? Or for that matter can distilled water expire?

There have been several questions about water expiration doing the rounds these days. Water being quintessential of every living being’s existence, it is essential to know if the water that you drink is safe or not.

The easiest experiment to find it out is by storing water in an open container and let it stay there for a while. In a week or so, the water will get covered with layers of algae, bacteria or mosquitoes making the water unsafe for drinking.

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Old water can smell and taste differently. It is not because the water has expired but usually because the water was exposed to air when kept overnight. The exposure makes the water taste acidic and also the breeding ground for dust and microbes. Although you can keep sipping on it the next day, it will get worse later.

Bottled water is safer in these terms, because the covering prevents the water to have direct exposure to dust, oxygen, microbes, pesticides, gasoline and even sunlight.

Then why do they have expiry dates?

#1. Water being a natural resource is not likely to go bad, but the same cannot be said for bottled water. It is not the water that gets bad, but the plastic bottle that starts to ooze out its chemicals and intoxicates the liquid it carries. That is a possible reason because of which water bottles carry an expiry date.

#2. The next one has to do with the bureaucracy. As per government policies, it is mandatory for every consumable item to have an expiry date. Water being part of “consumable food product “cannot be sold without the label.

#3. Expiry dates do contain not only a date but also the name of the bottling plant and other related information. This information is helpful in tracking down the manufacturing source in case of contamination or bottling errors.

#4. An expiry date label bars any legal charges against the company related to the bad taste of the water. The company can easily flash the date label in case the customer complains about the taste or any related issues.

#5. Some companies who manufacture water along with other beverages do not make any extra efforts and instead label the water bottles with expiry dates too.

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How to tell if the Water has gone bad?

#1. Contaminated water smells differently. It might have a bad odor.

#2. An acidic flavor in your water says that it is rotten

#3. Cloudiness in the appearance also reflects on its contamination

How can you extend the life of your drinking water?

#1. Store it in a cool and dark place away from odorous materials.

#2. Store them in refrigerators after use.

#3. Avoid direct exposure to sunlight.

Water contaminated due to leakage of chemicals from the bottle can cause breast cancer.

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Some Interesting Facts about Bottled Water:

#1. The production of these plastic bottles require 17 million barrels of oil (on an annual basis)

#2. 40% of the bottled water originates from the taps.

#3. The production of one plastic bottle requires three times the water that it contains when packaged.

#4. Refrigerated bottled water can stay for as long as 2 or more years whereas open water can last for only 3-5 days.

#5. Flavored water has a lesser life and should not be consumed after 9 months of refrigeration.

#6. Plastic bottles are one of the leading causes of pollution in the world, try to recycle and reuse them as much as possible.

Do you think water can expire? Let us know in the comment section below.