Since when does water expire?

Question

On water bottles they have expirations. What for? It's laughable.

Answer 1

The water will get a stale-flat taste after a good while. Usually I just ignore that and take a sip. If it tastes funny, I dump it.

FYI: For those who live in areas where you may find yourself needing to stock up on water due to seriously bad weather conditions (hurricanes, blizzards, etc) always take a quick taste-test before you rush out for supplies. Your bottled water may be OK, or it may be stale & flat and need to be replaced. (Been there, done that.)

Answer 2

Two reasons. One: the date and lot code allow the company to track the production if you have a complaint. Two: if the bottle is very old it may have been abused (such as left in the sun). Even with food-grade plastic you can develop some unpleasant flavors in the water if the bottles are kept too long or abused. Over time, dissolved gasses like oxygen can escape the bottle leaving the taste flat and bland.

It is still safe to drink, but the company's reputation is built on quality and if the water doesn't taste as good as you want it to taste, the company loses credibility.

The water won't "go bad" from microbes or anything. The water is processed to kill harmful microbes and there really isn't any food in the water for them to grow on.

Answer 3

I once read that it is done because of a law that says bottled beverages need to have some sort of use by date. The law did not exclude water.

If this was done because of microbes in the water, then the expiration date would be something more like that on milk. Microbes would be quickly fouling up the water and you would hear about getting rotten water from a bottle more often.

The water in the bottle is not going to go bad because it is too old. What may happen one day is that the plastic will start to decompose and release something into the water. When that happens the bottle will probably lose its strength and not be able to hold water anymore.

Answer 4

Its actually the time limit that the water remains in the bottle that given a time limit. Since there are claims that the water is pure from contaminants, the plastic eventually causes some contamination to the water with time. You'll taste the plastic.

Answer 5

well water doesnt expire if it is like running or constantly being recycled (like on a lake even if the water is still it still rains and stuff to like recycle the water by overflowing it etc.)

when water is still for too long like in a bottle maybe it just goes stale and bad. would YOU open a bottle of water thats been in ur garage for years?

Answer 6

It started expiring the moment a significant number of people became too good to drink tap water.

I guess have to add bottled water to my list.

Three sure indicators you make too much money:

You use cocaine
You keep horses as pets
You only drink bottled water

Answer 7

It is laughable. I wonder if people dump the water out once it expires because they think it's gone bad.

Answer 8

I would guess it's because the bottling process is not sterile, possibly allowing some microbes into the water and after a while they would multiply and dump waste into the water. Not sure though

Answer 9

if the water stays in the bottle too long, it starts to taste funny and can go stagnant (sort of). that and the water genie will drown and then you need to get a new bottle of water with a live genie if you want to get all of your wishes granted.

Answer 10

It only expires for idiots!

I think water is like wine...give me a little age on it. There's nothing more delicious than a 1997 Evian!