The answer to “Do antibacterial wipes expire?” is yes. Antibacterial wipes are a common cleaning item. They have a variety of uses, including cleaning bathroom surfaces and high-touch areas. But the wet wipes only last about a year or two before they lose their effectiveness. Storing your antibacterial wipes in the wrong way can cause them to lose their effectiveness faster.
Learn more: Private label wet wipes manufacturers and how they produce high-quality, safe products for customers
Key takeaways:
- Wipe expiration dates differ depending on the brand.
- Generally, most durable assets last for about two years.
- To prolong the life of your wipes, keep them in a cool and dry place.
1. How to Check the Expiration Date?
Wipes manufacturer often print the date of manufacture on the bottom of packaging so that you can check it. This will tell you when the wipes were made and, in effect, how long they’ll last. On the back of the wipes container, read thoroughly since some brands list shelf life. Look for terms like:
- Shelf life
- Expiration date
- Best by
- Use before
- Most effective before
The ink-jet label will usually be on the bottom or back of container. It may contain letters, numbers and/or symbols in a month-day-year format:
Remember to check the manufacturing label before buying cleaning wipes. It’s easy to buy an expired product by mistake—manufacture dates are usually found on the bottom of containers and may not be immediately obvious.
If you can’t find a manufacturing date on your wipes, another way to tell if they’re still good is by smelling them. If the odor of your antibacterial wipes is sharp and strong, they are probably still effective. However if there is no discernible odor at all, they may have lost their potency.
These tips apply to other sanitizing and antibacterial products as well. It’s important to check the manufacture date on these items—like hand sanitizer, wipes, and so forth—to ensure maximum effectiveness.
2. Should You Use antibacterial Wipes After the Expiration Date?
While expired antibacterial wipes won’t hurt you, they don’t kill germs like a newly-purchased pack would. If you’re looking for germ relief, grab some new ones; if not, use your old packs to clean surfaces around the house instead!
3. How to Store Your antibacterial Wipes so that they can last long?
We store our antibacterial wipes in places where they will be most convenient. But some of these locations are unsuitable and can degrade the quality of your wipes over time. Others may cause your wipes to develop “fold molds,” which is a fungus that you risk spreading around as you clean surfaces.
Convenience is the primary reason most people store their antibacterial wipes in purses and cars. This practice should be stopped as extreme temperatures can destroy the preservative in the wipes, compromising their effectiveness.
To keep your antibacterial wipes from drying out and becoming ineffective, store them in a cool, dry place.
For further guidance, please refer to our article about the correct order of cleaning, sanitizing and antibacterial. Make sure you’re using the right tool for any given task.
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