# Mylar bags and ways to extend shelf life



## AndMW (Nov 5, 2014)

I am looking for ways to extend shelf life of some items and for some reason I have this notion that throwing things in mylar bags would help extend shelf life.

Is this just wishful thinking on my part or did I see something somewhere that put this idea in my head and now I can't find it?!

Thank you for any help!
A in Black Hills, SD


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

oxygen absorbers in a sealed container. if you can't find just a handful of packets, ( the only source I can find is uline, where I have to buy a box of 2500 pouches) a hand warmer does the same thing, it contains metal filings that consume the oxygen in the container.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Sorbentsystems - SorbentSystems.com

Can get all sizes of mylar and oxygen absorbers. Best pricing I have found.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Here's the company I buy from. They also have Mylar bags with ziplock seals (you still heat seal them). $4.99 shipping anywhere, any weight. 
I am lucky enough to use nitrogen for storage. I use 5 gallon aluminized Mylar bags in 5 gallon buckets for ease of storage and stacking. I also use 1 and 3 gallon Mylar bags depending on the food product. All I buy are bags with ziplocks. Since nitrogen is heavier than air or oxygen, the "nitrogen wand" is pushed to the bottom of the bag and using a few pounds of pressure, it purges the air out the top. Be careful to use LOW pressure and be patient. Once I used a little too much pressure and I had the dry food blowing out the top of the bag like a dust storm. Anyway, since the nitrogen is heavier than air, if you carefully remove the food product in a way to not disturb the package, the nitrogen will stay in the bag. Any air that does get in will float on top of the nitrogen. 
If the drum you speak of is metal, it'll keep out the air fine. If it is plastic, polyethylenes are not air tight like Mylar and PETE. PE allows air and oxygen to defuse thru the plastic and into the drum. The use of nitrogen with a real big oxygen absorber would probably take care of any air that might get into the drum. If you go with the oxygen absorber in the drum, you could probably use a few cheap hand warmers that are the same chemical reaction as an oxygen absorber. 
I always keep a bunch of hand warmers around for emergencies like dog food storage. I always buy and keep big bags of dog food (I only have a little dog) which last nearly a year for him. If SHTF, my intent it to open the new, full bag just enough to fill with nitrogen, toss in a few oxygen absorbers and tape the top shut to prevent the nitrogen for getting out and slow down the entry of oxygen. PETE (soda bottles) are great for preventing oxygen from getting inside, and nitrogen works great with them and the little oxygen absorbers. But try to wrap in aluminum foil if you don't have a dark area for storage. Sunlight is almost as bad as oxygen for degrading foods. This is another reason I prefer aluminized Mylar bags to polyethylene 5 gallon pails.

https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/emergency_supplies/mylar_food_storage_bags.htm


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## Kahlan (Sep 16, 2014)

Being fairly new to lts myself I found this to be a useful video.

http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/...food-storage-mylar-bags-oxygen-absorbers.html

p.s. Welcome to the forums


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

I prefer to vacseal things. Suck out both humidity & oxygen. Some things I do in mason jars with the jar adaptors. I buy the foodsavor rolls & cut to length. I double seal both ends.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

HuntingHawk said:


> I prefer to vacseal things. Suck out both humidity & oxygen. Some things I do in mason jars with the jar adaptors. I buy the foodsavor rolls & cut to length. I double seal both ends.


Where vacuuming bags seems to work well, be careful of jars. As a test, I took a 1 quart jar, vacuumed the air out and then turned it upside down in water and popped the seal. The water only filled 1/4 to 1/3 of the jar. That means the 2/3 to 3/4 of the jar still had air in it. The courser the product being stored the more air/oxygen is in the jar because of the space between the product pieces. I'd still toss in an oxygen absorber, but a small one. Also don't forget that sunlight is just as harmful to food as oxygen. That's why I wrap jars in aluminum foil to keep out the ultraviolet rays.


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## AndMW (Nov 5, 2014)

Thank you, all!

Does anyone have any idea on exactly how long mylar bag/oxygen absorbers will extend shelf life? 1 year, 5 years, 10 years?? I can't seem to find anything anywhere that is even speculative, let alone definitive!

Thanks!


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Depends on the food. From what I read, foods with fat content will last a year or so and so I don't bother with repackaging. Dry foods, especially grains and such could last 10 - 20 years. Flour, maybe 5-6 years.
Properly stored without any oxygen inside, and stored in the dark, most grains will be ok for a long time. You will lose so flavor and some nutritional value, but it's better than the alternative.


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## infinity (Oct 3, 2014)

Hope this is the right thread!

I've purchased several larger containers of raisins and also several 5 pound packages of Bisquick. If I leave them in the original containers, and then put them in 5 gal. buckets with mylar bags/oxygen absorbers, can I expect to get more than a year or two storage out of them? 

Thanks!


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Just wondering, there are various products out ther - like potato chips - that come in plastic bags which have a shiny tinfoil layer to them. Tohight, i tried sealing a potato chip bag with an iron set on 'rayon' which is a medium heat setting. The bag sealed really well, I was not able to squeeze air out of it.

Aside from the salty, fatty residue that would need to be rinsed/washed out of the bag, wouldn't this be a frugal way to seal things?


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

I found the same thing about a week ago and also had good luck sealing the bag. The recycle triangles shows the Cheetos bag to be PETE , a plastic cousin to Mylar used for casting bottles or making film for packaging. So far I'm only using the bags for dog food.


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

tinkerhell said:


> Just wondering, there are various products out ther - like potato chips - that come in plastic bags which have a shiny tinfoil layer to them. Tohight, i tried sealing a potato chip bag with an iron set on 'rayon' which is a medium heat setting. The bag sealed really well, I was not able to squeeze air out of it.
> 
> Aside from the salty, fatty residue that would need to be rinsed/washed out of the bag, wouldn't this be a frugal way to seal things?


Yes, but by the time you eat all those chips, you won't have room for the food you're storing. And be dead of a heart attack from all the fat.


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