Do cleaning products expire? In short: yes, cleaning products can expire. "Like many products purchased at the grocery store, cleaning products can degrade over time," says Brian Sansoni, senior vice president of communications, outreach & membership at the American Cleaning Institute (ACI).
Windex. To keep your windows and mirrors clean and streak-free, make sure you're not using your window cleaner past its expiration date. According to the manufacturers of Windex, this cleaning product has a shelf life of two years.
After that six month mark, the disinfectant loses an estimated 20 percent of its effectiveness. However, products like glass cleaners have a longer shelf life; some are able to maintain peak effectiveness for close to two years.
Window cleaner should be effective for about two years. All-purpose cleaners begin to lose their effectiveness after two years. Antibacterial cleaners have a shelf life of about one year, however if the product is diluted or exposed to extreme temperature, the shelf life will likely be shorter.
Checking the Expiration Date. Now that you're cleaning more frequently, you've probably checked under the kitchen cupboards to see what's there. It's good to know that cleaning products do, in fact, have expiration dates.
Cleaning Products
Bleach, ammonia, dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, and other cleansers can go bad over time, losing potency and cleaning effectiveness.
Always store powder and liquid detergent in a cool, dry place. It remains viable for 6 months to 1 year after opening the cap. Unlike food, most laundry detergents can be used past their expiry date. Expired laundry detergents become less effective and lose their clean scent.
Does Dawn Dish Soap Expire? Dawn dish soap do expire. However, a bottle of Dawn dish soap is antibacterial and lasts much longer, even up to a year longer, compared to other dishwashing liquids. Scientifically, dishwashing soaps have a 2-3 years shelf life, beginning from the day they're manufactured.
Bleach expires after about a year, but it starts degrading after six months. If you use Clorox, you can find the expiration date on your bleach by searching for a two-line code on the bottle above the label.
Disinfectant sprays like Lysol are usually good for 2 years after they are manufactured, while Clorox wipes (which do NOT contain bleach) are good for about a year. How do you know if they're still good? Look at the packaging. This bottle of Purell makes it easy; the expiration date is printed plainly on the bottle.
The FAB date means that the product was manufactured that day. It can be read as DDMMYY. It may be helpful to know that there are no current US regulatory requirements for cleaning products and disinfectants to have an expiration date on the label.
Lysol. An effective cleaner and disinfectant, Lysol can last for about two years before expiring.
Bleach can expire. After a shelf life of six months, bleach starts to degrade. Even in its original bottle, bleach becomes 20 percent less effective as each year goes by. Bleach mixed with water at a 1:9 ratio (i.e. 10 percent bleach) is potent for about a day (it's more unstable in its diluted form).
Simple Green aerosols have a two year shelf life. Simple Green disinfectants have a 12 month shelf life.
But yes, cleaners can "go bad" over time. It may not make it useless though, but we cannot say whether it will now be harmful to plastics or your monitor, though chances are reasonable that it will not.
Generally, disinfectant wipes will be effective until two years after the manufacture date, usually indicated on the label. However, if the wipes contain antibacterial, that will bring their shelf life down to about one year. Disinfectants don't need to indicate the expiry date.
Disinfectant Sprays and Wipes
Expect about a 12-month lifespan from store-bought disinfectants. This is when the chemical disinfectant may begin to degrade. Don't expect to see an official expiration date printed on the package, however.
However, "All Clorox Equity & Fraganzia products shelf life is one year," the Clorox website says, with the exception of a few products that don't include wipes. The one year of effectiveness begins with the manufacture date, which is printed in black stamp on the side, near the bottom of container of Clorox wipes.
Despite the expiration date that your toilet paper company lists on the packaging of your toilet paper, the product lasts for much longer than you may expect. As long as you don't get the toilet paper wet or allow dust and dirt to get into the packaging of your toilet paper, the product can last years or even decades.
Soap does expire, but if it still lathers when you wash your hands, it should be effective. Most commercial store-bought soaps expire after two to three years. Natural or handmade soaps may expire sooner, within one year, as the essential oils and fragrances can get rancid or moldy.
Still, the old adage that “all good things come to an end” certainly applies to lotions. When stored properly, lotion can last a long time, but it does expire. Using lotion past the expiration date won't necessarily cause any harm, but expired lotion won't work the way it should.
Powdered laundry detergents do not expire or lose effectiveness unless they have been exposed to moisture. If a powdered detergent becomes hard or cakey, it should be discarded. The powder will probably not dissolve correctly or completely in the washer leaving soap deposits on your clothing.
Borax: Does not expire, but the company recommends it be kept in a dry environment.
Downy liquid fabric conditioner has a shelf life of approximately 12 months after which it could begin to thicken. Additionally, storing Downy in a cold place, such as an outdoor location or a basement laundry room, can cause Downy liquid to thicken.