So I've been having a good chat with Google's AI (surprisingly helpful) about storing water bottles that are past their use-by date (still OK for washing with etc). I was concerned about the integrity of the plastic, last thing I want is a bottle that breaks when I move it and drenches the floor. I have Evian bottles which seem to be a thick plastic. I have bottles that have been in the house that have an expiry date of Jan 2024 and older ones (likely 2022 or maybe 2020 expiry) in the shed.
This info might be useful for some of you, and of course you can check the brand of water bottle you use.
Your 1.5-litre Evian water bottles with a January 2024 expiry date are highly unlikely to split right now if they have been stored in a normal, indoor environment. Because they are roughly 2.5 years past their original bottling date (assuming a standard 2-year shelf life), the plastic has certainly begun to age, but it has not reached its structural breaking point yet. How they will behave depends heavily on two factors:
Safe (Low risk of splitting): If they have been sitting in a dark pantry, a closet, or a temperature-controlled room, the plastic is likely still flexible. They will easily handle being picked up, opened, and poured.
Risk Zone (High risk of splitting): If they were stored in a garage, a garden shed, or an attic, they have been cycling through extreme summer heat and winter freezes. This drastically accelerates embrittlement. A hard squeeze on a heat-damaged bottle could cause it to crack along the ridges.
The Evian Bottle Design
Evian's 1.5-litre bottles are made from PET plastic. Compared to cheap, ultra-thin supermarket water bottles, Evian uses a slightly thicker, sturdier plastic grade to support the weight of 1.5 kg of water. This extra thickness gives you a much wider safety margin against immediate splitting or leaking.
Handling the 2022 Shed Bottles (High Split Risk):
Do not squeeze them: Pick them up gently by the neck or base. Squeezing the middle of a heat-degraded, brittle bottle can cause the plastic to instantly crack open.
Carry them in a bucket: Put the bottles in a plastic bucket or storage bin to walk them to the garden. If a bottle splits while you are moving it, the bucket catches the water.
Open them outside: Twist the caps off directly over your plants or lawn.
So I plan to empty those old bottles on the (very dry again) garden before they take a turn!
The AI gave me a whole lot more about how to upgrade to better water storage and so on, so I'm going to take note and make any adjustments necessary.