Does water expire

[nuttysandwich]

Does it?

[rjfaber91]

"Expiration" is a difficult thing to define, as it means different things for different forms of edible and drinkable matter. Water won't decompose into anything unsafe, but leave water stagnant enough for long enough in the open air and it will start feeding colonies of algae and bacteria. In enclosed packaging or at low temperatures though, water pretty much keeps for eternity.

[Monkey Dust]

Expire in what way? Bottled water has a shelf life as bacteria can grow in it and the bottle will break down (assuming it's a plastic one) and taint the water.

[vanished]

No, the same water has been on earth for billions of years.  That said, any specific volume (say, in a bottle) could go bad if things start growing in it

[Mug]

No it doesn't ??

 

However, I'd swerve drinking water that came out of a polystyrene cup that was in the microwave or in the sun because you know... Benzene.

If you refill bottles then you should wash them properly before re-using them as bacteria can build up at the mouthpiece which would smell.

[KemoKa]

If it's in an inert, sterile, sealed container, there's no way for it to go off. Water is almost totally stable.

[Howlingwolf101]

Who can say for sure but I'm sure it will last longer if you freeze it

[Misanthrope]

Might get dust, other particles or growths but as long as it was reasonably sealed (plastic water bottle caps for example) you can just use one of those water filters and I'd be good to drink

[minibois]

not really, but if you have it in a plastic bottle the plastic may give to the water giving it a different taste

[LokiFire]

Water if moving will eventually be cleaned by the Earth it passed through and over, like a huge filter.

 

I rember in the Army drinking water off the top of a mountain in Wales on exercise.. best water i had ever tasted.

[vanished]

To clarify something that I've noticed, I'll say this:  When we talk about the concept of food "expiring", it is a combination of things.  For one, food is made (generally) of countless, complex molecules.  Organic molecules, that break down and change.  This is part of the process.  There are also micro things living on it, and these multiply exponentially.  In tiny quantities it's fine, but once enough form (ie, the food moulds for example) then you don't want to go near that.

 

Water will not decompose, but the same idea of things living in it multiplying until it is a problem does still exist.

[rmac52]

The water it self will not go bad.  But chemicals can leach out of the container it's in and contaminate it.  That's where the expiration date on bottled watter comes from.