Distilled Water Expiration

There's disagreement within our organization as to whether or not distilled water should be place under our age control process. I have never heard to distilled water have a shelf life. Looking to the forum for guidance.

Sorry. I could not resist.

There is a use by date on the gallon jugs of distilled water I buy from the store.

From a quick search:

There are a few different environmental factors that could cause distilled water to go bad, including:

• Exposure to dust or airborne particles
• Contamination from the materials in the storage container (such as microplastics or BPA from a plastic container)
• Airborne contamination that enters the water through a damaged container
• Exposure to heat or direct sunlight, which will cause certain containers to degrade and contaminate the water

If it’s stored properly in a sealed container, distilled water shouldn’t go bad. But poor storage practices may cause the water to go bad.

The age should be based on the container being used and how permeable it is to outside contaminants or absorption of contaminants from the container.
It really depends on the use.
If it's for food or cosmetics or drugs - The FDA will certainly have something to say about the shelf life and opened container life.
On the other hand - for a gallon of distilled water I buy for cleaning my airbrush and thinning certain paints, I don't much care about expiration.

Aeroquality said:

There's disagreement within our organization as to whether or not distilled water should be place under our age control process. I have never heard to distilled water have a shelf life. Looking to the forum for guidance.

Click to expand...

Another thought. All our responses are predicated on this being distilled water. If it is actually deionized water (many people equate the two) the answers would be different as deionized water needs to be stored in glass or HDPE containers in a cool dark location. If opened, it will absorb CO2 and create carbonic acid. Sunlight or the use of the wrong container material will drastically shorten its shelf life.