Are Mylar Bags really necessary?

[orion commander]

My DH says I'm kinda weird about it, but after intentionally leaving a small bag of rice in the garage for a couple of months, and then cooking up a pot full of ricey critters, he got the message!

LOL A picture IS worth a thousand words.

[MickeyMouse]

Lids on buckets are NOT a good enough seal to protect your preps. Plastic will also allow oxygen to permeate into your food, vastly reducing storage life. It isn't the Mylar in the bags that solves the problem, it is the aluminum foil sandwitched between the layers that prevents oxygen and moisture from moving through the bag's walls. Bucket lids use a neoprene gasket to seal. Far from a good seal, even when new. Reused, they are never as good. Without bags, you have no way of knowing how well stuff is sealed until the SHTF and you NEED that food stored in just a bucket.

Mylar bags aren't THAT expensive to risk a full bucket of LTS food!

O2 absorbers are also decent in price. Doesn't matter where in the bucket they are located, oxygen permeates throughout the food. If the bag pulls down properly all the critters will die. Most grains, flour etc. come with bug eggs already present. Freezing MAY help; denying oxygen to them is certain death. Of course, both is best of all.

Be sure to minimize O2 absorber exposure time and keep unused ones sealed up - I use Mason jars.

Now, if I am out of bags or absorbers, I put stuff in a bucket (or freezer) for temporary storage while I wait on more supplies.

Sugar and salt do not really need to be stored in mylar bags. Worst thing they will do is get hard.


Be careful how you stack buckets. High and heavy enough it deforms the lids.

[kevc]

Hey Guys!

I have quite a bit of experience in storing grain and dried food in mylar bags! You have to watch to not fold mylar bags more than once as otherwise you'll start to get pin-hole tears in them. This can be a real problem when you're talking long-term. I mainly buy bundles like http://www.mylarshop.com/mylar-bag-o...sorber-bundles Another thing you have to watch out for is when you're buying oxy absorbers you're going to need some way to reseal them as, if left open to the air, they're going to run out quickly!

Kev

[Homesteader]

Thanks for the information and link, kevc.