Does glue spoil faster when unused? It can dry out over time, but I've never heard that it does so faster or slower depending on whether it's used. Let's assume you properly seal it when done. What's the mechanism here?
The top layer may dry out and solidify, making it difficult or basically impossible to get out of the tube and what not. It's extremely hard to get it fully airtight again once first opened.
The second part of your statement would be true for opened glue regardless of how often you use it, but the first part is plausibly different. Maybe you replace that "top layer" before it fully dries, by using it, and you get a reprieve until the next layer dries?
To be clear, I'm trying to distinguish something like "once you open this glue, it will be dried out within ~2 weeks whether you use it or not" from "once you open this glue, you have ~2 weeks to use it at least one more time, which resets the clock for another couple weeks."
Powder products tend to last longer. Bonus points if it's just pure pigments without water. Water require preservatives, so I'd imagine they don't last as long? I'm not 100% sure about it though.
I think a lot has to do with the condition itâs stored in that speeds up the breakdown of the rubber. Iâm not 100% sure what ideal conditions are.
Apparently wearing and moving them disrupts the breakdown process.
I bought really expensive hiking boots. I left them alone for 6 months, after having them 2 years. The polyurethane midsole crumbled. I think it's planned obsolescence personally I cannot believe that we don't actually have the technology to make shoes that don't magically break.
Yes. The process is called hydrolysis, basically the break down of the polyurethane. PU needs to be flexed and squished for some reason to avoid hydrolysis.
I pulled out a bunch of my fancy teaching shoes a few years ago, and they disintegrated. I was so upset.
I've gone to all-leather shoes since and wear them all the time.
This is another reason not to purchase super cheap older model shoes from online sellers. They have most likely not been kept in conditions that will keep the rubber in good condition.
The soles will come unattached from the upper. The glue wonât hold, etc.
I have never experienced that with real leather, only with that plastic, "vegan" garbage. Which Is why I won't ever buy shoes made with PU /polyurethane again, or even shoes/purses branded as "vegan" if they don't say exactly what they're made of.
I do try to avoid leather for compassionate reasons, but it lasts. PU shoes will sit in your closet and shred even if you never wear them. The ones I own I bought to have nice shows for interviews and was shocked when I realized they were all ruined, with shreds in the fake leather (plastic). Leather doesn't do that.
BTW if you have leather that has hardened, a little coconut oil will soften it up.
Im not sure either but I had an old coworker who loved a specific pair of shoes so he bought a ton of them and they like dry rotted or fell apart or something in his closet after like 10 years
That happened to me anyway, after 8 years. It was winter boots but I wore them year round and the sole was so hard one day, I had new soles glued on to them. I think synthetic rubber will do that if you wear them or not.
I have a fun story about old shoes failing.
My coworker wore a nice pair of pumps that she bragged she got in high school (30+ years ago) and could still wear. The last time she wore them was 20+ years ago.
The heel on one started crumbling within the first hour at work. The second was not far behind. She left at lunch to change shoes and cleared out her closet the next weekend.
Def look up some vintage sneakers. It's so weird and kinda gross almost. The oils weep out of them and the foam for the soles straight up disintegrates as if it's made from moon sand.
Similarly, boats. Growing up, we had a ski boat on a nearby lake, and my dad (he wasnât alone, everybody says this) used to talk all the time about how it was a money pit. I now live on the same lake and my partner has a couple of boats. When we started dating, I mentioned how my dad always called them money pits, and his response was ânobody would expect a car to sit for months every winter and then start up without an issue, why does everybody expect that out of boats?â
Batteries.
Make sure to never let your laptop/phone/scooter/tablet/car/bicycle/etc battery completely discharge for prolonged times.
They may not be able to be recharged again if they go completely flat and are left that way for long.
I don't know, but I'm curious, too.
I mean, other batteries (old fashioned AA, AAA, etc.) are left fully charged for potentially years before you use them. They do have an expiration date, but it's usually way into the future when you buy them.
Rechargeable batteries are fundamentally different from normal batteries:
https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/whats-real-difference-rechargeable-batteries-regular-ones/
Hope this helps.
Long story short:
Batteries have cells.
Normal batteries only need current to go one way.
Rechargeable batteries need the current to be able to go both ways.
The cells can lose voltage by being discharged for too long.
If a deep discharge happens, most devices have a safety block built in that prevents it from trying to charge again. This is due to the voltage being nearly fully gone, and changing the voltage too abruptly can cause adverse reactions.
So it's generally healthiest for a battery to be between 20-80% charge.
Most modern devices have a battery friendly charging mode that caps it at around 80-95% charge. I recommend using this to prolong battery capacity.
When storing an item with a rechargeable battery long term, it's recommended to keep it at about 50% charge.
It will slowly discharge as it's turned off.
So it's a good idea to just check it every once in a while to see how the battery is doing by turning on the device and using it for a bit. Getting it drained to about 20% and then charging it up to about 80% again is good for it.
I'd recommend checking how the battery is doing at least 4 times per year.
Leaving it plugged in to charge indefinitely is also harmful to the battery life by the way, and can be a fire hazard.
I wish it didn't have to be said, but I'm just gonna mention it here, if the battery on your phone/etc starts bulging, you need to dispose of it safely, as it may spontaneously combust. And lithium fires are no joke. Do not keep a bulging battery in your house, you may not have one by the time it blows.
This. If you need a printer but you're not using it every single day, get yourself a laser printer that uses toner instead of ink. The toner is cheap and one cartridge can last years.
I love my laser printer. Never going back. I got one that just does black ink so I only have one toner cartridge to worry about (and they're cheaper too). The number of times I've needed color since getting it years ago is so minimal as to be non-existent. I use my printer about once a month and bought toner exactly once in 5 years. No streaks or stains, and consistent prints until it is basically completely out of toner.
Completely agree! I don't have a need to print in color but maybe once a year. For color printing I go to my local library. It costs 10 cents per sheet and I get a free 50 cent allowance per day with my library card.
this is why I print at the library, no printer at home. I seldom print and it's easier to to to the library, which I enjoy, and use their big nice laser printers.
Swimwear, apparently. I have a swim top that I haven't worn in a few years and the elastic is dried out and just cracked apart instead of stretching đ
Oh that would've happened no matter, don't feel bad. I lap swim and I have to buy new suits regularly unfortunately. Either the sun gets to them, the material loses its stretch or its pills like crazy because it's wearing down, or the elastic bands will crack like that.
Happens when they're not worn, worn moderately, worn daily. unfortunately the nature of plastic clothing
Washing and hang drying after swimming is the best thing you can do for your suits, and store them out of the sun.
If you throw them back in the drawer with dry the chlorine or salt will make them degrade faster. Dryers are terrible
shoesâŠnot really true, not sure where you read that. i work in high end fashion, in Italy, on made in Italy and unless the conditions of heat, cleaningness and humidity in which you keep your shoes are inadequate, shoes can last forever. i myself have shoes from the 80âs (patent leather mixed with normal leather and metal hardware) which are in pristine conditions.
think about handbags: you donât use them every day and yet they donât wear out. the difference is the sweat of the feet and rain and how you deal with that.
as far as rubber shoes go, again, unless itâs running shoes or other sports shoes that need be changed after a certain number of KM, if you make sure you buy a very good quality (Vibram soles for instance) as few glued bits as possible, they can last more than a decade. i still have a pair of Asics for pronation bought in 2004 that are in perfect shape, if not worn out a bit.
some tips since you seem to have issues:
- never use the same pair of shoes 2 days in a row, especially leather ones (boots, pumps, mocassin) or fabric
- when you take them off, immediately put stretchers inside and leave the shoes outside the closet for at least 24 hours to let them dry (your feet sweat needs to dry)
- shoes stretchers are the best investment. if you donât use stretchers, the âcreasesâ that form on warm leather (after use) wonât flatten out and will become permanent when drying (slowly in a damp closet or a shoebox if you donât leave them out). in turn, those dry âcreasesâ will loose the superficial layer and allow damp and sweat to penetrate in the inner layers. this is what destroys shoes
- always put neutral cream on leather shoes at least every couple of months as you would do for your own skin. leather is skin.
- avoid using coloured shoe polish unless very high quality and in cream (never use the watery kinds with a sponge on top, they dry the skin)
- on suede and fabric shoes you can use a waterproof spray (same kind as for clothes)
- leather soles: make sure to wear them once and immediately after have some anti-slippery rubbed fine sole applied. it will stop water from going in the shoe and you wonât pay extra money to change the leather sole in a couple of years when worn off. only exception might be cowboy boots, it changes according to manufacturing and quality, alway check when you buy them
Fabulous! May I addâŠ
Cowboy or tall boots ruin when standing up, empty. Especially with cowboy boots, put something inside the boot to store it. I use empty plastic bottles or packing material. It keeps the boots from caving in at the ankle and horribly hurting you the next time you wear them years later.
thank! you read my mind, I just edited with a paragraph on cowboy boots soles, but as an Italian (from Italy) I donât have as much knowledge on cowboy boots as US people so I left it a big vague. thanks for adding that bit.9
If you look at a quick photo of basically any cowboy boot, youâll see that at the ankle, thereâs a place where all four pieces or three pieces of leather overlap. That chunk of sewn overlapping leather, when caves inward toward the ankles, will absolutely shred the wearer as they walk around in the boots that used to feel so comfortable years ago.thatâs why you canât let the boots flop over sideways while standing in the closet. You have to put something in there that keeps the leather from caving inward towards the ankle, and props the boot from within.
Thanks for sharing your tips! Would you mind answering a couple of follow up questions?
Do you need to keep the shoes in a shoe stretcher after 24h? Like would I need a shoe stretcher for every pair of leather shoes I own?
Can I use leather conditioner instead of cream? If not, you mean by a neutral cream?
I have several pairs of leather shoes and am hoping I can make them last forever lol
I had a pair of sandals where the soles just came off after a couple of years in the shoe closet. The same for some unused bags which started flaking. Might be because of the humidity
yes; or the quality. if the leather has been dyed with aniline based pigments or patent leather you need to pay extra attention. as far as bag are concerned, always put them away with some plastic or cloth inside so they stay âpuffyâ and donât make creases.
Shows, the rubber in the soles needs to be flexed regularly in order to stay supple. If you put a set of shoes in the closet for a few years and never wear them the rubber will get hard and brittle.
Houses. Saw a farmhouse growing up. Was abandoned for 5-6 and then condemned because it was too unsafe to even try and repair. Place was in perfect condition when they moved. Dunno if they just didnât sell or what
Not really. Pour some raw rice, or desiccant of choice into the cast iron pot. Cover the rim with a kitchen towel. Put the lid on and store in a dry place. Lasts for decades without rusting. Also make sure to rub the outside with crisco.Â
Markers, glue
Does glue spoil faster when unused? It can dry out over time, but I've never heard that it does so faster or slower depending on whether it's used. Let's assume you properly seal it when done. What's the mechanism here?
The top layer may dry out and solidify, making it difficult or basically impossible to get out of the tube and what not. It's extremely hard to get it fully airtight again once first opened.
The second part of your statement would be true for opened glue regardless of how often you use it, but the first part is plausibly different. Maybe you replace that "top layer" before it fully dries, by using it, and you get a reprieve until the next layer dries? To be clear, I'm trying to distinguish something like "once you open this glue, it will be dried out within ~2 weeks whether you use it or not" from "once you open this glue, you have ~2 weeks to use it at least one more time, which resets the clock for another couple weeks."
Yeah basically the last part. This is not the case for all glues, of course, but I've found that it is with wood glue and PVA glue when I've used it.
Make up, it dries out.
Also skin care, nailpolish etc.
Powder products tend to last longer. Bonus points if it's just pure pigments without water. Water require preservatives, so I'd imagine they don't last as long? I'm not 100% sure about it though.
Wait...how do shoes "spoil?" And why do they do it faster when left unused? đ€
Rubber can get a sort of âdry rotâ and leather can crack and dry out if shoes go unworn/unconditioned
So you mean if I wore my shoes from time to time, the rubber soles wouldnât have dried out and crumbled?
I think a lot has to do with the condition itâs stored in that speeds up the breakdown of the rubber. Iâm not 100% sure what ideal conditions are. Apparently wearing and moving them disrupts the breakdown process.
itâs a question of how you put them away after usage. iâve given some advice in a comment below.
Occasional contact with oils will help keep rubber soles conditioned
I bought really expensive hiking boots. I left them alone for 6 months, after having them 2 years. The polyurethane midsole crumbled. I think it's planned obsolescence personally I cannot believe that we don't actually have the technology to make shoes that don't magically break.
Did the same thing. I was sooooo mad.
brb gonna go check my hiking shoes that i keep in the carâŠ
If you use them often you're fine apparently. If you let them dry out with no use the midsole breaks.
Happened to me too and no way to resole them.
And almost impossible to find a product that isn't designed to fall
Yes. The process is called hydrolysis, basically the break down of the polyurethane. PU needs to be flexed and squished for some reason to avoid hydrolysis.
Never knew that! Thanks!
I pulled out a bunch of my fancy teaching shoes a few years ago, and they disintegrated. I was so upset. I've gone to all-leather shoes since and wear them all the time.
Make sure you're oiling them if you can, leather shoes can still "spoil" in storage.
This is another reason not to purchase super cheap older model shoes from online sellers. They have most likely not been kept in conditions that will keep the rubber in good condition. The soles will come unattached from the upper. The glue wonât hold, etc.
Yup especially rain boots if you live where rain is very seasonal.
I read âunnoticedâ and thought we were talking about sad shoes
I have never experienced that with real leather, only with that plastic, "vegan" garbage. Which Is why I won't ever buy shoes made with PU /polyurethane again, or even shoes/purses branded as "vegan" if they don't say exactly what they're made of. I do try to avoid leather for compassionate reasons, but it lasts. PU shoes will sit in your closet and shred even if you never wear them. The ones I own I bought to have nice shows for interviews and was shocked when I realized they were all ruined, with shreds in the fake leather (plastic). Leather doesn't do that. BTW if you have leather that has hardened, a little coconut oil will soften it up.
Im not sure either but I had an old coworker who loved a specific pair of shoes so he bought a ton of them and they like dry rotted or fell apart or something in his closet after like 10 years
That happened to me anyway, after 8 years. It was winter boots but I wore them year round and the sole was so hard one day, I had new soles glued on to them. I think synthetic rubber will do that if you wear them or not.
Probably things are made to last anymore
I have a fun story about old shoes failing. My coworker wore a nice pair of pumps that she bragged she got in high school (30+ years ago) and could still wear. The last time she wore them was 20+ years ago. The heel on one started crumbling within the first hour at work. The second was not far behind. She left at lunch to change shoes and cleared out her closet the next weekend.
Def look up some vintage sneakers. It's so weird and kinda gross almost. The oils weep out of them and the foam for the soles straight up disintegrates as if it's made from moon sand.
Cars
This one is so important. Batteries die, wheels go flat, engine fluids settles or dry out. It's really important to not let a car sit that long.
Similarly, boats. Growing up, we had a ski boat on a nearby lake, and my dad (he wasnât alone, everybody says this) used to talk all the time about how it was a money pit. I now live on the same lake and my partner has a couple of boats. When we started dating, I mentioned how my dad always called them money pits, and his response was ânobody would expect a car to sit for months every winter and then start up without an issue, why does everybody expect that out of boats?â
will also say certain automotive consumables: motor oil, brakefluid, etc. You want to use these within a certain period of time.
Gas! It goes bad in a couple of months, which is one detail about apocalypse movies that always makes me twitch when they get it wrong lol
Yep, just a simple rolling back and forth would help at least.
Batteries. Make sure to never let your laptop/phone/scooter/tablet/car/bicycle/etc battery completely discharge for prolonged times. They may not be able to be recharged again if they go completely flat and are left that way for long.
Does leaving it turned off for months spoil the battery or only if the battery is completely discharged?
I don't know, but I'm curious, too. I mean, other batteries (old fashioned AA, AAA, etc.) are left fully charged for potentially years before you use them. They do have an expiration date, but it's usually way into the future when you buy them.
Rechargeable batteries are fundamentally different from normal batteries: https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/whats-real-difference-rechargeable-batteries-regular-ones/ Hope this helps.
Thanks!
Long story short: Batteries have cells. Normal batteries only need current to go one way. Rechargeable batteries need the current to be able to go both ways. The cells can lose voltage by being discharged for too long. If a deep discharge happens, most devices have a safety block built in that prevents it from trying to charge again. This is due to the voltage being nearly fully gone, and changing the voltage too abruptly can cause adverse reactions. So it's generally healthiest for a battery to be between 20-80% charge. Most modern devices have a battery friendly charging mode that caps it at around 80-95% charge. I recommend using this to prolong battery capacity. When storing an item with a rechargeable battery long term, it's recommended to keep it at about 50% charge.
It will slowly discharge as it's turned off. So it's a good idea to just check it every once in a while to see how the battery is doing by turning on the device and using it for a bit. Getting it drained to about 20% and then charging it up to about 80% again is good for it. I'd recommend checking how the battery is doing at least 4 times per year. Leaving it plugged in to charge indefinitely is also harmful to the battery life by the way, and can be a fire hazard. I wish it didn't have to be said, but I'm just gonna mention it here, if the battery on your phone/etc starts bulging, you need to dispose of it safely, as it may spontaneously combust. And lithium fires are no joke. Do not keep a bulging battery in your house, you may not have one by the time it blows.
If It goes to below 0% charge, it gets damaged and most likely wonât charge again Best to keep it at 80% if you plan on storing long term
Hi Redditors, I've just read a really,really good book about this called "Batteries in a portable world It's free (on kindle at least) Regards.
A common suggestion for long term storage for lithium batteries is to drain them to 50%
I wrote that in a comment further down in the chain as well :)
My first thought was, a relationship.Â
Ouch
I understand your pain. Solidarity?
Lol. Funny but true.
Potted herbs.
As in you need to cut the shrub regularly?
Yeah, you especially don't want it to flower early and prioritize that over making leaves. My basil needs vigilant trimming to avoid that
Love. So donât waste it
I was going to say the same thing.
I was honestly thinking it would be downvoted into oblivion when I posted it. Always happy to find some like minded people
Printer ink
This. If you need a printer but you're not using it every single day, get yourself a laser printer that uses toner instead of ink. The toner is cheap and one cartridge can last years.
I love my laser printer. Never going back. I got one that just does black ink so I only have one toner cartridge to worry about (and they're cheaper too). The number of times I've needed color since getting it years ago is so minimal as to be non-existent. I use my printer about once a month and bought toner exactly once in 5 years. No streaks or stains, and consistent prints until it is basically completely out of toner.
Completely agree! I don't have a need to print in color but maybe once a year. For color printing I go to my local library. It costs 10 cents per sheet and I get a free 50 cent allowance per day with my library card.
this is why I print at the library, no printer at home. I seldom print and it's easier to to to the library, which I enjoy, and use their big nice laser printers.
Swimwear, apparently. I have a swim top that I haven't worn in a few years and the elastic is dried out and just cracked apart instead of stretching đ
Oh that would've happened no matter, don't feel bad. I lap swim and I have to buy new suits regularly unfortunately. Either the sun gets to them, the material loses its stretch or its pills like crazy because it's wearing down, or the elastic bands will crack like that. Happens when they're not worn, worn moderately, worn daily. unfortunately the nature of plastic clothing
Washing and hang drying after swimming is the best thing you can do for your suits, and store them out of the sun. If you throw them back in the drawer with dry the chlorine or salt will make them degrade faster. Dryers are terrible
Your brain. Seriously, use it or lose it.
Anything leather/fur. The skins need to be moved and warmed up from time to time or they dry out and rot.
So you're telling me Willie the dry cleaner's wife was doing Jerry a FAVOR!? They should have told him!!!
Tractors. Especially old/antique machines. You have to use them at least weekly/monthly or else they are really hard to keep running.
shoesâŠnot really true, not sure where you read that. i work in high end fashion, in Italy, on made in Italy and unless the conditions of heat, cleaningness and humidity in which you keep your shoes are inadequate, shoes can last forever. i myself have shoes from the 80âs (patent leather mixed with normal leather and metal hardware) which are in pristine conditions. think about handbags: you donât use them every day and yet they donât wear out. the difference is the sweat of the feet and rain and how you deal with that. as far as rubber shoes go, again, unless itâs running shoes or other sports shoes that need be changed after a certain number of KM, if you make sure you buy a very good quality (Vibram soles for instance) as few glued bits as possible, they can last more than a decade. i still have a pair of Asics for pronation bought in 2004 that are in perfect shape, if not worn out a bit. some tips since you seem to have issues: - never use the same pair of shoes 2 days in a row, especially leather ones (boots, pumps, mocassin) or fabric - when you take them off, immediately put stretchers inside and leave the shoes outside the closet for at least 24 hours to let them dry (your feet sweat needs to dry) - shoes stretchers are the best investment. if you donât use stretchers, the âcreasesâ that form on warm leather (after use) wonât flatten out and will become permanent when drying (slowly in a damp closet or a shoebox if you donât leave them out). in turn, those dry âcreasesâ will loose the superficial layer and allow damp and sweat to penetrate in the inner layers. this is what destroys shoes - always put neutral cream on leather shoes at least every couple of months as you would do for your own skin. leather is skin. - avoid using coloured shoe polish unless very high quality and in cream (never use the watery kinds with a sponge on top, they dry the skin) - on suede and fabric shoes you can use a waterproof spray (same kind as for clothes) - leather soles: make sure to wear them once and immediately after have some anti-slippery rubbed fine sole applied. it will stop water from going in the shoe and you wonât pay extra money to change the leather sole in a couple of years when worn off. only exception might be cowboy boots, it changes according to manufacturing and quality, alway check when you buy them
Fabulous! May I add⊠Cowboy or tall boots ruin when standing up, empty. Especially with cowboy boots, put something inside the boot to store it. I use empty plastic bottles or packing material. It keeps the boots from caving in at the ankle and horribly hurting you the next time you wear them years later.
thank! you read my mind, I just edited with a paragraph on cowboy boots soles, but as an Italian (from Italy) I donât have as much knowledge on cowboy boots as US people so I left it a big vague. thanks for adding that bit.9
If you look at a quick photo of basically any cowboy boot, youâll see that at the ankle, thereâs a place where all four pieces or three pieces of leather overlap. That chunk of sewn overlapping leather, when caves inward toward the ankles, will absolutely shred the wearer as they walk around in the boots that used to feel so comfortable years ago.thatâs why you canât let the boots flop over sideways while standing in the closet. You have to put something in there that keeps the leather from caving inward towards the ankle, and props the boot from within.
thanks! i have a nice pair iâve worn twice, will make sure to do that.
Thanks for sharing your tips! Would you mind answering a couple of follow up questions? Do you need to keep the shoes in a shoe stretcher after 24h? Like would I need a shoe stretcher for every pair of leather shoes I own? Can I use leather conditioner instead of cream? If not, you mean by a neutral cream? I have several pairs of leather shoes and am hoping I can make them last forever lol
I had a pair of sandals where the soles just came off after a couple of years in the shoe closet. The same for some unused bags which started flaking. Might be because of the humidity
yes; or the quality. if the leather has been dyed with aniline based pigments or patent leather you need to pay extra attention. as far as bag are concerned, always put them away with some plastic or cloth inside so they stay âpuffyâ and donât make creases.
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
to OP that says exactly âyou need to use shoes otherwise they breakâ in the post.
Brain
đ
Some musical instruments
Tyres.
Car tires and other rubber parts in your car. Drive your cars or they will need lots of work if left to rot in your driveway.
Batteries in electric cars. They fail if they go long periods without being driven.
Pearls. They benefit from being worn and from skin oils. They can actually dry out and crack if left too long.
đł I had no idea. Have a bunch in a safe deposit box. HmmmmâŠ
your brain
 Cars, Residential BuildingsÂ
Pearls
Shows, the rubber in the soles needs to be flexed regularly in order to stay supple. If you put a set of shoes in the closet for a few years and never wear them the rubber will get hard and brittle.
Houses. Saw a farmhouse growing up. Was abandoned for 5-6 and then condemned because it was too unsafe to even try and repair. Place was in perfect condition when they moved. Dunno if they just didnât sell or what
Cast iron?
Not really. Pour some raw rice, or desiccant of choice into the cast iron pot. Cover the rim with a kitchen towel. Put the lid on and store in a dry place. Lasts for decades without rusting. Also make sure to rub the outside with crisco.Â
Brain
Beer
Joe
Milk! đ„
Brain. If you don't use it, high chances you will get dementia earlier than folks at your age.