Whether you’re trying to determine your order size or figure out if the ones on your shelf are still good, knowing if bottle sparklers expire is important to your business. Obviously, you don’t want to buy too many of them and have them go to waste. More importantly, you don’t want to deliver defective sparklers to a customer’s table! Like everything else in this world, bottle sparklers do eventually expire. However, if properly stored and maintained, they can last for many years. Fortunately, I am here to answer any and all questions that you have regarding their shelf life and proper storage. Here is what you need to know.
What Causes Bottle Sparklers to Expire?
Ultimately, there are two big culprits when it comes to making bottle sparklers expire; time and moisture. Depending on what region you’re in, environmental conditions such as humidity will eventually permeate the packaging and render them useless. Similarly, exposure to moisture directly will yield the same result. Fortunately, proper storage mitigates these risks and allows you to keep them in working order for many years.
How to Store Them So They Don’t Expire Quickly
As I’ve said, proper storage will extend the shelf life of your items. However, eventually they will expire if left unused. I can’t stress enough how important it is to purchase and store reasonable quantities for your needs. Nevertheless, these proper storage practices for bottle sparklers will help you to maximize their shelf life.
- Keep your extra bottle sparklers in a plastic storage container. Don’t store anything else in the container; especially not liquids or potential sources of ignition.
- Never store them in an area that will be exposed to heat or moisture. This includes any amount of direct sunlight.
- Bars are filled with all sorts of supplies that are liquid. Avoid storing them near anything liquid; but if you must then put them on the top shelf. Gravity makes it more difficult for the liquid to travel upwards.
- When you order a new shipment of bottle sparklers, always follow the FIFO method for stocking. If you use them in the order that they were purchased, you’re less likely to run into problems with expiration dates.
When stored in optimal conditions, you can expect to get a shelf life of around 2-3 years without any issues. However, if you live in a very humid climate, these numbers can get smaller. It ultimately depends on where and how you store them that will determine how long they last.
What Happens When Bottle Sparklers Expire?
Unfortunately, all fireworks can become a little unpredictable when they expire; and bottle sparklers are no exception. Usually, they will just be impossible to light continuously fizzle out when they are too old or wet. However, certain conditions can cause the compounds inside to separate or settle; and that is when you can run into real problems. Occasionally, all of the powder can burn very quickly creating a very large flash. This is completely unsafe around your employees and customers, so it’s important maintain proper controls. You should test for and discard expired bottle sparklers regularly to be on the safe side.
Is There a Test to Check if They’re Expired?
Fortunately, there is a very simple way to test if your items are expired. First, bring a few sparklers to a safe and open location, preferably outside. Make sure to grab more than one in case you randomly select a dud. Next, attach the sparkler to the neck of a bottle and light it. Observe the performance carefully and make note of anything that looks suspicious. If everything works as intended, your items have not reached their expiration. However, if there is anything amiss, they should be discarded as a precaution.
How to Properly Dispose of Expired Bottle Sparklers
If you’ve identified that some of your supply has an issue, the next step is to properly dispose of them. You essentially have two choices here, and I’ve outlined each of them below.
- Soak the bottle sparklers in water for about an hour. This will completely saturate them so you can safely throw them away in the trash. However, try to separate them a little bit in the dumpster; you don’t want them tightly packed together if there is a problem.
- You can destroy them in a steel barrel or fire pit by burning them. However, it is very important that you do only a few at a time. If you try to light several bottle sparklers at the same time, it can easily get out of control in a hurry. Take your time and throw only two or three in at a time. Bonus: it can actually be a pretty cool show.
Using This Information to Make Proper Order Sizes
Now that you know that bottle sparklers do expire and proper storage is crucial, you can use this information to make the right size order for your nightclub. Typically, I suggest ordering a maximum of a one year supply, but it’s better to keep it around six months. With proper storage, you can get upwards of three years, but there’s no advantage to having that many. If you stick to the six month rule, you can almost guarantee that you’ll never have problems.
