Could chemicals expire?

[kenny1999]

I can always find expiry dates or "best before..." on the label of different household prooducts e.g. dish soap, shampoo, hand wash, toothpaste, laundry etc. It is usually up to two or three years. However, I really doubt, could chemicals expire in such a short time e.g. a few years? Or is it only the businessmen want you to consume it quickly and buy it again quickly? In other words, if I have some of the household items suggested above which have expired for a few years after the date on the label, can I use them safely and not very ineffectively?

[exchemist]

2 hours ago, kenny1999 said:

I can always find expiry dates or "best before..." on the label of different household prooducts e.g. dish soap, shampoo, hand wash, toothpaste, laundry etc. It is usually up to two or three years. However, I really doubt, could chemicals expire in such a short time e.g. a few years? Or is it only the businessmen want you to consume it quickly and buy it again quickly? In other words, if I have some of the household items suggested above which have expired for a few years after the date on the label, can I use them safely and not very ineffectively?

Most household chemical products are not a single substance but a preparation involving a mixture of different substances. On prolonged storage some of these may slowly interact with one another, with the air, or with the packaging (corrosion of metal, "panelling" of plastic, softening of cardboard etc). Even if this is not expected to happen, it may be hard for the manufacturer to be 100% sure without conducting very long term storage testing, which would be impractical to do before every product launch . This is why, for instance, when I worked in the lubricants industry, we generally had a nominal 5 yr shelf life for lubricating oils.  

Having said this, I've checked my shampoo and soap and there is no shelf life limit or expiry date stated. There is of course a batch number, but that is something different: a quality control measure so that, in the event of a problem being discovered, the batch concerned can be identified and possibly recalled.   

[John Cuthber]

Hypochlorite bleach definitely expires.

Also, are you aware of this sort of thing?
https://www.rd.com/list/beauty-products-packaging-symbols/
 

[Endy0816]

For food and drugs, like for the fluoride in toothpaste, can also be required by regulations.