Can you use expired floor cleaner? How to store it properly

Quick answer: better not. After the expiry date on the pack, floor cleaner may clean less effectively and change smell, colour or separate, and the manufacturer no longer guarantees its original quality. Use it up before it expires and store it properly so it keeps its quality.

Where’s the expiry date?

It’s printed on the pack, usually with the production date and batch number. For example, SPY Floor Cleaner has a shelf life of 3 years from the production date.

Signs to throw it out, even before expiry

• An odd smell, very different from when you bought it.
• A clear change in colour.
• Separation or lumps at the bottom that don’t mix when shaken.
• A swollen or cracked can, or a cap left open for a long time.

Storing it properly

1. Close the cap tightly after each use.
2. Keep it somewhere dry, cool and out of direct sunlight.
3. Don’t pre-mix a bucket to use over several days. Mix only what you need.
4. For big cans, decant into a small bottle for daily use and store the can separately.
5. Never pour it into drink bottles or unlabelled bottles. Keep out of reach of children.

Big can or small bottle?

• Large home, mopped daily: a big can is convenient and easy to use up in time.
• Small apartment, mopped less often: a small bottle means you always use fresh product.

SPY Floor Cleaner comes in a 3.6L can and a 950ml bottle.

Can you wash clothes with floor cleaner?

Better not. Floor cleaner is made for floor surfaces, not fabric, and doesn’t contain the softening and colour-care ingredients of laundry detergent. Use the right product for the job. See SPY’s laundry range on the SPY brand page.

Read more: Why floors feel sticky after mopping, and how to dilute correctly