Do Car Shampoos Go Bad?

[Marc08EX]

I would never think that car shampoos would go bad because they're just shampoos. So I've been stocking up gallon jugs of Meguiar's Gold Class whenever they go on sale.

The jug I purchased about 3 years ago has very thin consistency and it doesn't produce that much suds anymore. I went to my in-laws last Christmas and he has a new jug of Gold Class. I used it to wash their cars and the shampoo was very thick and viscous. And it produces a lot of suds! My Duragloss shampoo is also starting to be thin in consistency as well.

So do you guys know if shampoos go bad?

[Stegs]

I would never think that car shampoos would go bad because they're just shampoos. So I've been stocking up gallon jugs of Meguiar's Gold Class whenever they go on sale.

The jug I purchased about 3 years ago has very thin consistency and it doesn't produce that much suds anymore. I went to my in-laws last Christmas and he has a new jug of Gold Class. I used it to wash their cars and the shampoo was very thick and viscous. And it produces a lot of suds! My Duragloss shampoo is also starting to be thin in consistency as well.

So do you guys know if shampoos go bad?


i think they do, ive noticed it with mine but i live where its cold. I brought my soaps inside this winter and the seem to be doing better

None of mine are 3 years old, but they are 1 year old and still doing just fine. This summer im going to make a point of using up my old stuff, that way i can switch over to mequires hyperwash or something like that

[Setec Astronomy]

I've had them where they start to grow something in them, kind of gray stringy stuff that will clog up screens in foam guns. I've never had any problem with Meguiar's soaps, although I do have an old gallon of #62 that I've never used and the bottle is opaque so I don't know.

I've never experienced thinning with a soap, but surely have with polishes and liquid LSP's.

[Desertnate]

I'm beginning to think three years might be the tipping point. I too had a jug of the same product do the exact same thing. I can't remember how long ago I purchased it, but it had to be at least three~four years ago

I also just killed off a bottle of DP Power Wash, which after two years was still going strong with great results. I've not had anything else in inventory go more than a year or so before I've used it all up.

[vobro]

Lol I just help my parents clean out their garage and found a gallon of Gold Class Shampoo and a gallon of Final Inspection. These two have to be 8-11 years old, both smelled ok and seemed the right viscosity. I always enjoyed GC and figured what the hay and used it on my wheels,worked fine. Also forgot how much I really liked using #34.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

I hope not! I still have half a gallon of D112 Super Soap.

[FUNX650]

-Cleaning supplies, including those designated for
automotive use, can degrade over time and lose
their effectiveness.

-Even the plastic containers they’re stored in
may also affect their formulas over time.

•This phenomenon can be blamed on entropy:
"The inevitable and steady deterioration of a system..."
And it affects everything under the Sun!


Note:
The usual recommendations, from ASTM testing
for car shampoos, are:
~18 months, once opened; ~36 months unopened.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule.


Bob

[Setec Astronomy]

The usual recommendations, from ASTM testing
for car shampoos

ASTM tests car shampoos?

[FUNX650]

ASTM tests car shampoos?

"ASTM's soaps and polishes standards are
instrumental in the preparation and evaluation
of surfactant products that are usually used in
conjunction with water for washing, cleaning,
and polishing.

Such products include soaps, detergents, bleaches,
waxes, and polishes. These standards help identify
the certain physical and chemical properties of soaps
and polishes such as particle size, pH, cloud point,
recoatability, glide adhesion, freeze/thaw resistance,
cleaning efficiency, and foaming properties among others.

These soaps and polishes standards help guide product manufacturers in the proper methods of producing and
testing such products to ensure quality towards safe use".

Source: ASTM International

************************************************


Bob

[4u2nvinmtl]

I noticed the CG soaps separate quickly but the Meg's Hyper Wash seems fine.

[Setec Astronomy]

"ASTM's soaps and polishes standards...

Yeah, I found that after I posted, but I don't see anything that addresses shelf life requirements or shelf life testing. Of course that could be in one of the more general standards but with a quick look I didn't see any that were even candidates for that.

[Eldorado2k]

@Bob. Do you think UV light plays a big factor when it comes to how liquid synthetic wax/sealant is bottled & stored? Would a dark UV protected bottle be a much better idea as opposed to a clear bottle?

[Lt1xL82]

Based on non-scientific studies, hear-say, rumor, personal opinion and a very small amount of common sense, here's what I do:

I store car care chemicals in the walk-in kitchen pantry. (We have central heat and air conditioning.) There is a window in the pantry so the chemicals are placed on the lowest level shelves with a really classy (not) piece of cardboard shielding them from daylight.

I'll leave a few of the high use chemicals in the garage only when the temperatures are really moderate.

[SeanChav]

I have a gallon of DP xtreme foam soap that I bought second hand from a local detail buddy cuz he said it didn't foam good outta his foam cannon.... so I bought it from him becuase I've used a sample of the soap before In my foam gun and it worked great....welllll low and behold I used it the other day and I had a totally different experience then the last time.

I used 2oz in my quart foam gun, just like the last time, and even on setting 0 it barely produced soapy water....very disappointed in it, idk if it's a bad batch or something but it's a very different soap then the last time I used it

[FUNX650]

@Bob. Do you think UV light plays a big factor when it comes to how liquid synthetic wax/sealant is bottled & stored? Would a dark UV protected bottle be a much better idea as opposed to a clear bottle?

Basically...
Light/"types" of light...including visible
and UV...are determined by "wave-lengths":
Color-range(s), as it were.

Accordingly:
Low-intensity, low-frequency hues of yellow,
orange, or red—Brown/Amber—blocks out
some (visible) light-waves and the lower
frequency (UV) light-waves.

Brown/Amber, therefore, is the best "color-range".
This allows for some container transparency,
while still blocking out harmful UV light.


Bob