Tried my luck with the 02 absorbers and mylar bags yesterday and was amazed at the results. Couldn't believe how much 02 these absorbers would consume and how much the gallon mylar bags would hold. Bagged up rice, pintos, sugar, flour, and noodles with great results. Ran out of food before running out of bags.

Got to agree with you kevster, it has come a long way.

Checked the bags today and they were drawn in nice and tight. Stowed them in pails with lids.

Thanks again HP!

Sometimes I KNOW we are over cautious, but hey; better safe than sorry. It's a lot of fun to do a big packing, you feel so productive! lol

Since we are talking about food saver and vacuum packing.
I take my food and then wrap it in plastic after that.
I do check them from time to time to make sure the seal holds.
Food with sharp edges doesn't work because they do poke a hole in the bag and you lose the vacuum.
I use mason jars for those.
I have had powered food like flower or powered eggs not seal because the power got in the way of the seal. If I think there is going to be a problem I will use a coffee filter to cover the top to keep the seal from getting dusty.
Yes I put the food in metal cans if at all possible. If a rodent can smell then they will try to eat through the bag.
I use mason jars when possible and use the food safer to pull a vacuum if at all possible. I go the extra mile and dip the ends on wax because of a possiblity of getting wet.
Low and behold a broken pipe got lots of my preps wet and what saved my supplies was that I went the extra mile to dip the ends on wax.
Now when it comes to food that I will eat I will not take any chances! I will go that extra mile and do it right because my health is important.

I dug up some old preps that were done old school and I was glad that my life didn't depend on them because most of them were no good! Now I don't worry about it because they are done right!

Don't cut corners when storing food, because if SHTF you need to stay healthy and got get food poisoning


Kevin

@ HP
Hi lady, there may have once been a period when I would have thought overcaution was an issue but it is much better to have something you don't need than something you don't have. I am not talking about hoarding of course. I'd prefer to call it stocking with expiration dates shown visibly. I seen a few of the hoarder shows and still find it hard to believe people live like that. Ugh! We are much more practical. I haven't done my homework yet but you could have written a book on the subject of food storage. If not; you should! Thanks

@ kevster

Hey fella, you could make some noise in a book also. I was relieved when I found out that you weren't caught in a river flood; which was my first impression. Still though, the water damage to the house, the aggravation, all the work and care you put into the preps and having to salvage what is salvageable must have been a helluva chore. My preps are in a similar position with sched 40 pvc piping all around. We have a sump pump and a large area for water to spread but.......?

My first bags and after thinking about my bagging of egg noodles; may have been a hamburger short of a happy meal kind of thinking. I figure macaroni should be ok?

Herbalpagan wrote:Sometimes I KNOW we are over cautious, but hey; better safe than sorry. It's a lot of fun to do a big packing, you feel so productive! lol

PS. You were absolutely right! Especially for a first timer dealing with the bags; smugly showing a skeptical fiancee about the success of the operation! A new believer! Lol!

First timer checking in.

I just completed my first adventure into mylar bag storage. I used 2 gallon mylar bags, 500ml O2 absorbers and used white rice as my first experiment. I put a 50lb bag of rice into 3 bags. I dropped in 4 O2 absorbers and sealed them up and put them in the freezer. After a few days 1 of the bags is all sucked down and you can see the rice grains through the bag, the other 2 are still loose.

I tried to get as much air out as possible before final sealing and I think they were all similar. Are they alright? Did I not get a good seal on 2 of them? Can I open them up, toss in some mew absorbers and try again? Do I need to start all over?

Thanks!
Matt

you could do that. However, I wuldn't bother. Your rice is free from pests by being in the mylar, allso free from moisture, light and for the most part, air. It doesn't have to be sucked down to have most of the air removed. You should be fine!

Thanks HP. I was just worried that it didn't suck down because I had a hole in the bag, thus allowing entrance of pests, air and moisture.

Matt

I am brand new to the idea of using Mylar bags. I have read a lot on how to use the bags. But, while I was looking at a site with pictures of filling mylar bags, I saw something unexpected (at least to me). From all the Mylar bags that I see (food bags like chips, snack foods, etc.), they always have the silver inside. Well, the site I saw had a perfectly clear bag inside the bucket, and called it a Mylar bag. Does Mylar come in both silver and clear? Is the silver added in order to print on the bag (like a product ID, or design)? Newbie wanting to learn.

Mylar, as manufactured, is perfectly clear. The 'silver lining' is added to keep light out which helps in preserving freshness.