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Mice love an exposed Mylar bag!
Want to put your food storage in Mylar bags? Here are 8 tips for using Mylar bags for food storage.
1. Mylar bags are not rodent proof. Plan accordingly. Put your bags into rodent proof containers like plastic bins, buckets, or metal barrels.
2. Mylar bags are reusable. Unlike a #10 can, once you use the contents of a Mylar bag, you can wash that bag out and seal it again. To make the most of bag size, seal near the top and cut the bag open as close to your original seal as possible.
3. You can use a large bag to make smaller bags and all you need are some scissors and a clothing iron. One 5 gallon Mylar bag makes 4 bags that are approximately gallon sized. Or you can cut them even smaller and store individual meals or items like batteries.
4. Mylar bags come in a variety of thicknesses, each with its benefits and drawbacks. A 7 mil bag is really thick and sturdy, but not very flexible if you’re wanting to line a container with it. 3 mil are really thin and flexible. For storing my own food I use 4.5 mil or higher.
5. Bags thinner than 4 mil may let light through them in addition to being very thin. They’ll probably need to be stored in a container.
6. You can make your own bags from recycled Mylar bags that held commercially processed foods.
7. Sealing a Mylar bag is easy with the right heat source. Commercial impulse sealers are ideal, but expensive. You can also use a clothing iron, hair straightener, or for smaller sized bags you can use the heat strip on a vacuum sealing machine like a FoodSaver.
8. Don’t forget to label your bags with the contents, date packed, expiration date, and cooking instructions! You don’t want a bunch of mystery silver bags in your storage. You can write right on the bag with a sharpie or use a stick on label.
