Does Toilet Paper Expire? The Great TP Debate
Jul 14, 2009
I’ve read some interesting posts recently about whether or not toilet paper has an expiration date (who would have thought?!). Most sites say no, of course toilet paper does not expire. However, there are also plenty of 
arguments for the opposing side which claim, yes, toilet paper can in fact expire at some point (they claim it loses its softness/effectiveness overtime, etc.) I also read on a product review site that only select, 1-ply toilet papers can expire, which is why they are cheaper and used in high traffic areas.
Now I know much of this sounds absurd, but there some surprising products that actually do have expiration dates – such as bottled water (it loses its nutrients over time), beer (More of a marketing ploy – Sam Adams first introduced a ‘Freshness’ date & others brewers soon followed suit), and makeup (due to bacteria growth).
To get to the bottom of this debate, I went to the King of Toilet Paper himself, Kenn Fischburg, author of the Toilet Paper Encyclopedia and President of our company,ToiletPaperWorld.com. Here’s what the King had to say: “Paper can last generations and will only lose effectiveness if it gets wet or moist. There is no set expiration date.”
There you have it, straight from The King – Toilet paper does NOT carry an expiration date. We are safe to continue buying toilet paper in bulk!
Respectfully beg to differ with your comment about bottled water. It has a expire date due to one state law.
You can get the rest of the info on my blog here.
http://shubsthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/08/bottled-water.html
PS Your site is great.
Hey Tom- thanks for the comment. We aren’t disagreeing with you- bottle water DOES come with an expiration date. It just seems kind of absurd, don’t you think? Love your blog!
[...] that if you have more of, you use more of. Its also not something you want to run out of and we know it doesn’t expire, so as long as you don’t have storage space dilemmas, it goes back to the simple principle of the [...]
you just might have too much time on your hands if you’re wondering about your toilet paper expiring LOL.
I am also asking that to myself if toilet papers expire. What if these papers was exposed to dirts can we still use them?
If paper has been allowed to become unsanitary, it is not recommended to be used as a toilet tissue. Store extra toilet paper in the plastic case that it came in to keep it from becoming dirty, or use an airtight plastic container for even more protection!
If TP expires, what exactly are the consequenses? I know what happens when milk goes bad because it happened to me last Saturday. I ended up using ALOT of expired TP that day. No adverse consequences as of yet.
- Travis
Even if toilet paper expires, it is still used by the people because they are not aware that toilet papers are expiring.
I think TP’s don’t have a expiry date. On my point of view.
Really? i couldn’t believe that toilet paper also has an expiration date…
didn’t think that this was possible
i would have never guessed that it would have, as it’s a non-perishable.
Ok! I just don’t understand all of this talk about toilet paper expiring. I am going to listen to the King on this one. I gues the next thing people are going to say is that notebook paper needs to be used before it expires. Lol!
The only difference is you don’t use notebook paper on your body!
Since I moved to SESAasia where toilet paper is a rarity and the accepted alternative is a good squirt with a hose and air dry I cant believe how dirty I feel when I use paper nowdays : )
What a debate! I will be sure to ask all my friends and get their views on it.
I’m glad that was clarified by the king. Like you we use to clean our dirt is so much not scary if you won or not but whether it matters much your daily profit.