String Shelf Life

[skykomishone]

Talking about new unused strings. It’s not quite like buying a head of lettuce. But, freshness?
I guess it Depends on humidity, air components (proximity to pollutants or salt), how stored, etc.
I've purchased lots of string sets over the years, and I'm into getting a deal. But, strings don't usually come with a
'Best if used by' date.
I've found some indication of corrosion on 'new' strings in a set. I knew when I got the strings they were old stock.
But didn’t know how old.

I think string makers should include a date of manufacture.
I think it would be helpful to know.

[John A.]

IME experience, if they're kept in a sealed package shelf life is infinite. I keep loose/unsealed strings in a ziploc bag, and they remain un-corroded for many years. If I were to find a corroded string in a NOS sealed package, I'd assumed it was corroded from the get-go via a manufacturing defect.

[nyc chaz]

I'm of the opinion that strings don't have an expiration date.I have had strings i bought years ago and they felt and sounded fine.I recently found 2 sets of D'addario 9's from the 80's while cleaning out a closet in my attic.Put them on my Hamer Studio and they sounded like new.Certainly the conditions you mentioned like humidity will effect strings if left out in the open air.

[sgosnell]

I keep opened strings in ziplock bags with silica gel packets, all inside a tightly covered plastic container. I have scads of those packets, just from keeping the ones that come in all sorts of products. The strings will rust from the humidity here if not kept that way. Strings I buy new come in sealed packages, so I don't bother to do anything with those. If they came in paper, the way strings used to, I would worry about rust, but I don't know of any that do these days. I don't know everything about every string brand, though.

[wintermoon]

some years ago someone gave me about a dozen sets of John Pearse phosphor bronze strings that were a lighter gauge than I use. this was in the pre plastic pack days, I just set them aside on the corner of my computer desk and didn't look at them for a long time. then one day I decided to open a pack and they were ruined w black corrosion spots.

[Spook410]

When I lived in Houston I kept loose strings in a zip lock bag with a desiccate pack. Don't bother with it in drier climates and haven't seen a problem.

[sgosnell]

It's an undeniable fact that some places on earth are more humid than others.