# Using 25 Year Old Cotton Balls and Swabs.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-25-year-old-cotton-balls-and-swabs/852716>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 28, 2020, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-25-year-old-cotton-balls-and-swabs/852716 "2020-04-28T11:22:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-25-year-old-cotton-balls-and-swabs/852716/1 "2020-04-28T11:22:18Z")

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I just recently found an old box of cotton balls and swabs in my basement. They were obviously put there by my mother. My mother died in January 1996, so they must be at least 25 years old, maybe even 30.

Anyway they appear to be in pristine condition. And I could really use them now, especially the cotton balls.

Are they safe to use?

I know cotton comes from a plant. And organic materials do deteriorate over time. So you can see my confusion.

:):):):):):)🙂

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**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-25-year-old-cotton-balls-and-swabs/852716/2 "2020-04-28T12:04:11Z")

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Cellulose should be stable, assuming it was not exposed to moisture, acid, etc.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-25-year-old-cotton-balls-and-swabs/852716/3 "2020-04-28T12:38:44Z")

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If they’ve been kept dry and avoided dirt and dust all those years they should be fine. Cotton is pretty stable stuff as long as it’s kept dry.

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**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-25-year-old-cotton-balls-and-swabs/852716/4 "2020-04-28T15:26:15Z")

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Unless you plan on ingesting them with disinfectant, you should be fine.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-25-year-old-cotton-balls-and-swabs/852716/5 "2020-04-28T15:31:58Z")

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Do you have any cotton clothes, sheets, towels, etc., that are very old? Maybe not, but it will last. The cotton fibers are almost pure cellulose and they’ve been washed and bleached before being made in other products.

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**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-25-year-old-cotton-balls-and-swabs/852716/6 "2020-04-28T15:37:26Z")

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I would test the swabs to make sure the cotton stays on the stick.