How long can water be stored in plastic bottles?

I think a lot depends on whether the bottle is open or not.

It is usually recommended to drink the water from the bottle within 48 hours of opening, although sometimes the packaging states that you should drink it, for example, within 12 hours of opening. This is because opening a water bottle exposes the contents to bacteria.

However, the most important thing is how it is stored. It should be placed in a refrigerator or a cool, darkened room. It is not recommended to store water in warm and sunny places, because it affects its quality and taste, and high temperature accelerates the formation of harmful substances.

However, if you mean bottled water that has not yet been opened, usually there is a date on each bottle, by which the product should be consumed. In general, these are quite long expiration dates, which actually do not concern the water itself as much as the bottles and the durability of the material from which it was made. A lot of research has been done to find the answer to your question and it turns out that the material from which the bottles are made starts to release harmful substances such as formaldehyde, phthalates and antimony over time. If they get into the water, it becomes undrinkable. Therefore, it is worth remembering that the expiration date of water applies only to water in plastic bottles. Glass bottles are made of natural raw materials that guarantee our safety, because they do not let harmful substances into the water.