Can You Reuse Mylar and Vacuum Bags?
Vacuum roll bags can be washed and resealed; mylar can be reopened and resealed a few times. When to reuse and when to toss.
Vacuum and mylar bags aren't cheap in bulk, so reusing them is worth doing where it's safe. The rules differ a little between the two.
Vacuum sealer bags
Roll and pre-cut vacuum bags can be reused if you clean them properly:
- Reusable: bags that held dry goods, cooked leftovers, cheese or produce. Wash in warm soapy water (or the top rack of the dishwasher, mouth down), dry fully, cut off the old seal, and reseal.
- Toss instead: bags that held raw meat or fish, or greasy or strongly flavoured food. These are hard to sanitise and can harbour bacteria or odours. Don't reuse those.
Each reseal costs a little bag length, since you cut below the old seal and make a new one lower down.
Mylar bags
Mylar bags can be reopened and resealed several times. Cut the bag open just below the old heat seal, use the contents, then reseal lower down with a fresh line. The bag gets a bit shorter each time but the barrier is undamaged. A new oxygen absorber is needed each time you reseal for long-term storage, since the old one is spent.
Cut low, reseal fresh. Both bag types reseal by making a new heat line below the old one. Leave enough headspace when you first fill a bag if you expect to reopen it.
When to throw a bag out
Retire any bag that is punctured, split, badly stained, or won't hold a vacuum or seal. A bag that won't seal reliably isn't protecting anything, and reused bags eventually reach that point.
The verdict
Reuse vacuum bags that held dry or cooked food by washing, drying and resealing them, but toss any that held raw meat or grease. Mylar reseals a few times by cutting below the old seal, with a fresh absorber each time. Retire any bag that's punctured, stained or won't hold a seal.
Vacuum bags can be washed, dried and resealed if they held dry or cooked food, but toss any that held raw meat or grease. Mylar bags reseal a few times by cutting below the old seal, adding a fresh oxygen absorber each time. Discard any bag that's punctured, stained, or won't hold a vacuum or seal.
Frequently asked questions
Can you reuse vacuum sealer bags?
Often yes: wash and dry them, cut off the old seal and reseal, as long as they did not hold raw meat, greasy or strong-smelling food, which are hard to clean fully. Reusing clean dry-goods bags saves money.
Can you reuse mylar bags?
Yes, if you leave enough length to cut off the old seal and reseal. Each reuse shortens the bag a little, so start with extra height. Inspect for pinholes, which ruin the oxygen barrier.
When should you not reuse a bag?
Do not reuse any bag that held raw meat, oily or pungent food, or one with a puncture or worn seal. For anything going into long-term storage, a compromised bag is not worth the risk.
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