Recently bought new 5-gal. pails. If I treat the contents I intend to put into them with diatomaceous earth and bay leaves, do I also really need mylar bags? Can't find in No VA, and don't wish to wait for delivery from afar if can avoid it at this date.

Also, got pail of wheat not vacuum sealed. What do I need to do to this other than the above, or is that sufficient? How long will it keep without vacuum sealing?

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), September 13, 1999

Answers

Mylar is to protect food from any chemicals used in the making of the plastic pails, which could leach out into the food.

Try here: http://www.watertanks.com

They have the mylar, and I got mine in 5 days. Not too bad.

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), September 13, 1999.

Thanks, Dennis, but I guess my question still is this: if the pails are food grade, are the mylar bags still necessary?

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), September 13, 1999.

Even with a "food grade" designator, plastic IS ultimately a CHEMICAL compound. Most food items shipped in these buckets are NOT store LONG TERM.

IMHO, the mylar bags are good health insurance....

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), September 13, 1999.

Thanks again, Dennis. Went to that website and will order there.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), September 14, 1999.

I've always read the the Mylar was for an oxygen barrier. O2 will leach through a plastic bucket, and if you are using O2 absorbers you won't by oxygen free for long without the mylar. If you are storing something like soybeans, which deteriorate fast with oxygen exposure, you need to get rid of the oxygen. If you're storing wheat, your main worries are bugs and moisture. Removing oxygen takes care of bugs, but so does DE. Mylar is plastic itself, so it doesn't seem to me that it's an improvement over food-grade buckets. Just telling you what I've heard...

-- Shimrod (shimrod@lycosmail.com), September 14, 1999.