If you found a mystery bottle of salt water behind your couch—toss it. It’s not worth the side-eye from your garbage can. If you deliberately collected it for a project, write the date on the bottle and decide: you’ve got about 6 months before it starts smelling, and about 2 years before it becomes a biohazard curiosity. After that, it’s just weird decor.
Oh, and one more thing: never store salt water in a metal bottle. The salt will corrode it, turning your water into a rusty, metallic mess. (Yes, I learned that the hard way. My water bottle looked like a prop from a horror movie.) So stick with glass or food-grade plastic, and please label it. Your future self—and your house guests—will thank you.
Now go check that bottle you forgot in your backpack. I’ll wait. 🐚
