Contributors to this thread:
I'm guessing there are a lot of us that use a food savor. I hate the feeling of being wasteful by just using the bag once and throwing it away.
The problem I have is attempting to use them a second time. I have a good vacuum sealer (Weston). Most of them just won't seal a second time. If you are re-using them, what are your procedures to getting them to work.
Thanks, Bob
Buy the bags that have a resealable edge.
This area is wasted material.
This area is wasted material.
With the strip taped on the end the heat seal ends up here where the pen is pointing.
With the strip taped on the end the heat seal ends up here where the pen is pointing.
I've reused bags without any problems. One thing to keep in mind is you can only seal them from the ends, you can't seal them from the sides due to the orientation of the little air pockets.
Here's a little tip to save bag material. I've never liked how wasteful the sealer is with so much wasted bag material on the ends between the end of the bag and the heat seal. So to reduce the waste I cut a little strip of bag material and tape it to the end of the bag. I use drafting tape which has reduced stick and peels off easily and I think butcher paper tape works too. With the little strip taped to the end of the bag it will trigger the sealer and your heat seal will be much closer to the end of the bag and save a good 1/2" on the end of each bag. I reuse the little strip and tape numerous times on both ends of the bags and replace the tape when the stickiness eventually wears out. I always use the rolls rather than individual bags.
I've used the knock-off brand rolls with (mostly) decent success. Cost is typically a fraction of the name brand cost.
Reusing bags...and I thought I was a tight wad....grin
Hey, it's the ultimate recycle...good on you. I would worry about getting them clean enough and not having residual bacteria in there.
Thanks for the tips guys. It's not the cost, it's because we, as a society, are so darn wasteful, almost everything is considered "throwaway" these days.
I reuse the bags to vacuum seal back pack hunting gear, ie. para cord, game bags, extra socks, freeze dried food etc.
Once done if the seal doesn’t take no harm no foul. Just cut open and reseal. Really a space saver.
I do the same as Stoneman. Take the cardboard tube out of a roll of toilet paper and it really compresses down small.
Is it ok if there’s mouse dung in them? Will they still seal? Asking for Nick.
Cnelk is right. Foodsaver makes bags with a ziplock edge, that have an area for your accessory port. Put them down on a flat surface, place the accessory adaptor on the marked area in the bag, and suck the air out.
Unzip them when you are ready to access the food, wash them out, and re-use them (see link)
I just buy bags from Amazon at a fraction of the cost. I go through them like crazy. They aren’t quite as robust as Foodsaver but you will never have any issues out of them as long as you aren’t haphazardly throwing packages of meat around in your freezer. I have probably used 30 rolls of this stuff and will never buy the name brand stuff again.
I use the "Wevac Brand" on Amazon and they work great with my Weston Vacuum sealer. Much cheaper than name brand bags.
