Sealing mylar bags is not very difficult, but if you mess it up once you will only get to know three months later to find everything has gone bad.
To seal up the bags, you are basically melting plastic together with heat, that’s it.
People use multiple stuff available around the house to seal the bags like a hair straightener, an iron, or even a proper sealer if they’re doing this regularly.
All of them work fine once you practice exactly how it is done.
If you seal all you mylar bags at home regularly, get an impulse sealer.
This is the tool that businesses use because they just work better than just a normal straightener or an iron.
To seal it, put the bag in, press the handle down, wait a few seconds while it heats up and cools back down, and your bag is locked.
The basic impulse sealer costs about thirty dollars, whereas the fancy commercial ones cost a lot more and are not even needed at home.
The commercial ones are only used when you are sealing hundreds of bags a week.
Even if you don’t plan to get a proper sealer, get an iron and here’s how it will work:
- Turn off the steam function
- Set it somewhere between medium and high heat
- Put your bag flat on the kitchen counter
- Put a cloth or parchment paper over the part you want to seal
- Press down hard while you slide the iron across
- Go slow. The cloth stops you from melting or burning the bag
How Do You Actually Do It? It Is Easy!
Avoid filling the bag all the way to the place it will lock.
Leave a few inches empty or you won’t have anywhere to make your seal.
If you are storing food long-term, toss an oxygen absorber packet in before you seal it.
These things are filled with iron powder that basically eats up all the oxygen left in the bag.
Less oxygen means your food lasts way longer, be it months or years.
Push out all the extra air.
You do not need to squeeze out every last bit, but get rid of the big bubbles.
Prefer using an oxygen absorber, it will take care of whatever is left.
Do not rush through sealing it, you need to heat it evenly across the whole opening.
Wait for it to cool down before you touch it.
The plastic will still be soft and can pull apart easily right after you seal it.
Try It and Test It, Make Sure You Did It Perfectly!
Pinch it on the both ends of the bag to feel if the heat has sealed the bag properly.
It should be smooth and solid all through the other end and if you feel there is a spot where the heat did not work, you will have to heat it again.
To test if it had property worked, pull the sides apart gently.
If it stays strong it means the bag has been properly sealed.
But, if it is opening again, use the heat to seal it again.
When you use oxygen absorbers, the bag should look like it is all squeezed.
If it stays puffy, either your seal has a leak or you did not get the oxygen absorber right.
Practice with empty bags first.
Different bags need different heat levels and timing i.e food packaging, takeaway packaging and CBD packaging will require different heat levels.
Figure that out before you’re dealing with fifty dollars worth of coffee beans or CBD products.
