Andrews Salts - Weird Container - Why?

[joko]

can anyone tell me the purpose of Andrews salts container?

Why is it not just a screw top?

why do you have to peel back the foil - but not remove it, instead, fold it over the edges and then replace the lid.

i realise the foil then adds a slightly tighter seal, but why do that at all, when the flip top opening is not exactly airtight?

surely a simple screwtop would be fine?

is there a reason for what they've done?

thanks

[Mamyalynne]

Probably more cost effective to them based on the price of packaging.

[bhg481]

It's a long time since I had Andrews and I haven't even seen the current containers but I remember the crystals used to "set" in the tin (with a pry-off top - I go that far back) after a long time. Perhaps the new system is designed to prevent this happening.

[douglas9401]

If that's their masterplan, bhg, I'm afraid it's a non-starter.

[Bathsheba]

I remember being given this by my mum....she insisted it had to be drunk while still fizzing.....;)

Baths
x x x

[MargoTester]

I buy Sainsburys Health Salts in a round tub that you can actually get a spoon in! £3.30 for 227 g (£1.45 per 100g) as opposed to Andrews At £6.00 for 250g (£2.40 per 100g) has exactly the same effect.

[dannyk13]

To prevent the salts getting damp

[bookbinder]

bhg, the crystals still set in the container (can't really call it a tin) if you don't store it well away from steamy air. We used to keep ours in a kitchen cupboard above the hotplate, but the contents still set solid, so now the salts live in the sideboard. I don't know what the maker's reason is for coming up with the elliptical design of the container, but it just allows a spoon to be shoved in and scraped along. Maybe it's got something to do with the shape of a teaspoon?

[frugalfred]

danny is correct - one of the constituents is hygroscopic - i.e. it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere.

[Mamyalynne]

Joko's query is - why not a screw top. I still maintain it is cost.

[dannyk13]

Probably a screw cap would tear the foil

[bhg481]

I don't think a screw top would make much difference. As I said earlier, I go back to the days of a tin with a pry-off top which would have been airtight, but the salts still set after a while because of their hygroscopic nature. Just opening the tin every now and again to use the contents was enough to let-in a change of air with new moisture.

[Mamyalynne]

I have obviously misunderstood the question , I saw 'Why not a screw top' - I didn't see 'Wouldn't a screw top work better at keeping moisture out'.

Apologies.

[bhg481]

You're right Mamy, we have drifted off the subject. A screw top probably would be more expensive and I don't think it would have a marked effect on the keeping properties.
I Googled "Andrews" and one reference gave the shelf life as 5 years in a tin and 3 years in a plastic.

[Mamyalynne]

Not that we ever bothered about dates much did we?

[bhg481]

Still don't. I expect the shelf life indicated the time after which you couldn't even get it out of the container because it was too hard.
I actually made my own once, in the days when you could buy chemicals from a chemist's shop.

[Tilly2]

We used to just hack a lump off with the teaspoon and hope for the best.

[joko]

thanks all - well the question is kind of that

i mean obviously they need to be kept dry - they fizz, so any dampness would 'set them off' somewhat

so thats why i would think a screwtop would be more successful that a container that is not airtight and requires folding back the foil in a haphazard fashion and stuffing the lid back on
i imagine plenty of people just rip the foil off

my question is really - why make it so you have to fold the foil? why use that as an extra bit of airtightness etc?
why not just put them in a proper airtight tub - screw top or otherwise?

it just seems that something that is - of all things - very dependent on having no excess moisture, be put into a pretty rubbish tub.

i would say, i have never had a problem with moisture getting into it - except once with a very old tub at the back of the cupboard.

so it seems to 'work' ... i just dont know why ... what made them sit in the office and come up with that idea and design - it seems to defy logic really

[RATTER15]

I was vurtually addicted to the stuff when I was in my teens and early 20s, I had to stop drinking it as it was causing stomach problems.
But yes, had to drink it whilst still fizzing!