FilamentFacts

Drying

How long does filament last / does it go bad?

By SSS

Published . Updated .

Do I need to dry filament, and how?

Filaments cited on this page

OrderFilamentMaterialDatasheetBuy
1Bambu Lab · PLA BasicPLADatasheet
Buy

Technical data sheet checked 14 October 2026 lists a nozzle of 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), a bed of 35–45 °C (95–113 °F), and blast-oven drying at 50 °C (122 °F) for 8 h. The row has no shelf-life cell. It is here because the question is usually about PLA, not because the sheet dates the spool.

2FormFutura · Premium ABS MedicalABSDatasheet
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Datasheet read 23 October 2026, date of issue 5 January 2026, says that stored properly the product has a shelf life of 24 months, at about 18–25 °C (64–77 °F), dry, dark, and below 15% humidity. Nozzle on the sheet is 235–260 °C (455–500 °F). This is that ABS sheet, not a general filament rule, and not a reason to print a device.

3Spectrum · ABS MedicalABSDatasheet
Buy

Datasheet read 23 October 2026 prints preparation date 06-04-2022 and says that stored properly the product has a shelf life of 24 months, in a dry room at about 18–25 °C (64–77 °F). Nozzle 235–255 °C (455–491 °F) and bed 100 °C (212 °F). The catalog safety certifications is empty. The 24 months is this sheet's storage line.

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Age, in this database, is not a column. Moisture is. Drying is the temperature question. Wet filament is how a spool shows it. Brittle filament is the snap on the way into the extruder. Storage is the box afterward. None of those pages prints a universal expiry.

The only month-counts read for this page

Bambu PLA Basic lists 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), a bed of 35–45 °C (95–113 °F), and blast-oven drying at 50 °C (122 °F) for 8 h, checked 14 October 2026. No shelf life is on that row. Formfutura Premium ABS Medical, datasheet checked 23 October 2026, says to store it at room temperature, dry and dark, humidity below 15%, recommended storage about 18–25 °C (64–77 °F), and that stored properly the product has a shelf life of 24 months. The sheet date of issue is 5 January 2026. Spectrum ABS Medical, read the same day, says a dry room at room temperature, recommended storage about 18–25 °C (64–77 °F), and a shelf life of 24 months. The preparation date printed on that sheet is 06-04-2022. Both disclaimers leave the use of the information with the customer. Quoting 24 months here is not a suggestion to print a medical part, and it is not a date you can stamp on a PLA spool. The medical limits are on medical and skin contact.

What the community says

a Reddit thread in r/ender3 and are about getting old filament out of a hotend. "Heat to 110" is the comment's wording, with no unit.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Shelf life is quoted only from sheets that print a number of months, and only for those products.
  • A printed part left outdoors is not rewritten as a spool expiry.

Cons

  • Almost every other spool in the catalog, including the PLA row above, has no published life.
  • No comments weighs a spool, dates a bag, or says the filament failed because of age alone.

Printer considerations

Printer limits

Sources & notes

Published . Updated .

Answer JSON · Markdown

Related questions

Related data

Questions

Can I treat 24 months as the life of any spool?

No. The 24 months is on the Formfutura Premium ABS Medical sheet, with humidity below 15% and storage around 18–25 °C (64–77 °F), and on the Spectrum ABS Medical sheet, stored in a dry room around 18–25 °C (64–77 °F). Bambu PLA Basic lists a drying cycle of 50 °C (122 °F) for 8 h and no shelf life. Wet filament and brittle filament are the failure modes this catalog can actually point at.

A thread says 10-year-old opened ABS. Did it print?

The titles on r/BambuLab and r/3Dprinting say that. Both were ingested 23 October 2026 with a score of 1 and zero comments.