Liquids In Caches Considered Harmful

[+wilsonjw]

I've now run across several caches that have been contaminated by liquid cache "swag". Temperatures here are below freezing part of the year, and are very hot in the late summer. These conditions, coupled with poorly sealed containers can generate a mess, particularly when the liquid in question is scented. Thoughts?

[+New England n00b]

Anything scented shouldn't be added due to hungry animals...

 

I've always had bad luck with liquid in caches I've found. Even DEET, though helpful, left a cache a greasy mess.

 

Out of respect for the cache hider and fellow finders, I don't trade in liquids. I might trade out, though.

[+JMBella]

I had a bad experiance with a perfume bottle in a cache once. Bubbles seem to be a pretty popular trade item and as long as it is factory sealed they should be fine but generally, I think any liquid should be off limits. New bottles of water on the other hand is OK in my book.

[GeoPup&ShelpieGirl]

For backpacking, I always put liquids in their 'leakproof' container, then a ziplock (or 2 - depending on mess potential). Maybe this would work in a cache. Some port would work for me ...just my 2k

[+SixTen]

Anything scented shouldn't be added due to hungry animals...

 

I've always had bad luck with liquid in caches I've found. Even DEET, though helpful, left a cache a greasy mess.

 

Out of respect for the cache hider and fellow finders, I don't trade in liquids. I might trade out, though.

I didn't know that...I have often thought about dropping of a new can of bug spray at a heavily wooded cache site...thanks for the info

[+New England n00b]

No prob - it wasn't aerosol though - one of those little DEET off bottles with the folding spout... Don't know how an aerosol might react. A full can might heat up and go kablooey in the cache on a hot summer day. Who needs a bomb squad?

[+kbraband]

During my second winter of geocaching, I opened a cache and discovered the remains of an exploded frozen Coca-cola. Eveything inside the cache was ruined. For that reason the WGA and other regional groups in northern climates have this warning on their websites. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page.)

[+nfa]

DEET will eat many types of plastic and is poisonous, and would be worse (from my point of view) for my 2 year old to find than a little knife.

 

In general, I think liquids of any sort are virtually guaranteed to leak in a cache at some point, and so I never place them, and tend to trade them out of caches I visit.

 

nfa

Edited September 6, 2004 by NFA

[+IV_Warrior]

I had a bad experiance with a perfume bottle in a cache once. Bubbles seem to be a pretty popular trade item and as long as it is factory sealed they should be fine but generally, I think any liquid should be off limits. New bottles of water on the other hand is OK in my book.

Water bottles can leak and trash the contents of a cache just like any other liquid and should also be avoided.