So i purchased a toothpaste tube of Oatey pipe joint compount #31226. After two years I'm ready to unseal it (its still sealed) for a DIY home job. My question is does this stuff ever go bad i.e. lose its sealant properties? I can't seem to find any clear expiration date on the tube.

Furthermore, this to me begs the question...

If pipe joint compound actually did go bad, wouldn't there be all kinds of leaks mysteriously opening up among the pipes of the world?

Which leads me full circle to the original question:

Does pipe joint compound go bad?

Thank you!

pipe dope , over time, separates.
so I suppose if the tube is still plenty pliable and you can squish it back and forth to get it into its intended form, it is still good.

It can "dry out", but mixing some linseed oil into it will regenerate it.

? even permatex #12 ?

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

if permatex #12 dries out, you have to refresh it with U-232.
then it is good for 68.2 years.

I was a kid in high school when my neighbor Plumber told me that he would put me to work when I was 16. He used to purchase 100 lb tin of Putty and he would make his own pipe dope mixing it with Linseed Oil and cutting oil. It worked on gas and galvanized pipe back then. Technology has changed all of that. Later he used a dark green dope but I don't think it was Rector Seal, I think it was Leak Tite. Could be wrong though.