How long does it take for soda to go flat?
Fizz. Either you like it or you hate it.
If you are in a camp of hatred, it can be frustrating when it comes to choosing drinks. Why is everything so dark?
Luckily I’m here to tell you how to enjoy your favorite sodas without fizz.
To decarbonate the soda, use a clean paper towel and wrap your soda in 5 seconds. Other ways to make a soda flat include pouring it over crushed ice, using a wide glass, and slightly heating the soda in a pan. Heat in a pan is best for reducing fizzing in bulk.
Create Nucleation Sites
Any imperfection in your glass or bottle causes carbon dioxide leaks.
The blisters formed into imperfection and then rose to the top of the soda and fled into the air. That’s why you see the lines of bubbles rising from seemingly random places in a glass of soda.
The process by which these bubbles form is known as nucleation, and imperfections are areas of nucleation.
One way to make soda go faster is to increase the number of nucleation sites. If more bubbles form, CO2 can escape quickly.
How long does it take for soda to go flat?
Anything with a rough, bumpy surface is an excellent candidate for nucleation. Sugar, paper towels, and ice are the most common options.
Mentos is a prime example of this. You’ll probably know what happens when you put mentos in soda… but I’ll leave this video here if you don’t leave it.
Stick a paper towel in the soda to go flat
The easy way, no-mess, and my personal favorite!
- Pour your soda into a glass, leaving an inch of room on top. This will prevent any wasting
- Take one paper towel and fold it into quarters
- Attach a paper towel to the soda with an open edge at the bottom (this means that the coke can penetrate the paper and reach the surface). Hold it, so that it does not sink into the glass. Soda will be delicious
- When the soda stops shining, remove the paper towel and taste. It will be nice and flat!
- Repeat a second time if there is still fizz left
I had to repeat this process twice to get a real soda flat, but it worked well and was very fast. What’s worse is the words that I can spell I often mistype.
Pour the soda over ice (good for when you’re at a restaurant)
By itself, this is unlikely to completely dissolve soda, but it will significantly reduce fading. And a direct option if you are in a restaurant or other setting where some of the different options will make you look unusual.
Pouring a drink over ice instead of adding ice to the drink will work better because the pouring action will help release some CO2.
Pouring cold drinks over ice helps eliminate carbon when other methods are not an option
The more you can reach the crushed ice, the better. The more ice that comes in contact with soda, the faster it will release carbonate.
Add sugar to the soda
Adding a teaspoon of sugar to your soda is a sure way to flatten it quickly.
This is easy to do on the go because all you need is a bag of sugar.
Add sugar (any powder) to soft drinks as soon as you remove it
The soda will boil vigorously for a few seconds, so it is best to do this in a container with a spare chamber at the top.
This is not my favorite method because extra sugar makes the drink more delicious. My dentist probably has nightmares about this.
When you are at home you can filter the sugar again, but it still leaves a remarkably sweet drink.
Add heat (ready to remove fizzing mass)
Add heat (ready to remove fizzing mass)
Pour the soda into the pan and heat it on the stove.
Use a pan over low heat to fill the decarbonate soft drinks in bulk
When your soda is warm, carbon dioxide can slow down. As it heats up, CO2 is released more quickly and the soda becomes flat faster.
Stirring the soda as it heats up will speed up the process even further. If you have a whisk this is the PERFECT tool.
When you finish it, put the soda back in the fridge to cool. Or if you are in a hurry, 10 minutes in the fridge should do the trick.
Top tip: ginger ale or warm, decarbonated cola is very cool if you have a bad stomach.
This is a good way to try to extract as much soda at one time, but be careful not to change the taste slightly. So make a small batch to see if you like the taste before pouring all your stash.
Shake soda
Use movement to remove fizz
This is an old-fashioned way, but if you don’t do it right, it can be VERY dirty.
You will need a bottle or container with a lid strong enough that you can move it safely without removing the cover.
It’s hard to pull in a full bottle of soda, so it works best if you have somewhere in the bottle. Warm the soda, this method will speed up.
Performing controlled movements:
Brushing soda to apply it is effective when you are outdoors and looking for a quick and dirty trick
- Ideally, start with a ¾ full bottle of soda
- Shake soda briefly (1-2 shake at first)
- Touch the outside of the bottle
- open the cap slightly until you hear a ‘woosh’ sound
- You can also open the cap and wait 2-3 seconds to release all the gas.
- Tap the bottle again to release any excess fuel
- Close the lid and repeat the process until you reach the desired loosening
You can gradually increase the amount of movement/power of the tap as the soda becomes a little fizzy. But it’s best to be careful at first to make sure you don’t get an explosion.
BE VERY CAREFUL when dealing with a full bottle of soda.
How long does it take for soda to go flat?
Soda is very rich in CO2 gas. The gas is thrown into the liquid at very high pressure, and when the bottle/can is closed the gas is locked inside.
But liquids do not like to hold so much gas. As soon as you open the bottle, CO2 starts to run away. That is what the ‘WHOOSH’ sound is best known for opening a new soda bottle.
CO2 will continue to evaporate until it is completely gone, leaving the soda de-fizzed, uncarbonated, and flat.
How long does it take for a soda to clear up?
Once you have opened the soda bottle, CO2 will start to leak slowly. If you store your soda in the fridge this process will take 2-4 days. If you leave the soda out on the side it will take 1-2 days.
When you heat soda, CO2 can slow down, and it quickly goes down.
Note that these are just estimates. How fast a soda will go can be influenced by many factors such as how well the first bottle was sealed, how old the soda is, and how big the bottle is.
Leaving the lid on the soda will speed up the process even further. If you can’t wait for the day, use one of the above methods to get the job done faster.