Silicone "shelf life"

They're probably recommending a year on the Diva Cup because people won't sterilize or wash it properly. I've never seen any indication that the Diva Cup is anything other than silicone (neither, apparently, has the FDA or several other regulatory bodies).

i have never seen a shelf life on a silicone toy. But then i have not looked for one either.

Could it be that the Diva Cup has a suggested shelf life because, once it has been boiled a certain number of times to sterilize it (like you are supposed to do at the end of each menstrual cycle), it might not hold its shape -- and thus its seal -- as well as needed, given its purpose?

That's the best answer I could come up with anyway. I am pretty confident that Diva Cups are indeed made of pure silicone because you can actually boil them. While silicone has an extremely high melting point, composites typically do not, so they tend to melt when boiled. My take, anyway . . .

I've never heard anything about Diva Cups having a shelf life. I've heard with proper care and cleaning they can last for many years, not one. I had the same one for three or four years before accidentally melting it by forgetting about it while boiling it. Which yes, suggested that there are composites. It wasn't a disgusting puddle but it was very scorched. Then again, that could have been the horrible pan it was in. I used a cheap set that I had been given. Thank goodness I have nice ones now.
I'm wondering if CaptainBunnyKilla is right about people not taking care of them being the reasoning behind the one year.

Silicone doesn't degrade with mild heat. It will burn at high temperatures, but up to about 500F it doesn't change at all. Liquid silicones can have a shelf life, because they may start to polymerize, but once it's solidified the only concern during normal use (barring physical damage) would be keeping it clean and disinfected. Sterile materials will have a date printed on them that indicates when the producer will no longer guarantee sterility - that might be it.

I'm sure the Diva Cup company is just saying that to protect themselves against any potential lawsuits, although I can't think of how it would happen. I'm not suspicious of the company, I'm sure it's just a legal issue, since they're selling a "sanitary" product.

Anecdotally, I know lots of people use them for years and years with out a problem. (Check the livejournal Diva Cup community for proof of this.) I've had mine for 4 or 5 years and it's still going strong, though it is a little discolored at this point. The material itself isn't showing any signs of degradation.

I hadn't heard of DivaCups having a shelf life. One of the reasons I bought mine was all the talk of its long life. :/

I very much HOPE that my silicone toys don't have a shelf life... :/

However, I agree with most of the responses so far and the assessment of the DivaCup warning as a "CYA" disclaimer. If silicone toys had a shelf life, it'd probably be mentioned in Eden's material information and members here would say something about it in reviews of silicone toys.

That's bizarre about the Diva Cups...

I distinctly remember shopping around for those kinds of products about 10 years ago. I bought a keeper at the time which was made of rubber and had a shelf-life. The comparable product was the Diva Cup which was more expensive but advertised as lasting a long time (like maybe 10 years).

Weird, right? I wonder if they changed their materials, or maybe just their marketing..

You learn something new every day!! I have NEVER heard of such a thing.

I've had my Diva Cup for 2 years and it is awesome. Haven't had any problems boiling it yet.