Are You Storing Your Vitamins Wrong? Experts Say It Could Be Wasting Your Money

January means the start of a health kick for many Brits, and many January resolutions will involve investing in the ever-growing list of vitamins and supplements that TikTok videos and podcasts swear you *need*.

In the UK, over 7 in 10 (76%) of us now take a food supplement, but are you storing it in the right place?

Well the experts have revealed that a surprising number of people are unknowingly reducing the effectiveness of their vitamins, simply because they’re storing them in the wrong place.

This comes as households continue to feel the squeeze from rising costs. And vitamins and supplements aren’t cheap; most standard vitamins cost between £10-20 for a packet, and need replacing monthly. But according to storage experts, many are being wasted before they’re even consumed.

Online, health enthusiasts have been debating the best way to store supplements, with many surprised to learn they’ve been making a simple but costly mistake.

One common theme in discussions on Reddit and Facebook groups is that keeping vitamins and supplements in the kitchen or bathroom is a big mistake. Heat from ovens, radiators, or even sunny windowsills can degrade sensitive ingredients, while humidity from cooking or showers accelerates breakdown in capsules and powders.

In the r/organization thread, users swear that “the worst place to store medicine is in a bathroom medicine cabinet. It gets too hot and humid and degrades the pills.”

And over in r/Supplements, comments under a post about vitamins and heat warn that probiotics in particular are “sensitive” and creatine is “susceptible to breakdown by moisture”. One user explains that while heat doesn’t necessarily make them unsafe, it definitely makes them “less potent”.

The pharmaceutical experts agree, with one community pharmacy Facebook post warning to avoid “exposure to heat, humidity or light” which can cause tablets and capsules to degrade. They specifically recommend avoiding “bathroom cabinets”, “windowsills” and “anywhere near the stove” – all popular places people tend to keep their jars.

According to Rowland King, storage expert and Director at Quality Bottles, a supplement packaging supplier, this mistake is more widespread than people realise.

“Many people assume that if a vitamin is in a sealed bottle, it will last forever. In fact, heat, light, and humidity can all affect their potency”, says Rowland.

“Products like vitamin C, B-complex, fish oils, probiotics, and herbal tinctures are particularly sensitive. Even small increases in temperature, like the warmth radiating from an oven or radiator, can start to degrade them. Essentially, if you store your supplements in the kitchen, you’re throwing money away.”

Rowland recommends a simple fix:

“The best place for vitamins and supplements is a cool, dry cupboard, away from sunlight and heat sources. If you buy larger bottles, consider decanting smaller amounts into glass bottles or airtight containers to limit exposure each time you open the main container. This keeps the supplements potent for longer and helps avoid unnecessary waste.”

“Whether you’re stocking up on multivitamins, herbal capsules, or powdered supplements this January, correct storage means you’ll get the full benefit of the products you’ve paid for”, he says.

Rowland King is a storage expert and Director at Quality Bottles, a UK-based supplement packaging supplier. He has years of experience advising health, wellness, and beauty brands on how to preserve sensitive products through the right containers and storage strategies.

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