The products and services mentioned below were selected independent of sales and advertising. However, Don't Waste Your Money may receive a small commission from the purchase of any products or services through an affiliate link to the retailer's website.
I’m surprising no one by saying this, but groceries are expensive these days, and letting items go to waste is a move many of us just can’t afford. One item that’s usually so fast to go “bad” is soda. Namely, soda that comes in a 1- or 2-liter bottle. Flat soda is still drinkable, sure, but who wants that?
Fortunately for all of us, there’s a gadget that promises to keep soda from going flat, or at least, keep it from going flat as quickly as it usually would. The Jokari Keeper Pump and Pour is a small device that’s reusable, assembles in a second, and costs around $8. But, does it work? We put it to the test over the span of a week to find out.
How Does The Jokari Keeper Pump And Pour Work?
The Jokari Keeper Pump and Pour is an attachment that you add to a 1- or 2-liter bottle of soda to keep it from going flat. Just unscrew the top that your beverage came with and replace it with this device. It screws on easily and opens when you flip the clip on the side, allowing you to pour soda directly from the bottle without having to remove the attachment.
MORE: 21 overachieving two-in-one products that will simplify your life
The most important design element of this gadget is the ball pump that sits at the top, which distributes oxygen into your bottle to repressurize the container, thereby retaining the fizzy carbonation it came with.
How We Tested It
I had a week to test this product on my 2-liter bottle of soda, and I replaced the soda bottle cap with the Jokari Keeper Pump and Pour on day one.
The first day was pretty uneventful since, in my experience, soda doesn’t go totally flat within one day of being opened. I kept the device on my 2-liter bottle while it was in the fridge, and made sure to pump it a few times before I opened the bottle over the next few days. I didn’t notice any less fizz over this time meaning that the product did what it claimed.
But on the last day, I decided to let the soda go completely flat to see if the Jokari Keeper Pump and Pour would bring it back to life. Keep in mind, this product doesn’t claim to do that, but to be honest, I just really wanted to push this product to its limit in the name of this test.
MORE: 14 essential kitchen gadgets you didn’t know you needed
I left the bottle open and on my counter for 24 hours, then I closed the cap and gave it a few pumps. When I opened it, the bottle made that “crack, fizz” sound that fresh soda makes, and there were lots of bubbles in my glass and in the soda bottle!
That said, the soda still tasted pretty flat. This goes to show that carbonation is really what’s needed to keep soda tasting fresh and bubbly. Oxygen alone may keep it fizzy for a little longer, but won’t bring it back to life. Again, the Jokari Keeper Pump and Pour doesn’t claim to work this magic, so I’m not really surprised or disappointed that it didn’t.
Did The Pump Actually Work?
Yes! I asked everyone I knew, and the general consensus was that soda goes flat in two to three days. My 2-liter bottle of soda retained optimum fizziness for five whole days and I honestly didn’t notice any less fizz on day five than I did on day one.
I believe it would have lasted the full week had I not messed with the experiment. Some reviews online said that their Jokari Keeper Pump and Pour kept their soda from going flat for around two weeks! For me, in nearly a week I didn’t notice any less effervescence than when I first opened the bottle, which is a good sign that it might go the distance.
One thing to keep in mind when using the pump, though, is that you really should not overpump your bottle. The directions stated to pump “until the bottle is upright,” and I was a bit unsure of what that meant until I really felt the pressure after I pumped it about three to four times.
If you keep your hand around the bottle while you pump it, you’ll feel it firm up. This didn’t happen to me, but I read a few testimonials saying that overpumping the device made their bottles explode. I’m glad I stopped before it went that far, because I hate cleaning my refrigerator, so exercise some caution when pumping your soda-pumping gadget.
FAQs
Why Does Soda Go Flat?
Soda goes flat because the carbon dioxide that’s used to carbonate the liquid escapes each time you open the cap. That “pop, fizz” sound you hear when you twist open a 2-liter bottle of soda for the first couple of times is actually carbon dioxide gas escaping the container!
How Do You Prevent Soda From Going Flat?
The only way to keep soda from going flat is to not release the carbon dioxide, which is impossible once it has been opened. The next best thing is to prevent as much carbon dioxide gas from being released as possible, which you may be able to accomplish with a super quick pour, followed by a prompt soda cap replacement.
This is obviously easier said than done, especially if you’ve got kids or multiple people sharing the bottle in a single household — which brings us to our next-best option — repressurizing the container. This is exactly what the Jokari Keeper Pump and Pour does. It doesn’t refill the bottle with carbon dioxide, but it does repressurize the bottle by adding oxygen each time you pump it.
How Do You Keep Soda Fizzy?
Again, the best way to keep soda fizzy is to add carbonation to your container, which you’ll need a carbon dioxide charger to do. An easier way is to repressurize the bottle, which the Jokari Keeper Pump and Pour does in just a few seconds.
Krissy Howard is a New Mexico-based writer whose work has appeared in Byrdie, Well+Good, Cuteness, This Dog's Life, and Reader's Digest. In addition to reporting on pet care, skin care, and other wellness topics, her original humor can be found at Reductress, and The Hard Times. More.
