Bacteria And Mold In Inks

[kma335]

Hi all, so I've been reading around and I came across some people talking about bacteria/mold growing in ink bottles. How does this happen and what can I do to prevent it? Would these things harm my fountain pens too?

 

I read that sometimes when the nib touches bacteria rich paper and is dipped in the bottle, it could spread that way. Is that true? That would be hard to clean and prevent if so..but I don't think paper normally does that anyway .

 

What should I do to help prevent such things from happening? I own Lamy brand inks, so maybe the brand has something to do with it too?

 

Thanks!

[alc3261]

I've been a fountain pen user for >45 years and I've never had a problem with mould/slime in ink. Don't worry!!!

[fabrimedeiros]

Mold issue really can happen. Bacteria is not a problem for FPs and inks in my opinion. Some ink brands are more likely to allow mold growth. I had such a problem with my half bottle of PR DC Supershow Blue about less than 6 months of use. I really love the ink and the brand, though. I've never read anything like that with Lamy ink. Spores of fungi are everywhere on environment, even on air, and it's pretty tough to avoid them.

[alc3261]

Mold issue really can happen. Bacteria is not a problem for FPs and inks in my opinion. Some ink brands are more likely to allow mold growth. I had such a problem with my half bottle of PR DC Supershow Blue about less than 6 months of use. I really love the ink and the brand, though. I've never read anything like that with Lamy ink. Spores of fungi are everywhere on environment, even on air, and it's pretty tough to avoid them.

 

I'm not saying it can't happen but I don't think it is so common that anyone should worry about it. Normal hygiene should suffice.

[Paddler]

Most ink manufacturers put chemicals in their inks that inhibit growth of bacteria and molds. Don't worry about it. If you get something living in your ink, you will know about it. Throw that ink away and disinfect any pens that came in contact with it. The bad thing that can happen to your pen is that the mold or bacteria can plug the small channels in the feed. A good flush can usually clear that, unless you let it go too long.

 

Before you fill your pen, don't shake the bottle. Doing so will hide any floating mold colonies before you can see them. Know how your inks should smell. If a bottle suddenly begins to smell like old sweat socks, heave it over the side.

[Dumatborlon]

Know how your inks should smell. If a bottle suddenly begins to smell like old sweat socks, heave it over the side.

What if it’s the pens that start smelling sweaty, for lack of a better term? I’ve started to notice a rather unpleasant smell emanating from the nibs/feeds of a few of my pens, similar to the smell one gets in the armpits of a sweaty t-shirt if worn the second day.

[arcadeflow]

Some fellow members of this forum are advocating the use of sample vials for inking your pens, so you never dip your "dirty" pens in your ink bottle, but in the ink you deposited in the vial with a syringe. If I had to take this kind of measure to ink my pens, I would be very bothered by ink bottles and would probably only use inks that have high concentration of fungicides. I will keep dipping my pens in my bottles until they show trouble.

[Ron Z]

I'm not saying it can't happen but I don't think it is so common that anyone should worry about it. Normal hygiene should suffice.

 

I disagree. It can be an issue, especially with some of the newer brands of ink, ones not made by a pen manufacturer. However it pops up there as well. The problem is that some of the biocides and other ingredients that were common at one time are no longer allowed to be used, and some manufacturers have made significant changes to their ink formulas. If the smell of the ink changes and/or turns sour, I would suspect some biological growth in the ink.

 

Having said that, I would not worry unless the smell of the ink changes (turns sour for instance), or you see SITB, you may need to decontaminate the pens filled. It happened to me two or three months ago. The ink started to smell like sour milk. All of the pens were emptied and cleaned with Basic G, then flushed well, the ink tossed.

[torstar]

Has happened a few times to me, open the bottle and there is a patch of mould flowing on top of the ink. At other times a refilling leads to a long string of goop hanging off the nib.

 

I always enjoy people who say something can't be true because it hasn't happened to them... what is up with that??

[joly1]

it often happens with home made organic inks like iron gallic and wallnut inks, I generally add one or two cloves which perfume the ink and stops molding

[VivienR]

I using cartridges and converters, but to ensure the safety of my inks I'm trying to go to the safest and also the cleanest way: using syringe to fill the converter or the reused cartridge. Use one syringe for one ink, if I cant identify or properly clear the syringe I buy new ones, but even with proper cleaning I regularly get new ones. Trying to make sure, that my ink collection remain safe. Well, okay that's kind of taking the fun out of picture filling a pen from the bottle, but with 35 years of worth ink collection... the syringes are basically cost nothing....

[Dumatborlon]

Funny thing is, I’m doing precisely that. One of the smelly pens has such a long nib that it won’t fit in any inkwell that I have, the other ones are cartridge only, so I’m filling them with syringes.

 

As already said, it’s just the pens that are starting to smell. The inks just sport that… uhm… inky, slightly chemical smell as always, nothing funny. I routinely sample the smell, since I rather like it; I’d immediately notice anything out of the ordinary in the inks, and there isn’t. (And there ain’t no floating stuff of any description; this happened to me once, and I still have vivid memories of that awful stuff *shudders*) As for the nibs, it’s just a sweaty undertone, and just just the nib of the pen, but it’s rather strong so that I can almost smell it when writing.

 

I’ve already tried to soak one of the pens in dish liquid for a few hours. It did help… for a few hours. The smell is back as if I didn’t do anything.

 

Right now, it’s at two pens. The only thing they have in common is that they once used ink from the same manufactorer. Not the same ink, and not anymore, and not at the same time. It’s rather weird, actually… I still have those inks, and they smell just fine. In fact, I am using them in other pens right now, and those don’t stink. None of this makes any sense…

 

I gueß I’ll have some big-time maintenance coming up. Other than dish liquid, what kind of detergent strong enough to get rid of the smell, but weak enough not to damage a (i guess, don’t really have a clue) acrylic pen?

[Consulting_Detective]

I personally agree with people on this topic, and I would like to add that I honestly think that if people keep their lids sealed onto the bottle that usually stops the Bacteria Growth due to overexposure of oxygen. But at the same time, the components of the Inks could be at fault too, as somebody said with Private Reserve's one specific ink.

 

The inks I use however don't and I never seen them develop mold or bacteria. I bought a Parker Quink Black over a year ago, and although I finished the ink just recently (2 months ago), it never developed anything. It even kept its lid seal and the color stayed after being stagnant for over 6 months..

 

-RTMC

[Ecriveur]

I've never had a mold problem. Living in the bone dry air of Southern California probably helps with that.

[Ron Z]

Other than dish liquid, what kind of detergent strong enough to get rid of the smell, but weak enough not to damage a (i guess, don’t really have a clue) acrylic pen?

When asked to decontaminate a pen, most pen people reach for Shaklee Basic G. It's concentrated, so needs to be diluted before you use it to clean a pen. We haven't seen any damage from the product, but it does kill the biological stuff.

 

I honestly think that if people keep their lids sealed onto the bottle that usually stops the Bacteria Growth due to overexposure of oxygen.

...unless it's an anaerobic organism. In which case it's perfectly happy in a low oxygen environment. The bottles of PR ink that I had years ago were not open any longer than needed to fill a pen, and still developed SITB.