Cleaning Fountain Pens

[PAKMAN]

In most cases cool tap water and patience.

[ParkerDuofold]

In most cases cool tap water and patience.

Is plain cool tap water going to clean and kill mold spores in a bulb syringe?

 

- Anthony

[crescent2]

No. As another post said, if the syringe is moldy, throw it away and get a new one. You don't want mold in your pens or in your inks.

 

Plain water will usually clean the ink from your pen and converter, or you can use a drop of dish detergent such as Dawn, or a commercial pen flush and then rinse it well with clear water. I don't even use a bulb syringe, but many people do. Of course, if you do use a syringe it should be a clean one. They only cost a few dollars at a drug store.

[D.C. in PA]

First, distilled water as a flush. Sometimes just tap water, but we have a well and our water is treated and filtered, with no municipal additions. Rarely a bulb syringe, and an ultrasonic only when quite necessary. I do an initial flush with new pens that uses the distilled water in a 10:1 ratio with ammonia and includes two drops of Dawn per quart.

In addition I have brass sheet for nib slit problems (careful) and very soft toothbrushes and other brushes for threads and the bases of nibs. Cotton swabs and pipe cleaners for caps, with fervent work to make sure they are dry afterword to prevent inner cap rust.

My general rule is - use the least intrusive method needed and, as others have stated, apply more patience than product or tools.

[Bluey]

In most cases cool tap water and patience.

I think you may want to add some dish soap to that. Water on it's own is going to do diddly squat.

[praxim]

You mean water which is not heavily mineralised is incapable of dissolving or washing away even dried water-based dyes, let alone anything else? Tell it to cave systems, the Sydney Basin, the Grand Canyon, most clean fountain pens...

[Sasha Royale]

Dried ink is the enemy. It will cement the ink path, clog the nib, and form jagged shards to damage the pen. Dissolving and removing old ink is important -- very thoroughly, if the pen is to be stored.

Detergents, solvents, and harsh methods are for neglected pens. I avoid "over-cleaning" my pens.

 

Which filling system does your pen employ ?

[Bluey]

You mean water which is not heavily mineralised is incapable of dissolving or washing away even dried water-based dyes, let alone anything else? Tell it to cave systems, the Sydney Basin, the Grand Canyon, most clean fountain pens...

If he has a lot of time on his hands

Edited January 5, 2017 by Bluey

[Piper 987]

I can tell the state of my finances by how I clean a fountain pen. If I'm feeling broke, I use tap water. If I'm feeling flush (groan) I use Perrier!

[praxim]

If he has a lot of time on his hands

 

True, well, somebody mentioned patience.

 

More seriously, I too use only water but I will aid it with a USC when I am working on an old dried out pen. That appears to have been effective in those cases.

[virgilio]

For piston-fillers and converters, just warm tap water whenever the pen becomes hard-writing. Draw up ink into the reservoir four or five times and dry on paper towelling. If that doesn't work, an overnight soak in warm tap water, or until the water runs clear, sometimes two or three nights. I think distilled water is gilding the lily.

 

For cartridge pens I suck warm tap water up thru the feed into my mouth, four or five times. If that doesn't work but it almost always does I soak.

 

Note that it is the suction as much as the water that clears clogs. That is why cartridge pens are so prone to clogging, I suppose.

 

Never used anything else, and never needed to, tho I have no objection to fancier methods, if it works.

 

If you suspect the pen is moulded (mould on the outside, and water doesn't help as much as it should), soak it in 99% rubbing alcohol.

[Bluey]

 

True, well, somebody mentioned patience.

 

More seriously, I too use only water but I will aid it with a USC when I am working on an old dried out pen. That appears to have been effective in those cases.

Maybe PAKMAN had a hint of a glint in his eye when he said that about patience.

 

The reason why I mention about dishsoap is that from the OP's mention of ultrasonic cleaners etc, I interpret "cleaning" to mean the cleaning of manufacturing oils and getting rid of dried gunk or dried ink and mould and other nasties. As opposed to flushing the pen with water to rid of ink before putting into storage.

[ParkerDuofold]

If you suspect the pen is moulded (mould on the outside, and water doesn't help as much as it should), soak it in 99% rubbing alcohol.

Hi Virgilio,

 

Make sure the pen's material can handle this; TWSBI and some others cannot. Actually, I've read that chlorine bleach is usually the best mold remover, but YMMV.

 

- Anthony

[virgilio]

I have only had moulded pens a few times, mainly vintage pens such as Marlowes and Bankers. I am willing to believe that some pen materials might react with alcohol. Wouldn't bleach attack some materials tho?

 

I suppose that ParkerDuofold has a point about detergent helping to remove industrial oils in new pens. But since I put Ivory Dish Detergent in my ink anyway to make it wetter, I never thought of using it in water to clean pens. I notice that I get far fewer clogs wince I started adding extra detergent to my ink some years ago.

[ParkerDuofold]

I am willing to believe that some pen materials might react with alcohol. Wouldn't bleach attack some materials tho?

 

Yes, bleach can, too; it all depends on the pens materials- that's why Dawn is so popular. That, or you have to do the research. So far, I don't own any pens that are affected by diluted bleach... but I've also been lucky; I've never had a moldy pen.... yet.

 

- Anthony