Used Pen Flush...ground Water Safe?

[httpmom]

Newbie Here,

Hopefully this has not already been discussed or I will feel like an idiot. (My searches all came up empty.)

 

Are there any safety issues with pouring used pen flush down the drain? Is it safe for ground water? Or should I be discarding it with the used motor oil from my husband’s race car? I used the usual fountain pen brands and I also use Calligraphy inks.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Flourish,

Casey Haven

Edited March 25, 2015 by httpmom

[Randal6393]

Most pen flushes are a 1:10 mix of ammonia with a drop of detergent. Nothing but dishwashing/cleaning chemicals that are usually washed down the drain. The inks are safe to wash down the drain. Mostly we worry more about staining the sink and the wife shouting at us.

 

Welcome to FPN, Casey. Hope you have fun here and enjoy your stay.

[sargetalon]

No safety issues that I'm aware of, just don't mix it with bleach. Down the sink with running water should be fine.

[Lou Erickson]

Also, if you mix anything into the oil from the race car, the oil recycling people are likely to refuse it, which means you're stuck.

 

My Dad used to race cars and we found this out the hard way...

[jasonchickerson]

Should be no more harmful than household detergents, etc. Fountain pen inks are 99.9% water and dissolved dyes, so they are safe to flush as well.

[SallyLyn]

Since you mention ground water maybe you are on a septic. If so I'd talk to your county and septic cleaner. There are clothes washing machine and dishwasher machine detergents septic folks have said not to use as they will hurt the breakdown process or more likely clog the tank, drain field. Those little cleaning beads are bad. Am not certain if I'd use them in a regular sewer system either, but that's me.

 

Your county extension should have info on the ground water issue. I'd ask if they had a list of products not to dump vs telling or asking them about pen flush. Don't want to get them excited about something that likely not a risk to animals, plants in your use.