Moldy Ink

[NathanGrimaud]

Hey everyone. I'm pretty sure i have mouldy ink. Below are the two worst cases, but there are signs of it in pretty much every bottle i own (9). I keep them in a wooden box on my desk that sits in front of a window. It spread during the early stages of my collecting (i think) when i was unaware of what moldy ink looked like and it spread due to me using the mold infested ink among pens which i then cleaned and filled with other inks. It is only really visible when i shine light in the bottle. My question is, can i salvage my collection or will i have to throw out almost $200 worth of ink. (Ink is expensive in Australia). Furthermore can someone confirm that this is in fact mold and how to tell the difference between mold in early stages and dust particles that have fallen into the bottle. I'll also say that my house is NOT mold ridden. Thanks in advance.

 

[praxim]

I can not answer directly but think you will find it helpful to search for "phenol" here.

[Chrissy]

I don't think it looks that bad. It looks like settlement on the surface. Those small surface particles might blot off using a cotton bud. Or if you have a bottle that contains more than that I would recommend that you could try buying a pack of coffee filters, then filtering some of your inks. Wet the coffee filter papers first.

 

I assume this isn't blocking your pen feeds.

[NathanGrimaud]

I don't think it looks that bad. It looks like settlement on the surface. Those small surface particles might blot off using a cotton bud. Or if you have a bottle that contains more than that I would recommend that you could try buying a pack of coffee filters, then filtering some of your inks. Wet the coffee filter papers first.

 

I assume this isn't blocking your pen feeds.

If i filter it out, will it grow back?

[Chrissy]

If i filter it out, will it grow back?

 

Not necessarily. It depends what it is. If it is just detritus from your pen feeds it probably won't.

 

You will need to weigh up how badly it's affecting your pens writing qualities with how much it would cost you to throw it away and replace it.

[SamCapote]

If i filter it out, will it grow back?

 

As Chrissy said, it is not absolutely clear that you are dealing with SITB (which includes fungal, bacterial, and other contaminants). If those particles are manufacturing pieces floating, removing them would have no consequences or recurrence.

 

Other than seeing a slimy string of goo pulling out of the bottle, the only certain way to confirm if you have a low grade fungal/bacterial infection is with a microscope.

 

If you want to be on the safe side and are willing to pour the bottle through a filter in a funnel, and return it back to original bottle, to make sure you have dealt with the possibility of fungal growth, you could add the amount of phenol I determined in this thread, see post #37 from when I had widespread contamination issues with multiple bottles/colors/shipments of DeAtramentis inks. The link to buy the Phenol for $8.45 is here, and will last you a lifetime. To avoid a mess when you transfer the ink (very hard to pour from a bottle without dribbling all over, unless you use a large coffee filter, but then you have to also get a new, unused coffee filter holder), I bought some 10ml disposable pipettes.

Edited March 23, 2017 by SamCapote

[amberleadavis]

Please follow Sam's advice. He is the most knowledgeable of us on this topic.

[NathanGrimaud]

As Chrissy said, it is not absolutely clear that you are dealing with SITB (which includes fungal, bacterial, and other contaminants). If those particles are manufacturing pieces floating, removing them would have no consequences or recurrence.

Other than seeing a slimy string of goo pulling out of the bottle, the only certain way to confirm if you have a low grade fungal/bacterial infection is with a microscope.

If you want to be on the safe side and are willing to pour the bottle through a filter in a funnel, and return it back to original bottle, to make sure you have dealt with the possibility of fungal growth, you could add the amount of phenol I determined in this thread, see post #37 from when I had widespread contamination issues with multiple bottles/colors/shipments of DeAtramentis inks. The link to buy the Phenol for $8.45 is here, and will last you a lifetime. To avoid a mess when you transfer the ink (very hard to pour from a bottle without dribbling all over, unless you use a large coffee filter, but then you have to also get a new, unused coffee filter holder), I bought some 10ml

Edited March 26, 2017 by NathG

[amberleadavis]

Nath, this is what mold can look like:

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/album/Mold/slides/20151007_172147.jpg

[amberleadavis]

This too is mold:

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inked_Today/slides/20140910_154808.jpg

[amberleadavis]

This is NOT mold.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inked_Today/slides/20140829_122738.jpg