black gunk

[wilf]

anyone out there know techinically what the black gunk that forms in soap dispencers is? it has only contact with clean mains water but forms that horrible layer a customer asked today when she saw the inside of her bosch dis ( usual blocked ) but I couldnt give her a very good answer and she was a chemist!

wilf 😳

[Martin]

Re: black gunk

wilf wrote:anyone out there know techinically what the black gunk that forms in soap dispencers is?

It’s a build-up of harmless bacteria that has a collective name of MALODOUR 😉

Usually comprising of micro-organisms of : –

Gram negative rod-shaped bacteria –Enterobacter agglomerans, Pseudomonas spp and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var iwoffi. Also red pigmented yeast – Rhodotorula pilimanae. And finally the ever present fungus we all recognise Presumptive penicillius spp

So now you know and can blind them with science next time eh? 😉

[kwatt]

Put simply Wilf, it’s bacterial growth due to the damn conditions. Perfect environment for bugs to grow in as your chemist should know.

K.

[superfix]

Re: black gunk

But why did it not used to happen ❓

It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve had the problem

Is is something they’ve stopped/started putting in the water 😕

[Martin]

Re: black gunk

boro wrote:But why did it not used to happen

Because the vast majority of owners don’t use the dispenser and compound the problem by only using low temperature washes that fails to kill off the build-up! 😉

[kwatt]

Re: black gunk

Could be the detergent, could be the softener or it just could be that it’s not been getting cleaned properly. It’s extremely unlikely to be the water and we know it’s not the machine as the parts are inhert.

What I can tell you is that once that black mould gets a grip it’s damned hard to get rid of. Even bleaching it won’t get shot all the time.

Craig, who has a BSc in environmental health (too dumb to be called an engineer though :snigger:) can tell you a lot more about this stuff and how, in each home, the pathology (I think that’s the word he used) changes as does the growth of the bugs and the species. After that there’s the small problem that, with each cleaning or killing of the bugs you only kill so many, the rest evolve and get tougher becoming increasingly harder to get rid of. Facinating stuff really and actually quite relevant to some of the things we see.

I’ll ask him to explain this tomorrow but it’s all very logical once it’s explained.

K.

[superfix]

Re: black gunk

Cheers for that guys.

The reason I thought it must be something in the water is because I get a lot of problems with it blocking up the pressure chambers and heat exchangers on our dishwashers.

[clivejameson]

Re: black gunk

kwatt wrote:

Craig, who has a BSc in environmental health (too dumb to be called an engineer though :snigger:)

K.

:snigger: 😆 🙄

[Martin]

Re: black gunk

Jeyes fluid diluted 3 to 1 and put in a small spray bottle….squirt the ‘black gunk’ and leave for a few hours (it pongs a bit 🙁 )…..rinse off with clean water…MAGIC!!

http://www.jeyes.co.uk/htm/jeyes-fluid.htm

[andy_art_trigg]

Re: black gunk

I was told (on the UKW detergent training course) that it was using detergents without bleach that caused it – mostly with the “colour friendly” detergents.

[kwatt]

Very true Andy, but only where the detergent goes and if the little blighters get a grip then getting rid of them becomes difficult at best. In fact one of the spods at P&G told me that once it starts all you can do is keep it at bay, it’s very unlikely you’ll get rid of it.

Craig is going to explain more about bugs and bacteria today I hope.

K.

[wilf]

Re: black gunk

so now I know……maybe…….I used to like the old days that lovely pink stuff………freshwater shrimp!

wilf

[Martin]

Re: black gunk

I’ve just discovered that DETTOX MILDEW REMOVER shifts the black gunk in dispensers and is a whole less messy than Jeyes Fluid 😉

Pretty good stuff actually 😀

http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatalog/Dettox.html

[andy_art_trigg]

Re: black gunk

Nice one Martin, does it shift it from door gaskets too do you know?

[Martin]

Re: black gunk

andy_art_trigg wrote:Nice one Martin, does it shift it from door gaskets too do you know?

I very much doubt it to be honest. 🙁

I’ve never tried it though as I never let my door gaskets get in such a state in the first place. And I don’t believe in all this bull about using the correct powder as a way of preventing the build-up either (total tosh IMHO). Just wipe the flippin’ door seal after each use is the only way 😀

And I don’t take a spray bottle with me to clean customers gaskets to try it out either. Besides, I’d rather change a gunged up door seal then advise on how to keep it clean in future! 🙂

[Author]

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