The dreaded S.I.T.B.

[Lloyd]

I'm a new member of the SITB Crew! My ≈10yo 80ml bottle of Diamine Violet got slimy. I noticed while filling an inexpensive Noodlers Creeper. I just thoroughly water-flushed the pen and inked it with a different ink (I didn't "vaccinate" the pen first). Hopefully, neither the pen nor the ink is contaminated.

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[Detman101]

Disgusting-1.jpgDisgusting-2.jpg

[Chrissy]

Eeeew that looks really bad.

[Darla]

I've also had a bottle of Private Reserve Ebony Purple do very strange things. At first, it had what looked like a very thin oily patch on the surface. But not having much experience with inks, I didn't think much of it. By the next fill, it had developed tiny emerald green flakes floating on the top, but it didn't smell bad, so I assumed it was still ok. The next time I opened the bottle, there was a kind of foggy, dull residue all around the top of the bottle and the green flakes and oil slick had become much larger. At that point, I didn't trust it from all the horror stories of slime and mold, so I dumped it out. There were definitely some thick formations in the bottom of the bottle. I was sad to throw it out because I loved the color. But I'm kind of glad to see that there are others here who have had problems with slime in Private Reserve inks because I was afraid that I wasted a whole huge bottle of ink being overly cautious.

[Chrissy]

If you're in the US it may be worth investing in a spray bottle of Phenol available from Natural Pigments. A few sprays into each new bottle of ink works well to protect it. (Careful if it's a really full bottle like Noodler's)