gilesgiles Senior Member Joined: 26 Jan 2009 Posts: 1 Location: New York Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Mon Jan 26, 2009, 11:34am Subject: mold in my silvia
Hello, I have a Silvia which I PID modded and love and it's great. However, it has sat unhappily unused for about a month, and when I came to it the other day I found that a scattering of mold had grown in the inch or so of water that I had left in the reservoir. It smells like musty mold. I've cleaned the reservoir and it seems to be fine, but the intake and overpressure hoses still smell musty. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there anything I can do short of replacing the hoses? If not, does anyone know what they're made of? I would assume it should be food-grade, and I'm not sure where I'd get that. Thanks for any help,
sorin Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Toronto Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Thu Jan 19, 2012, 7:32am Subject: Re: mold in my silvia
Apologies for the thread revival, but since it's already been discussed there's no point in starting a new thread.
After the bleach method, will the smell go away? Should I worry that I will be replacing the mold+bad smell with a bleach smell? I've had the mold issue for a while now, and I just can't seem to get rid of it. The hoses keep growing mold (on the outside), and they smell quite bad.
Posted Thu Jan 19, 2012, 9:13am Subject: Re: mold in my silvia
Are you on private well water? That might be the source. Remove the reservoir and soak it in a bleach solution. While that is soaking, wipe the hoses down with the solution as well. Also, be sure to wash the reservoir lid as well in the solution.
sorin Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Toronto Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Thu Jan 19, 2012, 9:20am Subject: Re: mold in my silvia
I'm in an apartment building and mostly use water from a Brita filter. When you say "solution" do you mean pure bleach and water mixture, or something like clorox + water? What ratio should I use? A lot of questions, I know, but I'm just worried I'll be replacing the mold with a lingering chlorine smell :)
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,652 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Fri Jan 20, 2012, 8:29am Subject: Re: mold in my silvia
Sanitizing and "freshening" water systems is very common in the RV industry, one in which my family was in and I worked in for a few years (I have done a LOT of things in my life)
We would use about a cup of clorox in about 20 gallons of water so a teaspoon in the water tank of Silvia is quite a bit! With that said though, it won't hurt anything and it will kill ANYTHING living there.
Once you flush the tank and system of the mixture, you can freshen the water system by making a mixture of about the same ratio just use plain white vinegar, a link to an RV info page
Think of the espresso machine as a mini RV and you will be close LOL, I advise doing this for any machine that has sat for a prolonged period of time, it is quick to do and then you know for sure that the water is safe to drink and use.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
Chlorine will kill the mold. As for the chlorine smell, make sure you run plenty of water through to flush. It may linger a bit but it won't be permanent.
sorin Said:
When you say "solution" do you mean pure bleach and water mixture, or something like clorox + water?
Clorox is a brand of bleach. Granted, they have products other than chlorine bleach in their lineup but this is what you're looking for (you don't want scented or color safe):
sorin Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Toronto Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Fri Jan 20, 2012, 1:53pm Subject: Re: mold in my silvia
takeshi Said:
Chlorine will kill the mold. As for the chlorine smell, make sure you run plenty of water through to flush. It may linger a bit but it won't be permanent.
Clorox is a brand of bleach. Granted, they have products other than chlorine bleach in their lineup but this is what you're looking for (you don't want scented or color safe):
Right, but I don't think it's 100% pure chlorine. Or maybe it is, and I am mistaken :) Either way, thank you all for the very useful tips. I'll try the above and hopefully I'll be mold-free in no-time.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,652 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Fri Jan 20, 2012, 3:05pm Subject: Re: mold in my silvia
Clorox is what is referenced to when chlorine bleach is specified. As I said, vinager will remove ALL traces of taste and smell, the link above gives ratios to use, it is an easy process to do.
As a side note, you can use chlorine bleach to disinfect water for drinking, even if it looks nasty (will not remove poisen or heavy metals though, biologic yes)
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
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