Cleaning Reels (Paterson Plastic)

Brian M Harris · Oct 6, 2019

I have quite a few sets of reels, whilst I do give them a very good wash when finished they are starting to look a bit grotty.

What is a good cleaner to use that wont leave any chemical residue behind.

I am sure a read somewhere that Bicarbonate of Soda is suitable to use.

BradS · Oct 6, 2019

I scrub them with a toothbrush and baking soda. Wet the brush, dip the bristles in baking soda, scrub, rinse, repeat.

StepheKoontz · Oct 6, 2019

I rinse mine with hot water after every use and that seems to keep them clean. Sorry I can't help with cleaning them, but don't be afraid of hot water, they are designed to be used with 100 deg F chemicals.

BradS · Oct 6, 2019

oh, and never let them sit in Photoflo solution....

Sirius Glass · Oct 6, 2019

BradS said:
oh, and never let them sit in Photoflo solution....

Big +1 on that

Bikerider · Oct 6, 2019

A good cleaner of most photographic darkroom equipment is ordinary household bleach. About 100 cc to a 2 gallon bucket of water (UK Gallons). Left for around 36 - 48 hours it will take most staining off.

Also anyone using Tetenal E6 processing kits will have seen on their processing instructions that the same measuring beakers should always be used for the same chemicals because of chemical traces are very difficult to eliminate from plastic. Soaking them in the same dilution of bleach will eliminate this problem. Any residual traces of the bleach will decompose over a matter of a few hours.

Sirius Glass · Oct 6, 2019

Barkeepers' Friend

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Keepers_Friend

Pieter12 · Oct 6, 2019

I have heard that Milton Sterilising Cleanerfor for baby bottles does a good job. And it's a UK product.

Johnkpap · Oct 6, 2019

I use toilet Duck.....about a 100ml to a litre more if really grotty soak then scrub

Johnkpap

John51 · Oct 7, 2019

Having done a lot of homebrew, I use VWP. It's a cleaner/sterilser sold in the UK. It might be a repackaged version of what gets used to clean the beer lines in pubs, it works as if that could be true.

Smells like it has bleach in it. Must have other stuff too because it's magic at loosening dried up crud. Some use it in their dishwasher to bring an extra sparkle to their cut crystal.

Neal · Oct 7, 2019

Sirius Glass said:
Big +1 on that

Another thing I do that for some reason causes me no trouble. (Yes, I know that Jobo says don't put their reels in Photo-Flo.)

john_s · Oct 7, 2019

Pieter12 said:
I have heard that Milton Sterilising Cleanerfor for baby bottles does a good job. And it's a UK product.

Same active ingredient as ordinary bleach (hypochlorite)

Bikerider · Oct 7, 2019

Pieter12 said:
I have heard that Milton Sterilising Cleanerfor for baby bottles does a good job. And it's a UK product.

That works as well but undiluted - it is a mild form of household bleach

mshchem · Oct 7, 2019

There's a Kodak formula for tray cleaner I've used. Works great on developer stains. Potassium Dichromate and sulfuric acid. Nasty stuff. Paterson reels are cheap. Buy some new ones keep our friends at Paterson employed .

grahamp · Oct 7, 2019

Denture cleaning tablets sometimes work (basically citric acid if you look at the ingredients) when used with an old toothbrush to get into the slots. Don't use a metal brush or heavy abrasive on nylon reels as it will roughen the surface. I'd start with something gentle, and work up. I would also suggest gloves and eye protection if you are using some of the acid or caustic items. Cleaning things always splashes.

AgX · Oct 8, 2019

Things are getting mixed up. There are various residues possible on reels and tanks. And basically they need a different (chemical) approach:
-) gelatin
-) metallic silver
-) dyes
-) carbonates

jvo · Oct 9, 2019

had to look up "grotty", here in the colonies we don't use it since our dust-up the mother england - great word!

... another vote for barkeepers friend - non-abrasive, rinse well

AgX · Oct 10, 2019

Sirius Glass said:
Barkeepers' Friend
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Keepers_Friend

I grew up with a similar product, but it vanished from all shelves, meanwhile even the abrasive fluids are vanishing.n (People seem to prefer acids.)
In any case I expect a buffing/scratching action by these abrasives.

john_s · Oct 13, 2019

grahamp said:
Denture cleaning tablets sometimes work (basically citric acid if you look at the ingredients) when used with an old toothbrush to get into the slots. Don't use a metal brush or heavy abrasive on nylon reels as it will roughen the surface. I'd start with something gentle, and work up. I would also suggest gloves and eye protection if you are using some of the acid or caustic items. Cleaning things always splashes.

The Steradent tablets I used to use for my Nova slot processor had sulfamic acid as the active ingredient. I now buy powdered sulfamic acid.
The problem with proprietary products is that they might be available in different formulations so you won't get what you thought you were getting. A good example is Calgon, which is different in different countries and at different times. They may well all work for their intended purpose, but if you want a particular ingredient for a developer, for example, they may well be different.
Bar Keepers Friend exists in different versions too, I think I read, one without abrasive and one with.

scheimfluger_77 · Oct 14, 2019

I use Dawn in hot (relatively) water and let air dry. It works well.

Cleaning Reels (Paterson Plastic)

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