Cleaning the silver in my processing bottle

[fabulousrice]

The bottle I use for fixer (color, cinestill c41 kit) has a layer of silver at the bottom that won't come off with regular detergents.

Can I still use it to store and reuse fixer? If not how can I remove this layer at the bottom?
Is there a way to prevent buildup of deposit?

 

[SalveSlog]

My bleach from b&w reversal processing effectively removes silver from any tray or bottle that I have.
(I use permanganate for my bleach.)

 

[fabulousrice]

My bleach from b&w reversal processing effectively removes silver from any tray or bottle that I have.
(I use permanganate for my bleach.)

Could you elaborate? I'm probably not as experienced as you - you don't mean regular, store-bought bleach? I only own CineStill C41 chemicals, and some black and white ones (Ilford), I don't make mine from scratch.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Step one: Chlorine Bleach (diluted) This will rehalogenate the silver into silver chloride
Step two: Rinse. Removes the excess chlorine
Step three: Fixer. This will fix the silver chloride and make it soluble.
Step four: Rinse well. This gets rid of everything.

Best,

Doremus

 

[fabulousrice]

Step one: Chlorine Bleach (diluted) This will rehalogenate the silver into silver chloride
Step two: Rinse. Removes the excess chlorine
Step three: Fixer. This will fix the silver chloride and make it soluble.
Step four: Rinse well. This gets rid of everything.

Best,

Doremus

Thank you so much! So after step 3 I have to get rid of the fixer I'm using to clean the bottle? I will do that when my fixer gets to the end of its lifespan, thank you!

 

[eli griggs]

Thank you so much! So after step 3 I have to get rid of the fixer I'm using to clean the bottle? I will do that when my fixer gets to the end of its lifespan, thank you!

Save your wasted free silver residue and put a large plastic or glass carboy in the sun to evaporate liquids, leaving silver particulars behind.

Use a plastic wine makers vapor lock to prevent bugs, etc, from winding their way into your jar and just keep adding the silvers over the years.

Cheers.

 

[koraks]

Chlorine Bleach (diluted) This will rehalogenate the silver into silver chloride

You'll also form silver oxide. Which is probably not a big issue since it'll likely float away. It doesn't dissolve and won't plate out back on the walls of the container.

Can I still use it to store and reuse fixer?

Yes, you can still use the container to store fixer even with the silver plated onto the walls. However, I'd recommend filtering the fixer before use, since the silver has a habit of crumbling off of the walls of the bottle, leaving tiny flakes that embed themselves into the emulsion of the film you process. So cleaning the bottle is a good idea.
It's also a good idea to not overuse your fixer. Personally I don't re-use fixer and instead use a more dilute fixer one-shot, so it's discarded after a single use. No more problems with plated-out silver. Fixer is relatively cheap, so I find it a worthwhile compromise.