I have been developing film for almost three years and I have never had this happen before..... Fixed a fresh batch of Kodak Fixer (power with hardener), while pouring in the powder a piece of cardboard about a inch and a half long and half inch wide came out of the packet. the fixer stayed cloudy, almost milky like..... Anyone have this happen??
I take it from your post that the solution never cleared up. The milkiness is probably sulfur from the decomposition of some of the thiosulfate. I can think of two possibilities. Thiosulfate is unstable in the presence of acid and the hardener ingredients are acidic in nature. First, the cardboard may have prevented the bag from being sealed properly allowing moisture into the bag. Second, the water was too hot when you mixed up the fixer. It should not be above 80F and the water must be stirred while the powder is added and completely dissolved.
If you believe that the first case is true and you still have the bag and cardboard ask the seller for a refund. In either case the fixer should not be used and should be disposed of properly. If any particle of sulfur stick stick to a film it is impossible to remove.
3 hours later and the mix was still milky.... Disposed it.... In the past it was only cloudy for a couple of minutes while stirring but would clear up. I usually use a gallon ice tea type container but this time I used a huge breaker and a electric stir with a 2 inch magnetic tablet.... I either didn't mix it fast enough or there was residue from something else in it. Going back to my old way....
I suspect that the piece of cardboard coming out of the packet indicates a bad package. Have you tried calling Kodak? Not sure how that company operates these days, but I've called them (pre bankruptcy) and gotten knowledgeable people. I wouldn't use that fixer, of course, and would expect a refund/new package, either from them, or the retailer you purchased it from.
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