listerine DOES work

[spoolman]

I purchased several folders of evilbay last week and most had some form of fungus in the lenses and it was on multiple elements in each lens. So I thought these were done and I'd have to junk them. So I googled here in APUG " how to clean fungus off lenses" and one answer suggested trying Listerine. So I thought what can happen to lenses that were already kaput. These were mostly uncoated kodak anastigmat lenses. So I disassembled one lens and used Cool Mint Listerine on a q-tip. Boy was I surprised !!!. It tool two applications and all of the fungus was gone !!!. No etching of the glass, no residue from the Listerine and the lenses smelled minty fresh.

I repeated this on other lenses and same result. All I did was clean up any smears on the glass with lens cleaning solution and tissues and they looked good as new. Now if I can only get the shutters these lenses are in to work, I'll be ahead of the game. But I'll leave that part to the pros.

Doug

 

[anfenglin]

Hey, good to know!
In the past, I used those ready to use wipes for glasses that you can buy over here, we call them "Brillenputztücher" (roughly translated to glasss cleaning towelettes), they are individually packed and are moist, they work really well, too. Just recently I successfully cleaned an AF Nikkor 70-210 from fungus behind the front element. After that a short polish with a micro fibre cloth and voilá!

 

[spoolman]

just a word of caution. I've only tried this on uncoated lenses. Use caution when trying this method as I am not 100% sure the Listerine won't affect the coating on modern lenses and those that have the " soft coatings" that were applied in the 60's and 70's. If you have a lens you can afford to gumup with this method, please try it on that lens before risking your good lenses.

Doug

 

[Nodda Duma]

If you let the Q-tip do the wiping and don't apply pressure then you'll be ok. The coating material is Magnesium Flouride. MgF2 is very slightly soluble in water and soluble in nitric acid. So Listerine won't really affect it chemically. The damage will come via abrasion from pressing too hard with the Q-tip.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I purchased several folders of evilbay last week and most had some form of fungus in the lenses and it was on multiple elements in each lens. So I thought these were done and I'd have to junk them. So I googled here in APUG " how to clean fungus off lenses" and one answer suggested trying Listerine. So I thought what can happen to lenses that were already kaput. These were mostly uncoated kodak anastigmat lenses. So I disassembled one lens and used Cool Mint Listerine on a q-tip. Boy was I surprised !!!. It tool two applications and all of the fungus was gone !!!. No etching of the glass, no residue from the Listerine and the lenses smelled minty fresh.

I repeated this on other lenses and same result. All I did was clean up any smears on the glass with lens cleaning solution and tissues and they looked good as new. Now if I can only get the shutters these lenses are in to work, I'll be ahead of the game. But I'll leave that part to the pros.

Doug

Doesn't it have to be the old-style Listerine containing Thymol fo this to work?:confused:

 

[gone]

That's a good tip to know. I had an olde folder recently w/ the same type of fungus as yours (not the deep, spidery, etched kind), and like you, I figured what the heck, let's see how difficult it is to get it off. Well, it all came off w/ just some lens cleaning fluid and tissue! Took a little pressure, and more than a few Q-tips and tissues, but everything looks nice and clean in there now. I've also used lighter fluid in the past to get fungus off. If it gets between cemented elements, that's beyond my skills and tools.

 

[spoolman]

I bought the bottle that I used last month. I didn't see thymol listed in the ingredients section so I couldn't say yes or no. I thought that it was re-formulated a couple of years ago to reduce the alcohol in it to make it less harsh to use.

Doug

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Doesn't it have to be the old-style Listerine containing Thymol fo this to work?:confused:

Probably so at least for killing fungus. A dentist once told me something similar. Only the original stuff works. Thymol is a is a substituted phenol. Many of the phenols are known for their antibacterial properties.

 

[Rook]

I'll keep the listerine approach in mind next time I attempt to clean fungus from a lens.

Recently I've tried using a swab soaked in concentrated lemon juice to clean out leaked battery acid from inside a camera which I had purchased at a flea market. A Canon QL17, actually. I was quite surprised how well the juice worked. Now the camera is fully functional.

 

[David Lyga]

Good to know about Listerine. However, I have ALSO had good luck with a light application of skin lotion (massage lotion), left on for about five minutes, then gently wiped off. - David Lyga

 

[paul ron]

i always enjoy these kind of finds. i guess if there is no etching, this is a perfect remedy.