Mildew on Sides of Grinding Wheel

[paulem]

Over the last year or so the amount of black, slimy material on the flat side surfaces of my T-7 grinding wheel has been increasing.  We live in a part of the world where mildew is fairly common in wet or damp environments.  I am pretty sure that this material is mildew.  I typically lower the water reservoir after each day's use though occassionally the wheel may remain immersed overnight.  I have had very good results controlling mildew in other applications with very low concentrations of sodium hypochlorite (Clorox for example). 

With that as background, my question is this:  Can I use a drop of three of commercial hypochlorite solution in the reservoir to control this mildew without causing damage the machine or the tools being sharpened?  For example, will the hypochlorite cause pitting or other degradation of the metal tools being sharpened?  Will immersion of the wheel in dilute hypochlorite cause damage to the wheel itself either on the surface or interior?  Will the plastic water reservoir become brittle or otherwise damaged from prolonged contact?  Are there other fungicides that would be a better choice?

Many thanks for any discussion. 


Paul

[Jeff Farris]

Paul, you've listed several excellent reasons NOT to use chloride bleach. That said, I'm not sure it would work, even if it would not cause other problems. I doubt the black stain you're seeing is mildew. It is much more likely to be cut steel particles that are staining the stone. Clean it up with the coarse side of the stone grader.

[Herman Trivilino]

I've kept mine in my garage for many years now.  Lately I've been diligent about emptying the water tray after each use, but not at all for the many years before that.  I live in a very humid climate (near Houston, Texas) and have never seen black mold or mildew on mine.

I do get streaks of black staining on the perimeter due to use.  It comes off easily with the stone grader, or simply by sharpening the edge of a tool or knife.  I rarely use the side and have little or no discoloration there.

I would be afraid to use clorox as it might make the stone brittle.  Also it's highly corrosive to steel tools and machine parts.

[Ken S]

Good question, paulem. Any thoughts, forum?

Ken

[SharpenADullWitt]

Good question, paulem. Any thoughts, forum?

Ken

Thoughts, yes.
Why are you resurrecting a thread from 2011?  What brought this on now?
Thought about starting a new thread with a link to this one, instead?
You seemed to do that yesterday, more then once.  You commented to someones 2013 thread, with no link so others didn't have a clue, WTH.

[Ken S]

Good question, Randal. I happened to see two longtime members who have not posted recently. Out of curiosity, I looked at their posts. The topics seemed interesting, so I resurrected them.g

Ken

[jeffs55]

Why are you resurrecting a thread from 2011?  What brought this on now?
Thought about starting a new thread with a link to this one, instead?
You seemed to do that yesterday, more then once.  You commented to someones 2013 thread, with no link so others didn't have a clue, WTH.
[/quote]I was flummuxed as well when I saw the original post date but now I know who Randal is! SADW, right?

[Ken S]

I got ahead of myself, and will endeavor to do better in the future.

Ken

Yes, Randal is SADW.

[SharpenADullWitt]

Jeff, and others in the future......

I understand the use of screen names in making things clear and agree with that thought.  However one RULE of this forum, is you have to use your real name when registering and it shows up in their profile.  Doesn't help, if there are a bunch of names and you don't know who is who, but there is a way to figure it out at least.

[Ken S]

I did not mean to stir up a hornet's nest with the name ssue. The members of this forum have done a fine job of self governing. Posts are polite. The language is clean and not offensive. The posts are on topic, with only a small amount of good natured humor. Any criticism of Tormek is constructive. As long as the discussion remains courteous and helpful, I have no problem with names.

Ken

[jeffs55]

My thing about the names is that a persons "real name" is not their screen name and you cannot simply scroll up to see who is being referenced. It is not a big deal and Ken S, I am sure that you look at profiles and associate "real names" with screen names whereas those who are not moderators do not do it often enough to have it on the tip of their tongues. On the other hand, I chose my screen name many years ago and have the same one on every web site that allows me to use it, ie; eBarf, Gunbroker and some others. Some people want to remain anonymous for whatever reason. Anonymity is not important to me or I would not have a recent picture posted. On my local newspaper site, my picture and place of employment is even posted. That is however because I log in using Facebook. This site does not allow that because it allows you to access a persons real name. To make a long story short, it only matters when you want to know who said what in a hurry as in when you "scroll up". I believe it was Bill Shakespeare that said this is "much ado about nothing".

[Elden]

   Interestingly, one of the first things I do when person writes their first post, is to  tap on their name (I use a Kindle 95% of the time) to see who they are and what area of the world they are located. This probably comes another old hobby that these items  are part of the normal exchange.
   As far as the privacy thing goes, there are users who have no name listed. My name is listed as Elden, but is it really? Maybe it actually is George or Hank. I have seen one name listed that obviously is a pseudonym. That is fine, I used it "tongue in cheek"!
   Another one of my idiosyncrasies is to look at who is logged in. If I don't recognize one as a regular poster, usually I will check out their profile. It is very interesting to see the different ones who have never posted but log in regularly, some have been registered for several years. It is great to have them here!

[Ken S]

Elden,

I'm glad that I am not the only one ho does that......

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

Fortunately, this forum is largely a circle of friends. This is place to go where everybody knows your name. Cheers!

[SharpenADullWitt]

Found out about the name not showing up, when I clicked on the original posters moniker.  (wondering if they have checked in and if they will update)
Didn't realize not displaying it is a setting.