John writes: > Plastic draws the silver to the sides of the plastic bottle. If used > for your horses (or humans) and don't store in glass, use as quickly as > possible. Amber bottles, I feel are best, and stored in a dark cabinet > away fron light and the sun and your CSW can last a long, long time.
Bob Berger, sadly now deceased, was one of our long-time contributors. One of those contributions was his study of storage materials and methods. He concluded that one of the most cost-effective yet effective options was the PETE (recycling code 1) clear, hard plastic bottles used to deliver soda pop. Additionally, he and others here have, as a test, stored properly made CS (EIS) in clear bottles exposed to bright light and even direct sunlight, and seen no measurable degradation of the product over long periods of time. Let me address several obvious concerns by describing my own experience: I have a 6-pack of bottles I bought probably 8 years ago now that I store most of my CS in. They originally contained spring water. I chose that option because people who tried to use soda pop bottles frequenly complained that it took a long time to completely get rid of the residual odor and flavoring from the beverage that would then taint their CS. You can just pour out the bottled water and rinse with distilled, and there will be no odor or flavor problems. Now, there are the remaining concerns of plasticisers leaching into the stored CS and the plastic surface disrupting the silver content. First off, PETE-1, as found in these beverage bottles, is about as good a plastic as you're going to find for this application. Perfect? NO! But it's one of the least contaminating formulations available at reasonable cost. Now, John, someone like you, who has achieved a very high standard of cleanliness in their environment, may certainly choose not to use them, on principle if nothing else. That's fine. However, if you're still coping with far more gross sources of environmental toxins, as I am, it is nowhere near as urgent. But there's more... The first few times you put some silver in these bottles, some of it undoubtedly plates out on the inside. After a while, however, the surface seems to stabilize. These bottles have been in use, as I said, for years, and I have never made any effort to clean them out. I can say without doubt that the discoloration caused by the plated out silver does not change over time at this point, and that the product that comes out of them is the same as what went in days, weeks, and sometimes months before -- in terms of measured conductivity, taste, tyndall effect, and effectiveness. That's not bulletproof evidence, but it's good enough for me. I suspect that the stabilization of the surface also applies to plasticiser leaching, but I cannot address that in any meaningful way for the simple reason that there has been no noticeable smell or taste from this particular plastic at any time. Finally, on the matter of storage conditions: My CS sits on the desk in my office, exposed to artificial lighting and diffuse daylight. No noticeable problems result, in my experience. Again, I won't stand in anybody's way that wants to be more cautious. In your case, John, keep using glass, since you've managed to get your environment sorted out so very well any such compromise would be silly on your part. Please realize, though, that judicious use of the right plastic can be *enough* better than the worst case that it is a practical option, depending on individual circumstances. If that makes it easier for somebody to get started and keep making CS, then it's a reasonable trade. I think it's a question of not letting the perfect be an obstacle to the good. Thanks for your input, sir. You're experiences and protocols are an inspiration and there's a lot we can learn from you. Peace, Mike D. [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [[email protected] ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: [email protected] Address Off-Topic messages to: [email protected] The Silver List and Off Topic List archives are currently down... List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
