Flushing old carts TODAY - Algae killer pre treatment?

[optimizer]

I'm flushing old carts TODAY - Any ideas on what I could use as an "non hazardous" Algae killer pre treatment?
Fill with vinegar first, or something like that?

:/

 

[qwertydude]

Bleach works, dilute a 1/4 cup to a gallon of water and flush with that and then rinse thoroughly.

 

[leo8088]

You really don't need it. You ink should have the ability to keep algae at bay. What ink are you using?

 

[optimizer]

I think I posted on another post Leo - Various old carts I've collected that I know nothing about - age/ink contents, but it's a bunch of free Canon carts that I can use new ink in.

 

[jasiiboss]

For me flushing with isopropyl alcohol+ammonia+distilled water followed by comprehensive rinsing with distilled water always seem to work.

 

[tyamada]

I'm not sure if you can prevent bacteria from growing in your cartridges or in your head. I had a problem with certain inks that grew bacteria in the cartridges and in the head between the inlet screen and the jet ports. Here is a link to my previous post: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=16189#p16189

To keep bacteria from forming in my ink I add a little alcohol to my ink before refilling cartridges. I think the alcohol finally solved the bacteria problem, I haven't had problems since I switched ink vendors and adding alcohol to my bulk inks.

Before adding alcohol to my bulk inks I had bacterial goop growing in almost all my inks except pigmented black.

 

[pharmacist]

If you have algae and bacteria growing your ink, then the problem is your supplier/manufacturer. Good quality ink contains enough preservatives and chelators preventing bacteria and algae from growing for several years. The minimal autopreservative concentration of alcohol is about 20 %, that's the reason that any wine/liquor with a concentration above 18 % can be kept for decades without spoiling. Why normal wine can not contain more alcohol than 15-16 %, because the yeast inside producing the alcohol from the sugars will be killed off when the alcohol concentration is increasing over time.