Is this Yixing teapot ruined?

[davlittman]

Thank you so much for all of the advice, everyone! I'm happy to say that she's making delicious bai mudan without any hint of vinegar, baking soda, or mold.

[yalokinh]

Thank you so much for all of the advice, everyone! I'm happy to say that she's making delicious bai mudan without any hint of vinegar, baking soda, or mold.

ah thats all that matters!

[mcrdotcom]

I wouldn't worry about mould for bad health... Chronic exposure to mould spores can be dangerous if you inhale, and I'm sure consuming a large quantity of mould at once wouldn't be overly helpful to ones stomach. But plenty of people accidentally consume small amounts of bread mould etc... Without issue. If you boil the pot you will kill most of the mould, and if you use the bleach solution then you will probably kill 90-99% of the more resilient spores!

Personally I would be more worried about lingering bleach in my pot than some microscopic mould, so I would just boil the pot a few times and then re-season with some tea.

I'm no expert in cleaning pots, and this has never happened to me, but I stand by my somewhat educated (I'm a chemist and I've studied biology/medicinal chemistry) opinion

[kyarazen]

I'm no expert in cleaning pots, and this has never happened to me, but I stand by my somewhat educated (I'm a chemist and I've studied biology/medicinal chemistry) opinion

looks like we've got quite a few chemists here we should have a thread to discuss tea at a chemistry/biological level

[chrl42]

I'm no expert in cleaning pots, and this has never happened to me, but I stand by my somewhat educated (I'm a chemist and I've studied biology/medicinal chemistry) opinion

looks like we've got quite a few chemists here we should have a thread to discuss tea at a chemistry/biological level

Please do. Looks like one follower has been reserved

[tingjunkie]

Personally I would be more worried about lingering bleach in my pot than some microscopic mould, so I would just boil the pot a few times and then re-season with some tea.

Since you are a chemist, I'll be very interested to hear why you'd be worried about a ml or two of diluted bleach solution that might get trapped in the clay? In a survival situation, using bleach to purify drinking water (about 5-7 drops per liter) is an accepted practice. Sure, it's not something you want to do long term or often, but I'm really failing to see how a miniscule amount trapped in the clay would be of any risk. Honestly, I'd be surprised to find out there is any trapped in the clay after reboiling the pot a couple times after the soak anyway.

[bonescwa]

Personally I would be more worried about lingering bleach in my pot than some microscopic mould, so I would just boil the pot a few times and then re-season with some tea.

Since you are a chemist, I'll be very interested to hear why you'd be worried about a ml or two of diluted bleach solution that might get trapped in the clay? In a survival situation, using bleach to purify drinking water (about 5-7 drops per liter) is an accepted practice. Sure, it's not something you want to do long term or often, but I'm really failing to see how a miniscule amount trapped in the clay would be of any risk. Honestly, I'd be surprised to find out there is any trapped in the clay after reboiling the pot a couple times after the soak anyway.

Neutrophils make bleach

[mcrdotcom]

Personally I would be more worried about lingering bleach in my pot than some microscopic mould, so I would just boil the pot a few times and then re-season with some tea.

Since you are a chemist, I'll be very interested to hear why you'd be worried about a ml or two of diluted bleach solution that might get trapped in the clay? In a survival situation, using bleach to purify drinking water (about 5-7 drops per liter) is an accepted practice. Sure, it's not something you want to do long term or often, but I'm really failing to see how a miniscule amount trapped in the clay would be of any risk. Honestly, I'd be surprised to find out there is any trapped in the clay after reboiling the pot a couple times after the soak anyway.

Neutrophils make bleach

I was trying to make the point that I would be more scared of ingesting bleach than a natural mould

I'm not a survivalist and I didn't know of this practice, and of course it doesn't surprise me, I'm not saying a few mL would kill anyone or make them sick! But I try to avoid ingesting any amount of these sorts of things if it's not necessary I think having a pot with potential mould in it is a different situation than someone trying to survive with unclean water. Personally, I would rather leave the harsh oxidising agent under the sink until all else had failed

As for any being trapped, I have no idea how well yixing pots retain different chemicals. I'm not an expert on them, and I only have one that is less than a year in use! I'm fairly sure the trace amount left would be laughable but again, I spend my day in an environment where we try to reduce the amount of exposure to these harsh chemicals as much as possible, so it's just a habit of sorts

[mcrdotcom]

I'm no expert in cleaning pots, and this has never happened to me, but I stand by my somewhat educated (I'm a chemist and I've studied biology/medicinal chemistry) opinion

looks like we've got quite a few chemists here we should have a thread to discuss tea at a chemistry/biological level

Please do. Looks like one follower has been reserved

Replying to this separately! I love this idea

[brunogm]

Has anyone tried to clean a yixing teapot with and ultrasound cleaner?

I am wondering if because the way ultrasound cleaning work, it might not break the teapot.

[tingjunkie]

Has anyone tried to clean a yixing teapot with and ultrasound cleaner?

I am wondering if because the way ultrasound cleaning work, it might not break the teapot.

If I remember correctly, I think they used ultrasound to clean the Desaru Shipwreck teapots.

[brunogm]

If this is the case, ultrasounds could very well be the most efficient way to clean a teapot. It is cheap too, there are ultrasounds cleaners in the 20 USD price range.
I am using mine to clean small things like glasses and watches, it works wonders.
Before trying it on an expensive teapot, it could be worth testing it on a cheap, very porous one (this is the porosity that worries me with ultrasounds).

[betta]

In a survival situation, using bleach to purify drinking water (about 5-7 drops per liter) is an accepted practice.

This kind of practice isn't applicable for all bleaching agents in general. Dependent on the type of bleaching agent used, some end up being water molecules after the reaction and thus harmless, if they don't occur in excess amount.

[betta]

If this is the case, ultrasounds could very well be the most efficient way to clean a teapot. It is cheap too, there are ultrasounds cleaners in the 20 USD price range.
I am using mine to clean small things like glasses and watches, it works wonders.
Before trying it on an expensive teapot, it could be worth testing it on a cheap, very porous one (this is the porosity that worries me with ultrasounds).

The ultrasonic cleaning alone works well to clean parts that are out of reach.
The main improvement in the cleaning comes from the cleaning solutions that are sold along with the ultrasonic cleaner. This liquid is a quite strong liquid soap. Therefore normally optometrist does not soak glasses long in these solutions upon cleaning spectacles.

[ABx]

Chlorine breaks down to be harmless; remember that it's in your water, too. As long as you rinse it out really well it should be fine. I don't think that most people realize just how much chlorine breaks down -- after 6 months in the cupboard it will actually expire.

If you'd rather, though, you can always use a denture cleaner. Get "StainAway" -- it's a lot stronger and doesn't have any mint or other flavor. The bleach is pretty mild, and there's a few things in denture cleaner that clean purely mechanically.