Vcope Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 Alas a couple of weeks ago we began noticing and now are overwhelmed by a sulfur-smelling stinky aroma when we open the glaze buckets. Nose to glaze surface does not smell meaning that you can sniff right around the glazes and can't identify one glaze that may be causing this. We are trying the "Clorox.". Why, how did this start and how,when can we stop it. Any further suggestions? Do we need to throw out all glazes, sanitize and start over? I've never run across this problem before. It's not so nice for our customers either although we making up lots of jstinky jokes too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Round2potter Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 Swamp gas should not have any effect on the glazes themselves so throwing them out would be a waste. To keep bacteria at bay there are a number of solutions.... I have heard that putting the tiniest (like .01% or less) amount of copper carbonate will work; also i think i read something (on an old forum here) about just tossing a penny in the bucket, making sure not to accidently pour it into your peice (look at what happens to a penny in a fire on another post). Silver also works in a similar way, but pennys are much cheaper!!! I think Chlorox would work, bleach kills everything!!! I always try to avoid any material with chlorine in it, like bleach, table salt, etc.... as the chlorine burns off in the firing and forms Hydrochloric acid fumes which will eat away at heating coils and kiln brick/furniture over time. Another way to help prevent this from happening is to formulate glazes that have a minimum amount of organic materials in it; cut down on clay, maybe use a calcined version, the organic material is the food for the bacteria, get rid of the food and you get rid of the bacteria. ONE MORE way of killing things that i really like to use when i have let a glaze sit so long it stinks really bad is to put it into a clear container, or a wide bowl and put it out into the sunlight for an hour or so, stirring occasionally; the UVC light kills bacteria. This is the same principle as used by some airblower hand dryers and water treatment facilities. This is probably the easiest way of doing it, but it only treats the problem not the cause (the organic materials). -Burt Or you could pass out clothes pins to everybody glazing to put on their noses!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Round2potter Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 Oh yeah, one more thing, if your glazes include a suspension agent like gum arabic or CMC gum that could (most probably is) the cause of the stench. If this is the case try a different suspension agent like bentonite, ball clay, or Veegum; also there are some types of CMC and gum arabic that have an antibacterial already added to keep things from rotting. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJR Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 I think round2potter has hit the nail on the head. You have something organic in there that is breaking down and causing bacteria. I use 3% bentonite as my suspension agent. Works great! Something you might try is to freeze your glazes outside. This would probably kill the bacteria. Is it cold enough where you are to do this? Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perkolator Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 like others said, it's the organic content in your glaze that's rotting and causing the smell. can come from many sources, like gums or even ball clays. my gas kiln wash likes to reek like death because of the CMC that goes in it. i usually just give it a splash of bleach when it gets really bad - works great and won't effect anything. sometimes i'll joke that i put eggs in the wash as a suspension agent, hahahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surubee Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 I have noticed that glazes containing bone ash usually smell pretty bad, but I don't have a remedy for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayjay Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 I have noticed that glazes containing bone ash usually smell pretty bad, but I don't have a remedy for it. Oh, great news! My tutor has just had her horse put to sleep and now has a large quantity of bone ash with which she intends to make glazes to immortalise the beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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