colinfrier Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 About 4 weeks ago I flushed my FW tank with Milton I had about 1/2 a bottle left which I stood in the stainless steel (I think) sink in turn that got knocked over and a little leaked out.Just getting ready for the off to England and found the Milton had reacted with the sink to the extent it has made two holes right through. I have made a temp repair with epoxy putty but now need a new sink. OTHERS BEWARE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 This is well known and has happened to other people, the message is to never ever leave Milton in liquid form (even a drop) on a Stainless Steel surface. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Thanks for the info Colin. Never heard of this well known reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 There was a letter (some long time ago) in MMM's Interchange columns mentioning Milton's voracious appetite for stainless-steel sinks. It's pretty aggressive stuff in undiluted form and, although there are warnings of this on the labelling, it may well not be appreciated quite how corrosive to metal Milton and similar products are. Also plays havoc if you spill it on carpets and clothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Just to complete the picture a bit, the active ingredient of Milton is chlorine, so any chlorine based sterilising product can have the same effect. Truma boilers/combis have stainless steel water jackets, which is why Truma advise against using chlorine based products for fresh water system purification.Replacing sinks is bad enough, but new Trumas are REALLY expensive!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 That would include common bleach then as it is chlorine based. I wasn't aware of the reaction and I will now avoid chlorine based chemicals and stainless forthwith. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 And yet one of the best things for cleaning a stainless steel sink and associated plastic pipework when it gets pongey is - yes you guessed it - good old fashioned neat domestic bleach! There are no warnings about use on stainless steel on any of the three different makes of the stuff that we have here at home? Maybe Milton is much more concentrated or contains other nasties as well as chlorine? We have successfully used very dilute bleach to flush out a fresh water tank in the past (and a less dilute version to flush out a waste tank or two over the years) - followed by a couple of tankfuls of mark one tapolene to flush it all out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losos Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Colin, thanks for the info, I never knew that Milton was so powerful. They use it for sterilising babies bottles don't they !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Losos - 2009-05-25 8:21 PM Colin, thanks for the info, I never knew that Milton was so powerful. They use it for sterilising babies bottles don't they !! Yes, but they don't feed it to babies neat! It is the chlorine concentration that has to be watched. Most bleaches are chlorine based, but are far from neat chlorine. It's nasty stuff that can kill you in sufficient concentration, but highly useful if used properly and wisely. Just like fire, then, really :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike P Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 As a matter of interest the same applies to metal pan scouring pads (the Brillo type). If left damp on 304 stainless they will quickly perforate it due to electrolytic action. Mike P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 I used to put a small quantity of Milton in my Herald Motorhome's fresh-water tank and, when the stainless-steel water reservoir on the vehicle's Truma C-Series heater developed a leak, I asked Truma(UK) if the Milton might have been the cause. They thought not, as the concentration would have been too low to affect the metal and the leak was just due to a poor weld when the reservoir was made. However, I've never used Milton since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROON Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Crumbs! Thanks to everybody for this information. I'm a Milton freak. Just goes to show the importance of this site. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBS Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Milton and houshold bleach is diluted sodium hypochlorite. Many years ago, for cleaning stainless steel containers used in food production, we used phosphoric acid. I still use a weak bleach solution for cleaning the water system. ps - don't mix sodium hypo with an acid. It's extremely exothermic (think: explosion) and releases copious quantities of chlorine gas. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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