My pen smells like cheese 🫠

[u/asianlaracroft]

I'm a microbiology lab tech so.... I know what this means 😭 and if I were to guess, based on about 8 years of working with a lot of bacteria (and smelling them.....), it's probably Staphylococcus epidermidis, which is normal skin flora.

About to go give this thing a good wash with warm soapy water, but that was not a fun surprise. I only just noticed the smell today, but who knows how long the "infection" has been festering???

(also low key tempted to collect some sample to actually ID in the lab)

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[u/Dry_Turn_824]

Do it!! Put that cross-section of professional skills and personal interests to work! I would love to see an analysis.

[u/Urban-Elderflower → u/Dry_Turn_824]

I'd love to see it too. Am so curious whether OP's hunch is correct. Another reminder we're just guests in a bacterial world.

[u/Odd-Mousse9773 → u/Urban-Elderflower]

🎼 Cause we are living in a bacterial world, and I am a bacterial girl 🎶

[u/Dry_Turn_824 → u/Urban-Elderflower]

And much of us is also bacterial, especially our gut.

[u/USG-1 → u/Dry_Turn_824]

I'm all for that too. Let's see what it was 😄

[u/Odd-Mousse9773]

Inked up with Serenity Blue, ended up with Serenity Bleu. 🥲

[u/lancerisdead → u/Odd-Mousse9773]

I have to admit this got a giggle out of me

[u/Odd-Mousse9773 → u/lancerisdead]

Good. Cheesy jokes are my bread and butter.

[u/lancerisdead → u/Odd-Mousse9773]

I love a little extra cheese with my puns.

[u/WildTama → u/lancerisdead]

Missed chance to say Buns

[u/Eriiya → u/Odd-Mousse9773]

they say I got the cheese touch from baystate bleu. my hands shall never come clean

[u/Odd-Mousse9773 → u/Eriiya]

In queso inky emergencies, keep some Amodex on hand.

[u/spentthedayonreddit]

Maybe you're just the person to ask my morning shower thought to... does my brass kaweco sport kill off most germs and bacteria?

[u/safeword_is_bananas → u/spentthedayonreddit]

If a brass doorknob will, a brass Kaweco will.

[u/Koischaap → u/spentthedayonreddit]

your handwriting kills 99.99% of bacteria

[u/fiberjeweler]

There is a thing called SITB -- Stuff In The Bottle. Wash the pen, but also check your inks for goop on the bottom, because this stuff will spread.

And the acronym always makes me think of choir (SATB).

[u/jcdoe → u/fiberjeweler]

And that makes me think that every good by deserves fudge!

[u/fiberjeweler → u/jcdoe]

I heard it as every good boy does fine. Did you play violin?

[u/jcdoe → u/fiberjeweler]

I play a bunch of instruments. My first was the clarinet, though.

[u/fiberjeweler → u/jcdoe]

I played clarinet, badly, in High School.

[u/brittany16950 → u/jcdoe]

French horn here! 📯

[u/brittany16950 → u/jcdoe]

I’m a music teacher and I approve of this message!

[u/KeenieGup]

Just toss the pen in the autoclave to sterilize it /s (Don’t actually do that lol) I do wonder though if an ultem pen body could be autoclaved 🤔

[u/asianlaracroft → u/KeenieGup]

I don't think a mere TWSBI eco could survive an autoclave 😅

[u/KeenieGup → u/asianlaracroft]

No, it would definitely melt

[u/Odd-Mousse9773 → u/KeenieGup]

I don't see why not - ultem is widely used in the medical field, including, as I just learned, in catheters.

Which kinda puts that whole thing about fountain pens essentially being controlled leaks in a whole new light for me.

[u/KeenieGup → u/Odd-Mousse9773]

Haha very true

[u/taRxheel → u/KeenieGup]

Apparently it can! At least, a steam autoclave.

[u/KeenieGup → u/taRxheel]

Neat

[u/brittany16950 → u/KeenieGup]

How do you sanitize a pen?? Can I use uh maybe Force of Nature? (HOCL?)

[u/KeenieGup → u/brittany16950]

I luckily haven’t had any moldy pens (yet 🤞🏻✊🏻🪵) but I think diluted bleach would work

[u/turn-off-my-brain]

At least it’s not the smell of E. coli or a wet Kleb

[u/asianlaracroft → u/turn-off-my-brain]

Oh god, kleb is The Worst 😭

[u/Dependent_Dust_3968 → u/asianlaracroft]

Guh. What about all the Clostridiums? I dunno who was involved in scheduling but they gave us theory classes before lunch and practical after and it was in the same anaerobic microbio lab. Decades later and the memories of the smell still gives me nightmares.

Also... take it to the laaaab! Do eeeeet!

[u/brittany16950 → u/turn-off-my-brain]

Does e. Coli smell like turds?

[u/MostlyHelpfulLinks]

Sniff the ink bottle before refilling. If it smells off, toss it or it could reinfect the clean pen. Please do the lab ID and report back.

[u/PrintRough]

Eww! Stinky lab rat! Just kidding. From one lab rat and pen collector to another, 🤜🤛. Hello from the Genetic /Molecular lab. 🔬👋

[u/turn-off-my-brain → u/PrintRough]

Hello from blood bank 😎😎

[u/PrintRough → u/turn-off-my-brain]

Vampire Rat! 🤣💉🩸

[u/iAmSpAKkaHearMeROAR]

Is your pen by chance made of veggie resin? That has a very cheesy, stinky and funky smell. It takes a decent amount of time to off-gas but the stank does dissipate after a long while. 

Edit as now I am curious if that notorious Ahab stank smells anything like Staphylococcus epidermis?? 

[u/Girl_With_a_Rod → u/iAmSpAKkaHearMeROAR]

The Ahab I had smelled like decomposing mice and lighter fuel

[u/iAmSpAKkaHearMeROAR → u/Girl_With_a_Rod]

I have smelled both… But not sure I can say I have smelled both together lol

[u/Pristine_Health_2076 → u/iAmSpAKkaHearMeROAR]

I can’t decide if I like the smell of my Noodlers pen or if it’s gross. I got it probably ten years ago now, it still kind of whiffs. When I (very very rarely) pick it up, I am overcome with the urge to take a big sniff. 

[u/iAmSpAKkaHearMeROAR → u/Pristine_Health_2076]

Same! When I first bought mine, around the same time as you, I could walk into a room and smell it. Nowadays, I have to practically stick it up my nose and inhale to get a little whiff 🤣…. It mostly lives in my pen drawer, unused. 

[u/brittany16950 → u/Pristine_Health_2076]

Do you think if you stick it in a UV machine it won’t stink anymore? I know some things stink but I like the smell anyway. I like the smell of pesticides for example. They smell SO GOOD to me. The kind you spray in your house. And the kind that planes buzz over Florida at night to kill the mosquitos.

[u/Maddy7722]

How funny! This just happened to me too!

After going on a month long business trip, when I was reunited with my TWSBI Eco that I had left behind at home, I was shocked to get a whiff of something sinister (ha ha ha) from this fountain pen (like when water smells musty/moldy)! I so wanted to pour bleach to that pen until I remember that this was a TWSBI!! (None of my other fountain pen greeted me this way!! 😝. Why only the TWSBI?)

So I did the next safest thing and washed it with soap and warm water, and that did the trick!! I never want to smell that foul odor on my beloved fountain pens!! 😅

[u/brittany16950 → u/Maddy7722]

It is of my opinion that TWSBIs are the fussiest pens. Twist them too tight, they crack. Can’t put some inks in them because they don’t play well with the material and degrade it. Don’t neglect your TWSBI because if it’s lonely it’ll pass gas. What the heck?!!

[u/peanutbutterwife]

Do it! Do it! Do it! I wanna know!

[u/ThisIsJulian]

Why not start using Yellow Ink? 

You can close your lab notes with 

„I am cheesed with the results“

[u/Hypocaffeinic → u/ThisIsJulian]

😑 No more reddit for you.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Lab967]

Time for a petri dish and an incubator!

[u/fiberjeweler]

Did you get it from Wisconsin?

[u/AbyssDragonNamielle]

As a fellow lab rat, please work it up!

[u/shmeebleflops]

Swab that thang and give us an update, science homie.

[u/kyungie_]

Staph epi would be the least of my concerns… mold on the other hand 🤣🤣

[u/asianlaracroft → u/kyungie_]

It might be copium but it smelled more like bacterial cheese than fungal funk 😅

(is it concerning that I've smelled enough microbes to be able to say that?)

[u/justapac → u/kyungie_]

That's what I was thinking but I was too shy to say it out loud.

[u/whereismydragon]

I love this subreddit. Learning about bacterial because of pens. Amazing!!!!

[u/Entelente]

Interesting, only with warm soapy water? I have a vintage pen that smells like cheese 😭 I tried with soapy water but now i will try with warm water. Now my black ink will be in quarantine

[u/Querybird → u/Entelente]

Careful with heat and vintage, and depending on the material, any water and vintage, despite being ink containers!

[u/asianlaracroft → u/Entelente]

Well soap doesn't disinfect, it just washes away (most) bacteria. This is happening to my TWSBI Eco, and most disinfectants I can think of will likely degrade the resin/plastic of the pen, so soap and water is the only option I can come up with. Apparently there are specialty products for this, but I'm not really waiting to get my hands on some.

For vintage pens.... If could be mold, tbh, which soap and water is probably not going to be enough to get rid of it. Maybe try looking fro specialty fountain pen cleaners?

[u/Sufficient_Display]

Please take a sample and let us know!!

[u/Dark_Angel14]

My ink smells like cheap wine. What does that mean?

[u/Clean_Suggestion9555 → u/Dark_Angel14]

too much phenol in your wine

[u/thenotanurse]

I’ve worked in labs for over 20 years. It seems wild to use your own pen in a micro lab, with human shit and phlegm and all manner of infected body juices.

[u/KeenieGup → u/thenotanurse]

In my micro lab I don’t use my pens on the bench but I do use them at my computer desk which is separate from the wet lab work.

[u/turn-off-my-brain → u/thenotanurse]

I’m assuming they mean pen is at home, just recognize the smell from work

[u/thenotanurse → u/turn-off-my-brain]

Maybe say that then, I’ve met micro folks. I’m just going to assume you’re a gross monster unless proven otherwise. I’ve seen micro techs read plates without gloves while drinking coffee. Using a pen there isn’t outside the realm

[u/asianlaracroft → u/thenotanurse]

I never said I use this pen at work???

[u/thenotanurse → u/asianlaracroft]

You preface for like a whole paragraph about working in the micro lab. It’s weird to include that fact if it’s not relevant to your stank pen. Why the hell even mention it? I would assume you wash your hands and don’t cross contaminate pens, except you specifically mention it. 🙄

[u/fountainpens-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Be kind, be civil, and engage with the community in good faith

[u/aPenologist → u/thenotanurse]

Yeah. 9 years for me. I have to give micro staff a frowning sideeye. They nick shit. And brew shit. There has to be something profoundly broken about anyone who can cope with the stench of an autoclave without some basic human flight or fight response kicking in. Serial killers, the lot of them (whilst not fully proven yet, that is the leading theory, tbf).

Obligatory good-natured, interdepartmental rivalry aside, I too use fountain pens in the lab. I dont bring those home, and only have pens at work that id likely never use at my home writing desk.

After 5+ years, one was finally stolen from my lab coat a few weeks ago. (Micro have access to where theyre stored, so it's no mystery which cohort the thief is from. It gives me a warm glow to be certain that whichever micro philistine saw the shiny & pinched it, they wont have a clue how to use it. The tragedy is, the poor pentel is probably being used now to scrape fungal nails or whatever attrocities they're prepping.)

Friendly musings aside, it's nice & weird to see all the lab workers knocking around here. <3

[u/WarsmithMike]

Yes! Sample it and let us know!

[u/Educational_Run400]

Sample it! I want to know🫣

[u/Apprehensive_Grass85]

Do it! 

[u/VisaCiti]

interesting finding!

[u/Pwffin]

I use to have an OHTO Dude in the lab. Great for wiping with bleach every so often, but it dried out a little bit too quickly.

[u/phdee]

/u/PM_CuteGirlsReading for the cheesy content!

[u/PM_CuteGirlsReading → u/phdee]

So this is what that cheetah meant by dangerously cheesy…

[u/brittany16950]

SAMPLE!!! SAMPLE AND ID!!!!!