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Thread: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

  1. #1

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    When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    I have 2 containers--size: 1 pint (475ml) each--of Photo-Flo 200 in plastic bottles. Both are about 3/4 full. One is from 2000, the other, 2004. At the rate I use the stuff, I have enough to last a very long time. The bottles stay in a dark closet. Should I be worried about shelf life?
    Peter Collins

    On the intent of the First Amendment: The press was to serve the governed, not the governors --Opinion, Hugo Black, Judge, Supreme Court, 1971 re the "Pentagon Papers."

  2. #2

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    Re: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Collins View Post
    I have 2 containers--size: 1 pint (475ml) each--of Photo-Flo 200 in plastic bottles. Both are about 3/4 full. One is from 2000, the other, 2004. At the rate I use the stuff, I have enough to last a very long time. The bottles stay in a dark closet. Should I be worried about shelf life?
    I bought a bottle two years ago, and it has an expiration date on the label that states it expires in October of 2018. I don't know what that means in terms of its usability - what DOES happen when it reaches its expiration date?? I've no clue.

  3. #3
    Ed Freniere
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    Re: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    I have some photo-flo that I've been using for about 50 years, and it was old when I got it. It seems to work fine.

  4. #4
    8x10, 5x7, 4x5, et al Leigh's Avatar
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    Re: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    Photo-Flo is just soap. I see no reason why it would go bad.

    Most likely, the expiration date on the modern bottle is just due to some regulation that requies such info on all chemical products. I would not ascribe any validity to it.

    - Leigh
    If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.

  5. #5

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    Re: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by Leigh View Post
    Photo-Flo is just soap. I see no reason why it would go bad.

    Most likely, the expiration date on the modern bottle is just due to some regulation that requies such info on all chemical products. I would not ascribe any validity to it.

    - Leigh
    Yes, I agree.

    In similar fashion, I've often wondered about the expiry date on sour cream...
    what happens to sour cream after the "best before" date?

  6. #6

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    Re: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan O'Farrell View Post
    Yes, I agree.

    In similar fashion, I've often wondered about the expiry date on sour cream...
    what happens to sour cream after the "best before" date?
    Probably the same thing as out of date Twinkees, like maybe 30 years later!

  7. #7

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    Re: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    In a bottle it's fine. But I had it in 10 gal tanks when I worked in a lab. Eventually some type of scum forms. We added a little isopropyl alchohol to it to keep it clean and to help with drying it seems.
    --

  8. #8
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    Stock PhotoFlo seems to have an indefinite shelf life but I just learned that a working solution of Tween 20 (Polysorbate 20) doesn't: Last week sludge from using a 5% solution that I originally mixed in 11/15 using distilled water appeared while coating. The stock is an opaque white and I can't see if there is any stringy sludge in it like there is in the working solution. I looked it up on the wen and the shelf life of Polysorbate 20 is one year.

    Thomas

  9. #9

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    Re: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    Algae will grow in a Photo-Flo working solution, not in the concentrate. The lab where I worked c.1978 had PF tanks for their b/w sink lines that I changed every Monday morning to avoid this problem.
    Last edited by Mark Sampson; 5-Sep-2018 at 18:46. Reason: clarity

  10. #10

    Join Date
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    Re: When does Photo-Flo go bad?

    Photo-Flo is not exactly soap, the active ingredient is "p-tert-octylphenoxy polyethoxyethyl alcohol", a non ionic surfactant. (MSDS sheet)

    It also contains Propylene glycol, and water.

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