So I am like three weeks new to FPs and this part of the B&B Forum and I have not researched whether this issue has ever been posted here before so at the risk of redundancy, here I go:
I must have been more tired last night than I realized but it still occurred to me before going to bed, "Where is my new Noodler pen loaded with the Antietam (blood-shade, deep-red-brown) ink? And "Oh where might be that cute little disposable black Pilot?"
Well, as it happened, they were stowed-away in the screw driver/pencil pocket of my carpenter jeans. Though I reflected on their whereabouts, my thoughts, as often occurs before bed, did not motivate any actions and these babies went for a ride in the washing machine- a la tumbler style.
Sick, heavy, clink while unloading machine this morning. Found them. Noodler just lying there glistening and free on its side against the shiny steel drum. Saw no ink. Thought, "Screw top. Good!" Found Varsity Pilot; cap still firmly in place. Good. Still no ink. Clothes unscathed.
Now this is the part where you have to pay attention. If you have been stupid enough to wash your fountain pens in the clothes washer you just might be stupid and impatient enough to stop reading this and think you can just go and live your life of quiet desperation and wash your fountain pens in the clothes washer with impunity whenever you feel the urge.
For some reason, I began to loosen the cap on Noodler screw top while it was still in the machine. Why I did this can only be understood by another guy who would put himself in this situation in the first place or transport fried food, spatula to plate, while plate is still in cupboard. It occurs to me that these actions are somehow related.
Fortunately, no animals or clothing were injured in the mild carnage that ensued--- it just looked that way. Before a cascade of Antietam ink had a chance to pour from the cap it dawned on me what was happening and what this pen had experienced last night and I quickly retightened the cap to staunch the flow. I held a conveniently available rag in one hand with the pen in place at arms length and away from the clothes as I walked toward my shave den sink. There were some gory looking spots on the stainless steel washing machine tumbler and on my hands but those in the machine quickly wiped out clean and of course the ink will eventually wear off my hands. Needless to say, when I finally loosened the cap on the Pilot, I carefully held it capside down over the sink and it went well from there.
All of the ink in both pens completely emptied into their caps and fortunately was safely contained therein until I disturbed the caps. The spin cycle apparently acted like a centrifuge and for those of you out in nib land who would not have predicted this, now you know what to do after you have done one more thing you should never do.
I must have been more tired last night than I realized but it still occurred to me before going to bed, "Where is my new Noodler pen loaded with the Antietam (blood-shade, deep-red-brown) ink? And "Oh where might be that cute little disposable black Pilot?"
Well, as it happened, they were stowed-away in the screw driver/pencil pocket of my carpenter jeans. Though I reflected on their whereabouts, my thoughts, as often occurs before bed, did not motivate any actions and these babies went for a ride in the washing machine- a la tumbler style.
Sick, heavy, clink while unloading machine this morning. Found them. Noodler just lying there glistening and free on its side against the shiny steel drum. Saw no ink. Thought, "Screw top. Good!" Found Varsity Pilot; cap still firmly in place. Good. Still no ink. Clothes unscathed.
Now this is the part where you have to pay attention. If you have been stupid enough to wash your fountain pens in the clothes washer you just might be stupid and impatient enough to stop reading this and think you can just go and live your life of quiet desperation and wash your fountain pens in the clothes washer with impunity whenever you feel the urge.
For some reason, I began to loosen the cap on Noodler screw top while it was still in the machine. Why I did this can only be understood by another guy who would put himself in this situation in the first place or transport fried food, spatula to plate, while plate is still in cupboard. It occurs to me that these actions are somehow related.
Fortunately, no animals or clothing were injured in the mild carnage that ensued--- it just looked that way. Before a cascade of Antietam ink had a chance to pour from the cap it dawned on me what was happening and what this pen had experienced last night and I quickly retightened the cap to staunch the flow. I held a conveniently available rag in one hand with the pen in place at arms length and away from the clothes as I walked toward my shave den sink. There were some gory looking spots on the stainless steel washing machine tumbler and on my hands but those in the machine quickly wiped out clean and of course the ink will eventually wear off my hands. Needless to say, when I finally loosened the cap on the Pilot, I carefully held it capside down over the sink and it went well from there.
All of the ink in both pens completely emptied into their caps and fortunately was safely contained therein until I disturbed the caps. The spin cycle apparently acted like a centrifuge and for those of you out in nib land who would not have predicted this, now you know what to do after you have done one more thing you should never do.
