Windex as a substitute for ammonia?

[Bayes]

I have not been able to find any ammonia around the house. Will Windex work as well for cleaning out a Parker "51"? Or does it have some additives that aren't good for this task?

 

Thanks

Edited April 9, 2007 by Bayes

[SMG]

There are surfactants and other compounds in Windex which should not be used on pens.

 

I would wait until I could get some ammonia and mix it with water. I believe that the correct ratio is 10:1 water to ammonia.

 

If you don't have ammonia at your disposal, a good clean cold water soak overnight should do wonders for the pen.

 

Personally, I have never had to use ammonia, but I do have an Ultrasonic cleaner which is the business with this kinda stuff.

 

Cheers,

SG

[Ron Z]

Some window cleaners also have alcohol to speed up evaporation. As Sean said, they have other stuff in them too that could/may harm the pen. I wouldn't use it.

 

I can't make a direct connection, but I have reason to believe that the total disintegration of an OS Balance section overnight was the result of contact with window cleaner (early days of collecting).

[Jeff E]

Windex Blue contains the following:

 

Ethylene glyco n-hexyl ether 0.1 to 1.0%

Isopropanol 1 to 5%

Water 90to 95%

 

I'm not sure that I'd want to clean a pen with these compounds.