Silicone Tubing - Odor after autoclaving

[jybingbrew]

Some of my silicone tubing had gone through quite a bit of use and then sat around in my garage for awhile. I was using my pressure cooker to santize a few other things anyway, so thought I would throw the tubing in as well just to completely sanitize it.

When I took it out, the tubing had gone from the translucent white color to a translucent brown color -- and I cannot figure out why -- there was nothing but water and mason jars in there. In addition, it now has an odd smell to it that I cannot place -- very hard to describe but just doesn't smell normal.

Has anybody else had this happen? Should I be concerned? I thought one of the benefits of silicone is the longevity and abilty to autoclave so I wasn't anticipating any issues.

 

[audger]

did you use tap water or distilled? was the tubing and pot extremely clean before you pressure cooked it? silicone itself is inert, but it will pick up other chemicals if you force it to...

an actual autoclave uses very pure water, is very clean inside (ie. wasnt used to pressure cook last nights pork roast), and is used on parts that have already been washed regularly.

 

[jybingbrew]

Hmm. It was tap water, but the way I did it the tubing wasn't submerged in it. It was sitting on a top of the jars. Is that an issue?

In terms of being clean, I'm probably okay there. I only use it for canning and sanitizing and it's pretty much like new when you look at the inside.

Is using tap water and issue? It's city water and I can't speak to the chemistry but it's noted for being quite clean. We regularly drink it straight from the sink.