inside of hole black when tap is pulled?

[moscowmule]

hi all,
does anyone know what it means if the inside of my tap hole looks black when i pull the tap out at the end of the season?
thanks
cory

[Ed R]

Its bacterial and fungal growth inside the taphole, its normal. I pulled mine today and they had no where near the black growth as last year, probably due to the colder temps this year.

[Bruce L]

Normal with buckets,if you were on tubing,it would be much whiter,and with check valves it would still be like a fresh tap,most important thing is ahealthy tree should pretty well heal the taphole in in one year