when i stored my membranes i flushed them with permeate then put them in a pvc cannister with permeate , sealed it and stored in coldroom in basement....no soap wash or acid wash just flushed with permeate...did i do wrong?
Printable View
when i stored my membranes i flushed them with permeate then put them in a pvc cannister with permeate , sealed it and stored in coldroom in basement....no soap wash or acid wash just flushed with permeate...did i do wrong?
Very possibly. I suggest you now put them back into the RO,, rinse them, then do a soap wash followed by an acid wash, let the acid wash set 3-4 days. Then repeat the process a second time. After that do a benchmark test. If they pass, then do another wash, acid wash and final rinse. Then add preservative and store them again until preps for next season.
You should never just pack the membranes without doing both a soap wash then an acid wash and finally adding preservative. If you don't the membranes may likely be permanently ruined. A costly mistake.
If you have serious doubts buy new membranes. After using mine for 9 seasons I found they started passing a little sugar. I just bought MES membranes. After checking which membranes most producers were replacing theirs with and how the new ones performed it was either H2O or MES, but MES got about twice the good reports that H2O did. MES also seems to have one of the best prices too. I still will save my old ones for emergencies.
By the way, you will need good water to do the washes, no hardness and no chlorine. If you have soft water, good, if you use soft chlorinated water, let it set for at least 3-4 days to lose the chlorine before doing the washes.
Ok - I hope I didn't screw up my membranes.
I have a RO 10 bucket kit, just got it last year. At the end of the year last year, I did the prescribed wash with the soap that came with the kit, and rinsed very well. Then, I took the membranes out of the housings, put each in a ziplock bag, and put them in my refrigerator. I did not leave them sitting in any solution. There is some condensation on the inside of the ziplocks, so they are still damp, and I did make sure that they did not freeze in the refrigerator. Then I read about people leaving them in solutions in the off season. I did not. Are they ok?
Your membranes should be fine. As long as they didn't dry out and there isn't an awful odor, I would get them back in and do a permeate rinse. If you notice anything, run some ro soap or hydrogen peroxide through it.
Finally have enough sap to use the RO!!! I took it out of storage today, and no smell! I will know tomorrow if it still works, after I test the sugar content of the permeate and concentrate! I have high hopes! Thank you Carl!