Storage of Liner Material and Receivers

It is important to keep in mind that natural latex biodegrades. It has a long shelf life if properly stored, but can be ruined in days if you do not pay attention to how to store it. Abco has tried a number of ideas in an attempt to make a super liner, but good old latex is hard to beat for a lot of applications, and this seems to be one of them.

First, air is the mortal enemy of latex products. So the number one rule for storing latex is very simple. Seal it up. It does not have to be fancy. I use Ziploc type bags for mine. Press out extra air and seal the bag firmly.

Second, sunlight is the death of latex products. So keep them in a dark place. I use a drawer where I keep all the receiver parts and supplies and tools. No UV light for latex products.

Protected from light and air with a few simple precautions will considerably extend the life of latex supplies like liner material. A closed cardboard box with the latex stuff in sealed plastic bags does the trick. Liner material will last for many months stored this way in an area not overly hot. The classic "cool dark place".

Another useful latex preservation product is baby cornstarch. The kind for powdering babies. Not the Talc, or talcum powder, but the cornstarch. You will need to carefully read the ingredients label to tell the difference in most cases, though some products are labeled as cornstarch. It is quite hard to find unscented, but rarely it is available. Also look out for types that contain some kind of moisturizer. With luck you can find one that is just ultrafine cornstarch.

I use Johnson's Baby Cornstarch when I can find it. It is very fine though usually stinky. Dusted on latex it takes away all stickiness and seems to preserve the latex further. Be warned, it makes the latex quite slippery, so you may need to rinse off a section of dusted liner before you can get it to stay put when you try to install it on your receiver. But it can be used to dust exposed parts of a receiver after it is dry and before you put it away. Generic house brand baby cornstarch is probably just as good and cheaper.

Storage and Cleaning of Receivers

Which brings up another point. Storage of receivers. They also benefit from being kept out of the light, especially direct sunlight. I have found a particular plastic "Rubbermaid" type of rectangular tub, about 14 x 20 inches and about six inches deep. It slides nicely under the bed. Laying the receivers in this tub and sliding it under the bed works for me as easy storage. Plus the tub is easy to clean. Even rinsed receivers can drool lubricant.

Notice I keep saying "receivers" plural? You will quickly discover that once you have mastered receiver maintenance and fitting, that there is no reason not to have several, set up differently. The major cost is in the power unit. Fiddling with receivers, rebuilding them with different sizes of the liners and constrictors, is quite inexpensive.

On the topic of cleaning, the most important part is of course rinsing after use. Following by standing the receiver up on its mouth end to drain. During rinsing you need to be particularly careful about getting water inside the hose fitting, between the liner and the receiver housing. If you do, you really need to break down the receiver and dry it out. The latex will grow mold if stored damp. Abco has nifty little black caps to place over the tube fitting for washing up to prevent exactly this kind of accident. But I never can seem to find where the little things have run off to! So I just carefully keep my thumb on the hand holding the receiver over the tube fitting while rinsing it out.

Rinse with COLD water! Or warm at best. The Venus receiver is made of a thermoplastic. If you get it really hot, like with the hottest water a hot water tap might supply, it will soften and distort. Use only cold or warm water for rinsing out the receiver units. Also the caps are thermoplastic. If you wash them in very hot water they will SHRINK! Some interesting possibilities exist for advanced receiver fiddling based on the thermoplastic nature of the housings, but for most users, you should be careful not to get the receiver parts too hot.

If you boil a receiver, expect to end up with a real mess!!   If a receiver grows mold or becomes a noxious mess, it is best to strip it down, discard the mold infected latex parts, clean the end cap and housing carefully with soap and warm water, and start over with new latex liners, constrictors and bands. Properly rinsed after each use and drained and allowed to dry, and this should not be a problem at all.

The valves need special attention and a scrub brush, such as a stiff old toothbrush. The valves attract lubricant to an amazing extent. Some have reported that a shot from a can of silicone lubricant onto the ball of the valve will help keep it from gumming up and sticking. I just scrub mine up with water nicely.

08/04

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