I really love your accessory products like this, and I hope to see more in the future. It's nice to have a single, reputable, reliable brand for stuff like this, as well as things like syringes, nibs, silicone grease, o-rings, etc -- and even if not all of the stuff is not even rebranded, buying from you is much easier than buying from some shady no-name brand with a single product.

There aren't really any 'self-cleaning' inks these days, but in general inks that are less saturated with dye (more watery-looking colors) clog less, or inks with more lubricant in them will flow smoother. Nodoler's Eel series, Monteverde inks, and Pilot Iroshizuku inks, and J. Herbin are some of the more lubricated and easy to clean.

Great how-to video! This will go a long way in me being able to keep my first new fountain pen clean, I have already ordered 2 more fountain pens from different brands to see which brand I like. Thanks for all the work you put into making these videos it's much appreciated!

Love all of your videos. Have had fountain pens for 20 odd years and never knew how to take care of them. Cleaning them was not anything I was aware of. Great information. Thanks

That's wonderful to hear! We actually have more stuff in the works as we speak, you'll see it coming out in the next few weeks :) I'm glad to be able to offer stuff like this. I remember what it was like to be new in the fountain pen world, and how hard it was just to figure out what the heck was going on with things like cleaners and accessories. I'm trying to put together this kind of stuff to make the fountain pen hobby even more enjoyable for those starting out.

Hi Brian, I used the pen flush on my Pilot Custom 823 today. Might I say that it was an Exciting Event? Absolutely! Bubbles, bubbles, everywhere! But I persevered, and can say that the cleaning was a success! I suggest using less than the 4 ml. Even my dog Jake liked the bubbles. Until he tasted a one that fell on the floor. Don’t worry, he’s ok!

lol "probably another blue if I'm being honest"

This is useful. I don't have your brand of flush but I have a couple of bottles of Monteverde flush, which I guess is conceptually equivalent. The one thing I was not able to find online was whether the flush should be used neat or diluted first, so it's good to see the answer here. I'll get a bottle of your flush when I place my next order (having just received a Lamy 2000 from Goulet Pens, woohoo!).

Absolutely, if it's a different filling mechanism, you just use whatever mechanism the pen has to use the flush, just as if you were filling the pen with ink. So if it's a piston-filler, just suck up the flush into it that way, and rinse with water afterwards.

Excited to try it!

It's always a good idea to clean out your pens when changing ink colors, you never know when you could get a bad reaction (even within the same brand). Using just water will usually suffice, but if you've been mixing inks in your pen for a while, it would not be the worst idea to use a flush to get it back into shape.

Thanks! I would check out the Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, Sheaffer 100, and TWSBI Mini or 580.

Flush would definitely be what you need for your old pen. I'm not exactly sure what you're asking me, but I think you're curious if the flush will be safe to use in your pen. This is a pretty harmless solution, except against ink ;) So I think it would really help you out.

It works best to break down built-up gunk, so dried ink, paper fiber, dust particles, all that stuff that can build up in your pen over time will break down better and faster with an ammonia-based flush than it will just with water. It also helps to clean certain inks better out of your pen, though I can't say exactly why that is because ink companies don't publish any of their ingredients publicly.

It will help with some inks, but it depends on the individual ink's properties. Baystate Blue for example, cleans with bleach, so you'd want to use a 10% bleach in water solution to clean that out. I'm not sure about North African Violet. Calligraphy ink is a different breed, that's usually shellac-based and will only clean off with acetone (which will literally melt plastic!!) so you want to keep this ink far away from fountain pens, and keep the acetone far away, too.

Did it dry up in there? iron gall is tough, if it's a true full-on iron gall, then it could have actually damaged the pen. What ink was it, and how long did you use the iron gall in there?

WAY late to the party, here, but if you lose your vial or have a pen that won't fit, what I use is a small pill bottle from my (many) medications. You know the kind of amber bottles the pharmacist puts medication in? Most of my small ones usually have a VERY SLIGHT taper toward the bottom, where it is about 3 cm in diameter (a little over an inch) and uncapped it is about 7 cm in depth. (I haven't measured the volume.) They're great for just dropping in a nib you want to let soak because it has a lot of old dried ink in it. Swirl it around a bit if you wish, and then you can just pour it down the drain (don't lose the nib down the drain!) and put fresh water in it again. Repeat until the water is absolutely clear.

I used to never even clean my pens, and would just write for a while with a mix of two inks. I would only clean the pen if I needed a pure color (like switching to Blue Ghost). Then refilled a pilot petit1 cartridge with Lamy turquoise; the old pilot ink and the Lamy ink mixed badly and clogged the pen. I had mixed across brands before (Lamy turquoise with Liberty's Elysium) and it worked fine. I guess I should get this flush sometime in the future just in case something terrible happens.

How old is your Lamy Blue-Black? It used to be an iron gall ink until late last year, which is different than most normal fountain pen inks. What I'm reading on FPN is that iron galls clean well with vinegar (about 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water) as a home remedy, but I haven't tried this for myself yet. I'm not sure how this will stack up to my flush, by I know my flush will help clean out iron gall ink better than water alone.

Hoping to finally get my grandma's old parker pen clean

Deionized Water and Distilled Water are basically the exact same thing. Distilling is one method of de-ionizing water. There are other ways.

Thanks! That's exactly what I was asking. I'll give it a try :)

After my pen has been cleaned, how long should I wait to fill it with ink? Should I allow some dry time? Thank you for all the videos...they are very informative for this newbie.

I have tried everything with my al star, I still cannot get the iron gall out, even if I soak it in dish detergent and vinegar. No matter what, i cannot get the ink out, what should I do? I'm thinking about taking the feed out and then cleaning it.

When using a cleaning solution that has ammonia iin it, is there a percent of ammonia that is a safety limitnfor the pen? Are there types of pen materials (e.g., celluloid) that we should avoid using ammonia containing cleaners on entirely. Should pens be thoroughly rinsed with water after using a pen cleaner?

This is very useful! The main reason I've never bought a flush is because I didn't now how to use it properly. I have a question. My dad has this really old pen and has NEVER cleaned it ( eww I know!). Could the ammonium in the flush be used for any type of nib and feeder material? Thanks!

Can I use this on older pens Like my 50 year old school pens and my Grandfather's Parker 51 I have cleaned them all out with water

Why is ammonia a good pen cleaner? What is a good dark blue or black ink that does have some cleaning ability or one that does not clog a pen as often?

You have so many good products. Do you ship to the UK?

I bought it almost a year ago, but I think it is still iron gall due to the rust/metalic like smell to it.

How would you use this with a Kaweco Sport w/o a converter?

How do you flush out a section with a 14k gold nib with a cartridge converter system?

Huge fan of your store and videos and long time customer. Quick question any recommendations on a durable semi cheap pen around $60 or cheaper? I am doing a long extended trip via ship and looking to get a pen to go with my Midori Passport that can take a semi rough experience.

I got some beautiful Diamine firefly, and my pen stopped up. Flushed it out with water, still stopped up. I guess I might have to get some pen flush.

Is it possible to use the flush on a pen without a cartridge converter?

Whenever I rub my nib on a paper towel like that I get a bunch of lint jammed in the nib. Are you using nicer paper towels, or do you floss the nib afterwards (like me), or do you think I had my tines too tight?

How long do I need to wait after flushing before re-inking the pen?

Oh my! I've totally done that with my bulb syringe, though I've never squirted it directly in my eye...yowza! Yeah, you wouldn't want to do that with flush!

could I use it to clean twsbi 580al. I just purchased a bottle and it says "do not soak aluminum pens". should I clean the nib and the pen separate from the aluminum parts?

Can I leave the flush in my pen?

Would this would be safe to use on a Visconti Rembrandt? I just got one from you and I want to get some cleaning stuff to keep it spiffy! :) (I love the pen, by the way!

What if have a fountain pen with cartridge, how should I clean my pen???

Can I use a solution of water and dish soap to clean my pens?

but how much is it, papa?

The pen is a Lamy 2000, right?

More for laughs, but I put on safety goggles (hey I still had them from chemistry class!) when I flush my pens with something other than water. I was carelessly using an ear syringe bulb to flush a pen out with water and some of the water squirted out from a gap on the top of the pen catching some water in my eye. Luckily it was only water, but now with a flush, I have no dignity when I clean my pens. *Sigh* the sacrifices we make...

$11 for what you see here.

Too much blah blah blah it's boring to listen where in the house he keeps vials or to have the different steps repeated 10 ! I'm sorry I love Goulet Pen so more and your flush is useful. But this video is a punishment.