# Aeropress Bung



## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

I've just noticed that my AP rubber bung has gone soft & sticky. It's not that old - about 7 months and hardly been used in the last 3 or 4 of those. It's been stored dry (attached to plunger) and seperate from the rest of the AP (as per instructions). I see replacements are available for a fiver or so.

How long do other folks bungs last? (Not sure how else to phrase it!).


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

It's a known phenomenon, comes up every now & then in the insanely long Aeropress thread on CG, I've not had a sticky bung, but replaced a pongy bung.


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

Thanks. Do you know if Aerobie have an explanation for deterioration of their bungs? Or indeed a quoted bung life expectancy?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Alan Adler likes to keep referring to cooler brew temps to limit issues, whilst it is known I'm not sure that the 'sticky' situation is a given, seems there is some luck of the draw.

Is it just soft & sticky, still opaque, or is there any clear layer of sticky, gel-like substance? Do you brew mainly inverted, or non-inverted ...AKA "not upside down/upways right" ;-)


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

It's not that soft actually but the top is covered with a clear sticky gel-like substance that doesn't come off.

I've not brewed with it for some time but have used a fair mix of inverted & non - inverted. I did do a lot of longer inverted steeps with it in the first few months.

Maybe it's a washing issue? I just make sure its clean after use by rinsing after use with hot water. Before use i rinse it with boiling water. Never used a detergent.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

I did mostly long inverted steeps for a while, I didn't get the clear gel thing, just the bung absorbed taints. It's (gel) probably down to a batch of bungs, another user got it despite no inverted brewing & it also showed up after a period of no use. Flag it up on the Aeropress thread on CG Alan Adler contributes there.


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## Step21 (Oct 2, 2014)

I found an old aerosol cannister of something called "Stain Slayer" in the back of a cupboard which i have used before to remove oil stains. So, i gave the bung a spray with it, rubbed it in and washed it off and hey presto - one clean bung!

Refitted and tried an AP brew and all seems to be working fine.

I think that i will periodically put the bung in the dishwasher to stop any hidden build up of coffee oils.


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## nugget (May 6, 2015)

I went away for a week recently and before leaving I gave my aeropress (about 7 years old) a quick wash with the dishes and left it on the draining board to dry. When I got back the bung was covered in the same sticky residue that other people are describing here. I just put it down to detergent in the washing up water was gradually 'dissolving' the bung over time (I didn't rinse it after washing so as it dried it would have left a film of detergent on the surface of the bung), but if people have seen the same thing without using detergent then I don't know. I had washed it a few times with detergent in the past but normally I use the aeropress every day, this was the first time I had left it for some period of time after washing.

Another factor that might have played a role is the aeropress was sitting in front of a window in direct sunlight all day long, and the weather was particularly warm and sunny that week.


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