Do meters need to be washed off?

The instructions say that ph meter and PPM meter need to be rinsed in distilled water after use.
I just let them dry in a bowl after use, is this a bad idea?

they get mineral deposits on the electrodes.

Never let them get dry. Always keep tips wet using tap water and they will last much longer.

randybishop said:

The instructions say that ph meter and PPM meter need to be rinsed in distilled water after use.
I just let them dry in a bowl after use, is this a bad idea?

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yes this is a very bad idea, after testing water with minerals, letting it dry will leave minerals strongly adhered to the electrode quickly deteriorating them and shortening their lifetime. it's a good thing that your meter is cleaned with distilled water and not expensive electrode cleaner only. I finish testing then rinse thoroughly with tapwater, then I immerse in a small bottle of distilled water and stir then I shake a little to remove dros and close the lid to keep humidity inside whenever the small distilled water bottler gets to 10ppm i throw and put new water 0 ppm

On the K.I.S.S. method, Milwaukee instruments told me to never use distilled water, only tap. Just keep the little plastic tip cover and add a few drops of water to it before replacing after use. I've had mine for close to 5 years this way with no problems and rarely the need to calibrate.

if you have a probe, you can just keep it in the rez.

If you have a pen, just keep it wet with rez solution in cap. IF it below 500-600 ppm, you should be good.


I then just calibrate and clean the prob with cleaning solution every 4-6 weeks

Is it separate meters? If yes keep ph wet and rinse tds i would think. I never rinse tds though just keep ph wet in tap water. Sponge is long gone lol

lol the tds pen gets much worse than my ph pens imo, i have a conductivity cleaning kit with my bluelab though youd be suprised the amount of crap that comes off of them
always rinse well after use in high ppm water
always use a wisk to stir water and wait a little before testing it
i use storage solution for my pH probes and barely rinse them, but clean and calibrate monthly, usually only .2 off

After years of growing I found that having to stir the res before testing is not needed, at the most the ppm will change maybe 20 points.

Thanks everyone!

i never keep it wet. I dont rinse it. I throw the cap on it and stick it on the shelf. I calibrate when I change the batteries. I clean it when theres a glob of black shit around the PH probe glass. I think I replaced the PH probe once in the 4 or 5 years Ive had it. I use a black Hanna tds/ph pen.

So ya kinda drive it like ya stole huh lol. Yup sometimes stuff lasts longer like that lol

Opps "stole it" big fingers little phone 😔