"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
news
"tipscommissar" wrote

cloudy black silt in the fixer that leaves sooty stains on the prints.

I have had that happen in a Nalgene bottle that held working fix. After
a while the bottle formed a grey coating on the inside that would
precipitate
the silver from the fix.

The fix (pardon the pun) was to throw out the bottle. There wasn't any
cleaning or bleaching operation that had any effect on the bottle's
precipitative powers.

I would try using brand new jugs/bottles, new trays and new tongs.

Soak the offending trays/bottles in a plain old ordinary Clorox dilution
with water in a well ventilated area. Stand back from the resulting fumes.

How old is this fixer? If fresh, are you using distilled or at least
ionized water?