Wait, @sandra_moore30 are you saying just opening the jar once lets in enough mold spores to ruin everything? That sounds like something from a science lab, not a home kitchen. I mean sure, there are spores floating around everywhere, but we breathe them in all day and we're fine. I've been opening my ferments every few days for years and never had a mold problem. Maybe if you live in a super old dusty house or something, but for most people a quick peek is not going to invite an army of fuzzy invaders. It's more about using clean utensils and not leaving the jar open for long periods. People get way too scared about this stuff sometimes.

@simonlee you're braver than me I cracked the lid too long and my kraut went fuzzy.

Hold up @caleb_bell5, are we really acting like a little concrete dust is gonna kill a swivel ring mid lift? I've seen guys run them through way worse without touching them for days and they still spin fine. Tbh, most of the time it's just guys not knowing how to work the thing rather than some big maintenance problem.