I touched my Scoby!

[dinahx]

Do I have to throw it out? Is it contaminated now?

Also, I started a new tea with a SCOBY that seemed just a little thin and premature. Now it just seems like the new SCOBY adhered to the original SCOBY. Is this okay? Should I just let them continue living together?

[HerbanGirl]

I touch my scoby all the time! Well, not all the time, but whenever I change the tea I take the scoby out for a few minutes to rinse out the jar. I didn't realize it was a problem. Mine still grows just fine.

When my scobies adhere together, it's usually just fine - when I make a new batch, though, I pull them apart and only leave one scoby in. I read somewhere that if you have too many scobies together, none of them will do as well because they have to share the food, so to speak.

[AJP]

I touch mine every time I start a new batch, I just make sure my hands are very clean (as in just washed with hot water and soap). I've never had a problem.