hey folks  
could it bee that SWIM dreamed of some excellent RP which has gone "bad" after a couple of months as a result from too high temperature at storage-place, or from just air by sometimes opening the case, or from touching it with a metal-spoon, or whatever?! it REALLY seems so!!!  
how are the best conditions to store it?

some storage instructions::: rp sounds kinda sensitive

http://www.italmatch.it/Red%20Phosporus_EN.htm

I've never had a problem with lgrP degrading while being stored, but I've never stored any in an attic, either. It seems to me to be a very stable compound, and seems to take being left out to air dry in an open container in a hot room in the summer without a problem. I store what I have in plastic airtight containers. I have never found that it mattered whether it was stored dry, damp or wet, although I always rinse the red with hot water several times after using it and allow it to air dry before putting it in a tupperware container.

If it clumps and does not break apart easily I clean with alcohol followed by acetone rinses. If its dark after a reaction, I rinse with acetone until the rinse acetone is fairly clear. If the the red is really dirty, waxy, or tends to clump, I may boil it in HCl.

The only cautions I might give are to avoid extreme heat,  store it in a sealed container, and store it well away from iodine.
 
If you have used the red in a reaction, your problem may be contamination from the last reaction rather than degradation of the red phosphorous. Try cleaning it well before concluding that it has degraded in storage.

Although geez covered just about every possibility, i am curious about the storage conditions you are refering to.  Like the approx. temp, type of container, etc.

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