If someone does, I've never heard of it. I've noticed mine will tend to get sticky every so often, having to push/jiggle it a bit for it to release. I just put a couple drops of WD40 in the keyhole and the couple holes underneath, it's good for a while longer. I'm sure the gas sloshing around wears if off in time.
I don't know if bacteria can grow in gas, but I know if definitely can in diesel. Some sort of nasty moldy thing that plugs up filters and injectors. There's special "enzyme" additives that prevent growth of it.
I never got a picture of it, but I got some 40 year old gas out of a small outboard that had been in storage for just as long. It was black as coffee and the varnish smell about made me heave it was so strong. Had little flecks of rust and dirt and other crap in there. The old school lead element fuel filter was totally plugged, and on the old outboards it was part of the petcock, so you just have to break it off and put a small inline between the tank and carb.
