Best way to clean styrofoam incubator?

[Akane]

Bleach, sunlight, vinegar. If the bleach isn't fully dried and neutralized by sitting in the sun then vinegar will do it. Some things that can infect an incubator are only killed by sunlight and not even bleach will do it.

 

[pebble]

Has anyone disassembled the fan/switch etc on the lid of the hova bater to clean that area-the fan has dust and stuff in it as we got it used and sometimes is makes some noise on shutdown like its unbalanced. I just had failed first hatch, none of six made it (4 not fertile or didnt start so odds not that good anyway), and so would like it to smell good at the start this time as I wondered about the smell a few times indicating harmful bacteria even tho I did clean the screen and bottom tray and wiped the rest down. Tried using qtips on the fan, didnt work real well. Im afraid if I take it apart it won't work again...Maybe the sun will kill the nasties as you folks have described and we can try again.

 

[emjay]

old thread,

but curious as well....

best way to clean the fan. I have some eggs yearning to become chicks, anxious to go for round 2 after such a successful first go.

 

[farmerChef]

Maybe you can use a can of air and spray out the dust, or is there gunk in there. You might be able to remove the front cover and wipe the blades down with q-tips.

 

[geina]

A mix of hydrogen peroxide with baking soda and a dab of dish washing liquid will work well. I've also found Oxyclean to work nicely. You can also paint the inside with bathroom caulking.
Katharina

Explain what do you mean paint it with caulking? Literally paint it on? What's this do?

 

[Mrs.SWhite89]

Buy a plastic tray, I know they are made for farm innovators and some hova gators bators makes cleaning easier.

 

[geina]

Buy a plastic tray, I know they are made for farm innovators and some hova gators bators makes cleaning easier.

Mine has awful odor not sure why been packed all winter got it out and it smell awful. Thought about spraying with lysol and letting it set open a couple of days. Thanks

 

[chelseagilgore]

I scrub mine with a brush and bleach after every hatch..I could care less about looks only hatches

then when weather permits I sun it for several hours..100 degree sun baking will kill about anything.When I turn it back on I crack the lid for a bit and let the smell which is very minimal out and also some of the excess humidity from the water it may have absorbed...but no the bleach won't hurt the eggs.I get near 100% hatch rates on every bunch.Make sure you clean the lid as well..it can hide nasty no see-ums that will make for some bad hatch rates-don't forget under the fan!

How do you clean the top with all the electrical equipment? Do you remove it first with a screwdriver?

 

[Livingskies]

I scrub mine with a brush and bleach after every hatch..I could care less about looks only hatches

then when weather permits I sun it for several hours..100 degree sun baking will kill about anything.When I turn it back on I crack the lid for a bit and let the smell which is very minimal out and also some of the excess humidity from the water it may have absorbed...but no the bleach won't hurt the eggs.I get near 100% hatch rates on every bunch.Make sure you clean the lid as well..it can hide nasty no see-ums that will make for some bad hatch rates-don't forget under the fan!

The bottom and mesh I did but how do I bleach the top without wrecking the electrical stuff?