HELP! How to avoid Incubator mold?

[kelseygirl707]

Hey guys!

So I am on my 4th hatch in my home made incubator. It's made entirely of wood. This last hatch is of Ducks, and about 3 days before lock down I noticed mold growing on parts of the wood, and being only 6 days from due date I tried wiping down all the moldy spots with alcohol, and hoped that would hold off the mold until they hatched, and it did until I had to raise the humidity for lockdown. I had to break lock down to remove the eggs on day 25.5, as I knew the mold would be really bad for the newly hatched ducklings, so I moved the eggs over to my hatcher which is small so they are kinda stuffed in there, but it's the best I can do right now. I have since wiped down the incubator with a diluted bleach mixture, and kept the light on with the door open in order to dry it out. Now my question is, how do I prevent the mold from coming back without causing toxin issues. I though maybe a coat of Kills paint would do, but I'm afraid that could be toxic. Hubby thinks we should line it with fiberglass, but that sounds difficult, LOL. So what should i do?

 

[MandyH]

We've never had mold in ours, but mold spores are toxic to humans and I guess they would be for animals as well. Bleach will kill some of it, but it sounds like you didn't seal the wood before using it. If you didn't the wood needs to completely dry out and then it needs to be sealed with wood sealer or it will continue to mold.

 

[kelseygirl707]

Quote:
And wood sealer won't be toxic? I don;t know why I didn't think to seal it first

 

[Daidohead]

Quote:
And wood sealer won't be toxic? I don;t know why I didn't think to seal it first

You can use a water based polyurathane, it dries real fast, sticks to about anything and has low/ no odor. After the incubator is clean( bleach) and dry, seal it up( may take a few coats), let it dry for 2 days, fire it up on high for a day or 2 just to make sure all fumes are released, let it air out and you should be good.

 

[millejn3]

Go to your local home improvememnt store and buy a GOOD QUALITY bathroom paint (Laytex - Its fast drying)). First make sure the bator is completey dry. The best way the achieve this is to open the door and place a fan in front of it for 5 to 6 days or how ever long it takes. Next after it is COMPLETELY dry, use sandpaper to remove any of the moldy areas. Then give your bator 2 to 3 coats of the bathroom paint placing the fan back in front of the bator to help in the drying. You wont have any more probblems with mold. I want to stress that the bator has to be completely dry before you paint the inside. Wood holds in the moisture so if it looks like its dry after a day or 2, its not. You need to give it a good amount of time to make sure it is dry or the mold will start to show back up as soon as you start your bator back up again. This will mean even more work as you have already sealed the mold into the wood and it will be next to impossible to get rid of it then.
Good Luck

 

[kelseygirl707]

Thanks guys, so do you think that paint Kilz is toxic? I know it helps kill mold and prevents it from coming back.

 

[dbcooper02]

The Kilz clean start primer seems to me like it would be ok. Kind of pricey though. I would agree with millejn3's getting the wood dry first suggestions.
http://www.kilzcleanstart.com/assets/images/PDFs/KILZ_Clean_Start_Fact_Sheet.pdf

 

[Penturner]

Kilz is not toxic after it dries.

 

[millejn3]

Dont pay the money for killz. Its way over priced. I run a homemade bators and have painted them all with Dutchboy bathroom paint which is also has mold inhibitors in it.

 

[Kiwibird]

I see you washed your incubator with diluted bleach. Over here we used undiluted bleach to kill mould. Maybe worth a try before the thorough drying. Good luck.

Also, someone suggested sanding out mouldy areas, and I'm concerned the sandpaper is going to rub mould spores over previously clean areas of wood. I'm tending to favour a nice sharp chisel to remove any dodgy looking areas of timber.