How are you supposed to sanitize your styrofoam incubator??

[BuffBeck]

Hello, all you super-helpful people!

I am almost done with my very first hatch, and so far, it's going great! Yay!

But I want my next hatch to be a good one, too. I've heard that you should clean your incubator after each hatch, to insure the eggs' biosecurity. It is pretty much a perfect spot for a number of bad germs! So how do you clean the thing whithout damaging it? I read in one of my most favorite poultry guides, The Chicken Health Handbook, that there's a way to really clean your incubator: "Fumigating". It's a mixture that calls for a couple pretty nasty chemicals... and I'm wondering, is it the only way? I want to aviod using "burn-your-skin-and-kill-your-lungs" chemicals if I can! Should I just use good ol' soap and warm water maybe?

How do you clean your incubator? I would love to hear from you!

Salutations,
BuffBeck

 

[Fred's Hens]

Washed items that are set in the sun get the radiation effect of the light rays. Boat detailers know that the sun is a powerful weapon in cleaning a boat's interior of mildew and molds. Hanging white clothes on the line? Does wonders.

It'd provide a great help to cleaning your styrofoam as well.

 

[BuffBeck]

Ok, I think I'll try it! Thank you!
Now it's just a matter of catching some sun!

Anyone else have a suggestion? Keep it comin'!
Thank you guys,
BuffBeck

 

[amysolen]

If you can get some Sol-u-mel from melaleuca, you can use that diluted to spray on it and it is antimicrobial/antibacterial naturally and won't hurt us either. Works great. I order some from them every so often. kinda expensive if you're not a member but well worth the price.

 

[amysolen]

Oh and it is 100% natural from a melaleuca tree - so u might be able to find Tea Tree Oil from walmart that you can use too... i don't know how effective that would be but i know the solumel is very effective.

 

[Deerling]

I hear people swear by Oxine. You have to buy it online, but it can also be used in chicken health (like in a humidifier for respiratory diseases in chickens). People also say put it in the water during lockdown and it will keep things from getting too stinky.

 

[what did I do]

I scrub mine then run it through the dishwasher without heat. After it is clean I set it out in the sun. They say Oxine works too.

 

[SymanSaysFarms]

I clean my styrofoam incubator with a diluted bleach-water solution. Then I let it dry out in the sun.

 

[BuffBeck]

Wow! So many great ideas already! Thank you. I think this is really helpful.
So any others? Senior incubation specialists have suggestions?

 

[jsp28504]

I clean my styrofoam incubator with a diluted bleach-water solution. Then I let it dry out in the sun.

What is the bleach:water ratio that you use? I just did a quick google search and this thread popped up. Looking to sanitize mine before my next hatch.