How Do You Deep-Clean Your Incubator?

[MROO]

What is the best way to really clean the hard-to-reach and non-submersible parts of an incubator? My first thought is to run vinegar water (or even weak bleach-water) through it, like you would a coffee pot, but I hesitate to try that without a reference. Does anyone have a recommendation, or am I just being overly (possibly spelled 'anally') cautious?

 

[ExoticPetOwner]

I use diluted Distilled Vinegar + Dawn Dish soap and rinse out well afterwards. I guess you can use watered-down bleach, but you have to be careful with that. Don't turn on the incubator when you're cleaning it, keep it off.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Which incubator are you talking about? There are so many different kinds out there these days. I'm sue mine is different from yours as I have no place I could run water or cleaner through it like a coffee pot. I use a bleach-water solution for surfaces.

If it is not covered in your instructions I'd suggest trying to contact the manufacturer and ask them.

 

[mcdze]

the bottom is all ive ever had to clean .. i take it outside and spray the pieces off good, throw everything in the bottom, dump a chug of bleach in and swish it around, let it sit for 5, then hose everything off really well ... if the top needs cleaning with the fan and electrics after repeated use, it will take partial disassembly, and id just wipe/brush everything off. if the case is spotty use a damp cloth dipped in soapy water and dry it .. if the bator is not going right back into service and is getting stored, run the top ie, turn it on, and let it run fresh air through propped up for about a half hour so it thoroughly dries internally or it can cause corrosion .. also be sure the bottom and rest of it is dry before putting it together to store it away .. if its stored even slightly damp it can ruin things like the fan and electrics.

 

[MROO]

Thanks, All! My incubator is a Nurture Right 360, so there are electronics in both the top (heater and fan) and the bottom (auto-turner.) For now, I'll stick with running vinegar-water through the reservoir after giving it a good tooth-brushing. I normally wouldn't worry too much about it. I've been using it with a generic clean-out for years, but this last batch came from a nest abandoned by my most seasoned broody. She kicked and "christened" the lot, so they were very dirty. I want to make sure any bacteria introduced by the traumatized eggs is gone before I run it again for my last hatch of the season. Still, I'm a happy camper. I started with 20 eggs I was sure must be bad and ended up with eight healthy babies. No bad for a batch of "dead" eggs!