Tips for cleaning your styrofoam incubator?

[wekiva bird]

I do almost exactly the same thing as keystonepaul except I spray everything, after the bleach soak and dry, with Oxine. I just worry about all the stuff that could grow on that kind of yuk that gets left after hatching. A good hot bleach soak with get into the cracks and crevices quite nicely.

x2

 

[keystonepaul]

Hi, I've had the bleach smell as well after soaking it and letting it dry in the sun- rinse it with water after the diluted bleach soak or spray down, and then let it dry in the sun. Any time the bleach smell has lingered I've rinsed it with water only good and let it redry- good luck ,Keystonepaul

 

[Julie08]

When I take the turner out on day 18 I put a layer of cheese cloth on the wire mesh. First I think its more comfortable for the chicks and also makes clean up a breeze you gather the four corners on the cheese cloth up, lift it up and pop it in the garbage shells gross stuff bits of whatever all get tossed together with the cheese cloth.

 

[moetrout]

I just started up my LG bator for the second hatch. All I did was spray top and bottom with Lysol bathroom cleaner (has bleach in it), let it dry, then rinsed. When I started it up I did smell bleach, but after a day of heating up and stabilizing the temp it did not smell like bleach any more. I put down paper towels in the bottom of mine over top of the wire mesh. I suspect this helped a lot so not much cleaning was needed. Now you have given me one more thing to worry about! Thanks! I wonder if I did enough. I'd hate to think I might have chicks dying due to bacteria growing.

 

[shardean]

I used stuff call mean green..scrubbed everything good i the tub! Then rinsed well and but rubbing alcohol ...looked as good as new!

 

[Avonshire]

When I take the turner out on day 18 I put a layer of cheese cloth on the wire mesh. First I think its more comfortable for the chicks and also makes clean up a breeze you gather the four corners on the cheese cloth up, lift it up and pop it in the garbage shells gross stuff bits of whatever all get tossed together with the cheese cloth.

Does the cheese cloth effect your humidity?

 

[what did I do]

That is good to know--now you don't have any "stuff" stuck down in the bottom of the dishwasher do you???  I think I would maybe run an empty load or something to clean it out but really when I cook chicken, I don't worry about all the "stuff" I leave on the precook dishes so what is so different?  Well ok it might be a little different.  My incubator is back up and stabilizing so I will have to try it next time!! Thanks for running the experiment.  Hey what dishwasher soap did you use?  Or did you use any?  That is too bad about not using the high heat--I would really like to use my sterilize cycle. 

I took mine outside and hosed off the gunk then put it in the dishwasher. It sure beat cleaning it by hand. I did have to scrub a little on the screen but not much. Every now and then I run a cleaning cycle on the dishwasher so I did that after washing the bator.

 

[Julie08]

Does the cheese cloth effect your humidity?

no, it is porous enough that it has no effect on humidity. It was actually recommended in the manual that came with the incubator thats what made me try it in the first place.

 

[Avonshire]

OK so where do you buy cheese cloth??

 

[mstricer]

I don't have a cleaning tip. Due to if it doesn't come clean properly, I run to Meyer hatchery and buy the bottom for 12$
As for the cheese clothes you should be able to get them a Wally world.