When should an incubator be cleaned?

[K0k0shka]

Does the level of cleaning depend on how dirty it is, or do even clean-looking incubators need to be scrubbed and bleached?

I just borrowed a used styrofoam incubator for my first ever hatch. It hasn't been used in a couple years and it looks visibly clean (no dirt, discoloration, smears, dried up gunk etc.) I've been running it empty for a few days just to get to know it and to learn how to control the temperature. When it's running, it has a slight smell to it, but it's not an organic smell or a foul/dirty smell. Just smells like... a device running, I don't know, like artificial materials being warm. Not an animal smell.

So my question is, what kind of cleaning does this incubator need before I put eggs in it?

 

[Madi131]

I have two seperate incubators. I have one that is constantly running and then the other one is for hatching. The one that's constantly running doesn't get cleaned much. I clean the eggs before I put them in, I know I know there's a lot of controversy about this but I have never had a fertile egg not hatch, so not much dirt gets into that one. Then in the hatching incubator I clean it up after every hatch. I throw in my eggs 4 days apart so, if all goes right, the first 3 days will be when the chick is on lock down, and then the 4th day will be when I clean it and get it fired back up for the next batch. If the eggs need an extra day or so, which has never happened, I suppose I'll wait until after the following hatch. I don't use bleach to clean mine. I use dish soap, rinse it out good, spray it down with vinegar, wipe it out and then rinse again. This way there is no left over shells or chick poop for the next batch.