Cleaning fake plants

[Tarantula B]

Hello,

Is it safe to clean and reuse fake plants? If so how do you clean it without using harsh chemicals?

 

[Thekla]

I just wash them thoroughly under running, hot water and maybe use some dish soap.

 

[Gavin Sons]

I soak mine in bleach for awhile. The rinse really well then soak them in water with prime water conditioner. The prime removes any chlorine left after rinsing. I always have prime for my aquarium though.

 

[CJJon]

Tarantulas don't need a sterile environment. Rinsing with water is usually enough. I use the hose outside.

 

[viper69]

Hello,
If so how do you clean it without using harsh chemicals?

by not using chemicals! Crazy idea I know right.

I soak mine in bleach for awhile. The rinse really well then soak them in water with prime water conditioner. The prime removes any chlorine left after rinsing. I always have prime for my aquarium though.

But bleach can leach into and out of plastic. Even if you soak the plants after, you never know if the bleach has truly left. That's risky, and not needed for exotic animals such as herps and Ts.

 

[cold blood]

I soak mine in bleach for awhile. The rinse really well then soak them in water with prime water conditioner. The prime removes any chlorine left after rinsing. I always have prime for my aquarium though.

Dont use bleach.

Chlorine dissapates on its own exceedingly fast...10 min in the sun.

Is it safe to clean and reuse fake plants

of course...they dont get dirty in t enclosures....simply rinse them quickly and you are good to go....sometimes i dont even do that, i just wipe off webbing.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

Just rinsing off with warm water should work just fine, but if you absolutely feel the need to disinfect it for some reason, you can use diluted vinegar as a mild disinfectant for added peace of mind as long as you rinse everything well afterwards. When I worked as a zookeeper we would use it to clean habitats, water dishes, etc. of more sensitive animals that were vulnerable to effects from harsher chemicals like bleach. But, as others have said, it's not really necessary in this case unless the animal had parasites or if poop is caked onto the decorations.

 

[Gavin Sons]

Guess im alone about bleaching stuff. I keep discus fish and I'll clean filter parts and some of the filter with bleach to restore its properties back to normal. Bleach disolves organic material. After the 12 hour bleach its a thorough rince followed by a 24 hour soak in water treated with prime. Keep in mind I'm doing this on a 150 gallon aquarium that has about 2 thousand dollars worth of discus in it. Never a single problem. Discus are the most finky fish you can keep. But it could be detrimental if not done correctly. If these guys just say rinse just do that.

 

[CJJon]

I used to use bleach when I brewed beer. Beer tasted sour (today that is all the rage). The problem was not getting all the bleach rinsed off. When I switched to iodine for sterilization the sour beer went away.

Anyway...if the fake plants are so soiled as to require bleach, just spend the $5 and buy new plants as they have past their useful life. Sheesh.

 

[Gavin Sons]

I used to use bleach when I brewed beer. Beer tasted sour (today that is all the rage). The problem was not getting all the bleach rinsed off. When I switched to iodine for sterilization the sour beer went away.

Anyway...if the fake plants are so soiled as to require bleach, just spend the $5 and buy new plants as they have past their useful life. Sheesh.

Why when you can safely bleach them and save yourself 5 dollars? I really don't care how anyone disinfects their things. Just stating how i do it. Good luck to everyone and their disinfection methods.

 

[cold blood]

Why when you can safely bleach them and save yourself 5 dollars? I really don't care how anyone disinfects their things. Just stating how i do it. Good luck to everyone and their disinfection methods.

lol...true, but i dont think the rest of us are disinfecting anything, its just unnecessary. I used to keep fish, theres no comparison to ts...like comparing dogs to earthworms.

 

[MrTwister]

As stated, hot water and elbow grease.