# cleanliness , bacteria and chemicals free?



## Johnald Chaffinch (Nov 15, 2005)

hi just wondering what people use to clean their enclosures, fake plants, and other materials you put in with you mantis?

am wondering cos i've just got some dusty fake plants from a charity shop and i'm not sure how to go abouit cleaning them. was thinking maybe boiling hot water and then microwave dry? ( *edit: DONT PUT METAL IN THE MICROWAVE :shock: )


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## infinity (Nov 15, 2005)

well, I would use anything that evaporates and of course which doesn't have anything toxic in it...

I think it depends on the material of the plant and the enclosure - not sure how the fake plant would react to being microwaved - some plastics or synthetic fibres would just melt.

I personally use bleach - nothing has died yet - just wash it and rinse it but with a synthetic plant, it might mess the colour. Alcohol is good but scorpions hate it (they sting themselves to death if you get a drop on their backs) - but that evaporates quickly so...

Bioling water, I use that too but as I said, if the plant is a natural material, that's fine - if it's a synthetic material, it might melt


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## Lan (Nov 15, 2005)

if the fake plants are made of plastic or have metal wire inside them, boiling or microwaving would be a really bad idea. light soap and water will be fine. just be sure to rinse off any traces of soap residue. let it air dry or dry with paper towel-your choice. hope this helps.


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## Johnald Chaffinch (Nov 15, 2005)

okay thanks that's really helpful ( oh yeh forgot about metal in the microwave  ). i'll get some really mild soap and just scrub stuff to death then. i saw in a pet shop there was some solution made to be used in reptile enclosures, not sure what it was called, i guess that'd be an expensive option...


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## Geckospot (Nov 15, 2005)

Its called chlorhexidine or virosan. I use it to clean my reptile cages. You just spray and wipe. No rinsing is necessary. Its inexpensive, non-toxic, anti-bacterial, and bio-degradeable. Pm me if you need some.

www.Geckospot.com


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## Rick (Nov 15, 2005)

Use soap and hot water. Nothing special needed.


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## Johnald Chaffinch (Nov 19, 2005)

if i was to collect steam from a kettle and let it drip into a container would that be pure water with nothing else in it?


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## infinity (Nov 19, 2005)

yeah but that's a very slow and time consuming process... plus it's wasting energy... If you have any dehumidifiers or even a tumble dryer, the water tanks in those are condensed and hence are as good as distilled - they should be totally sterile... But why bother with all that? - animals are born outside with bacteria, fungi etc!

American tapwater has enough chrlorine in it to kill most things... and the english stuff just has a pretty high ion content but is probably just as clean too... Just use normal water


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