# Cleaning driftwood



## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

What is the best way to clean driftwood? I have a couple big pieces of driftwood. They came from my freshwater fish tank that has been down for about 2 years. I want to make sure it's clean and steril before I place them in my Viv.


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## Ziggi (Jan 23, 2009)

I've heard of baking the wood in the oven at high temperatures can remove all bacteria and such.
Also soaking in the tub with a 5% bleach solution ( not sure how safe this would be for frogs though )


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## fraser2009 (Jan 4, 2009)

boil if possible if not pour boiling water over it then give it a rub down with a scouring brush then soak in a weak bleach solution then soak a few times in fresh water.as long as the wood has not been in contact with anything bad i would not think it could be bad since anything bad would have leached out in the fish tank where it is a lot more easily transferable


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## SJS (Dec 19, 2008)

I try and boil, then while still wet microwave all my misc wood.


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## Ziggi (Jan 23, 2009)

Microwave is a new one for me!
How long and on what setting?



SJS said:


> I try and boil, then while still wet microwave all my misc wood.


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## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

I don't have a pot big enough for this driftwood. Any other suggestions.


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## fraser2009 (Jan 4, 2009)

bath and boiling water should do the trick tho once you remove any loose crap and give it a quick soak you should be fine.


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## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

Does it have to be boiling water? What if I turned the water all the way to hot?



fraser2009 said:


> bath and boiling water should do the trick tho once you remove any loose crap and give it a quick soak you should be fine.


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## fraser2009 (Jan 4, 2009)

i would think since it has been in a fish tank tannings are not your concern so i think cold water with a small amount of bleach let it soak then give it a good scrub down to get the rubbish off then soak it in fresh water let it away refill and repeat a few times and you should be good. this is my experience from aquariums anyway hopefully someone can confirm it should apply to vivs
Fraser


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

In reality you cannot sterilize or even disinfect the wood unless you can autoclave it as you cannot get the disinfectants to penetrate into the crevices and typically you can't get the interior of those crevices hot enough to kill any parasites or pathogens. 
Even boiling the wood does not guarantee that the hot water will penetrate the crevices sufficiently to kill most pathogens or parasites as the structure of the crack/crevice can exclude the water and the air trapped in the crack can provide sufficient insulation. As wood is also somewhat effective as an insulator so this is what causes problems with baking.. 
Basically those are feel good methods (you feel good because you tried to do something)... 
Realistically, scrub the wood with plain water and a good stiff brush until you get all of the loose material off of it. Do not use soap or any other item with a surfactant as these can leave residues that can cause problems for the frogs. Also bleach is of limited value as it will react with the wood losing any antimicrobial value rapidly. 

If there is a risk of toxic materials such as those found in cedar you can drill a hole and use the sniff test. If its aromatic its probably not a good choice even if it has been submerged in an aquarium. 

Ed


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