# Does boiling water kill parasites?



## DeeVas (Jul 2, 2005)

Im planning on transferring some coco-huts and cypress wood into a new viv. Im planning to boil everything for about an hour would that kill the parasites and bacteria? Or should i just throw everything out


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## Raymond (Aug 26, 2006)

Try baking it in the oven. 

I usually do 200 degrees for 20 minutes, 250 for 10 minutes, and 300+ for 5 minutes. It's worked for me so far. 

I would just put it all in at 350-400 degrees and check it every couple of minutes to make sure nothing starts to burn, etc. 

Boiling would probably work, although I feel safer with baking.


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## booboo (Jan 22, 2005)

Yes boiling will kill any potential worries. If your paranoid like me you will boil it then bake it. I dont think anything will survive that.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Except for Mycobacterium spores and possibly some types of coccidia spores... 
If you do not autoclave (pressure cook) it you cannot assume that it is 100% safe. 


Ed


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## Roadrunner (Mar 6, 2004)

Except for Mycobacterium spores and possibly some types of coccidia spores... 
If you do not autoclave (pressure cook) it you can assume that it is 100% safe. 

huh?

i was under the impression that 10 minute boil would kill everything except prions(sp?).


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

snip "i was under the impression that 10 minute boil would kill everything except prions(sp?). "endsnip


If you are at sea level and all of the niches and other locations in the item can be at that temperature for that period of time, then you will probably kill many pathogens however when dealing with organics like bark, dense items (like stones) and items that can act as an insulator (like cork) or are hydrophobic to some degree (like cork again) the water and temperature will not penetrate sufficiently to render it sterile. (This is an example of why in preserving foods, a boiling water bath is not sufficient to kill off the Clostridia spores and you can get Clostridial food poisoning (botulism)). Many bacterial spores are resistant to boiling (and even baking) and even some protozoal spores will resist boiling (such as Cryptosporidium (which depending on the author is a form of coccidia)). This is why unless the item can be autoclaved or run through a pressure cooker (which is a type of autoclave) you cannot be sure that you have killed off the pathogens.... 

Ed


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## Roadrunner (Mar 6, 2004)

i see.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Ive always sprayed/soaked the item in water, than baked it in the oven at 250F for a couple hours, until the item is bone dry and then some. My thinking would be that "steaming" the item would be a very effective way of sterilizing. 

Is there any benefit to this as opposed to simply boiling or 'dry baking' the item?


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