# Rubbing alcohol



## Wug (Mar 1, 2009)

I'm about to make a new ff culture and figured why not just clean the jar with rubbing alcohol to sterilize it before adding the media. I dont think its a good idea to use if you have plastic cups. But I use glass mason jars. 

Any pro/cons of using rubbing alcohol as opposed to boiling or a bleach solution? Not only ff cultures but anything else that you wanna sterilize as long as its not plastic or silicone any downsides?


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## Dragonfly (Dec 5, 2007)

you can actually wash these in your dishwasher


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

just use hot water........alcohol is gonna get $$$ and it's just not necessary.

What are you afraid will happen without sterilization?


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## Wug (Mar 1, 2009)

I know other household members would get disgusted if I put them in the dishwasher. I put the rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and one spray is all I used. Rubbing alcohol is cheap and I used very little. I just figured it would cut down on bacteria/molds and be quicker than boiling water. Maybe it is overkill or not even really efficient. Any thoughts?


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## Dragonfly (Dec 5, 2007)

If you clean them basically, you probably don't need to sterilize. One key with ff cultures is not to keep them too long - mites would be the issue. If you get mason jar clean and then wash with hot water and make sure to have no soap residue you should be fine. 

Family shouldn't have an issue if you pre-wash and just run through a good hot cycle. FFs unlike houseflies are not going to be carrying disease. But you know your family. 

Sterilizing is more important when you are setting up a viv and making any additions to a viv.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Wug said:


> I know other household members would get disgusted if I put them in the dishwasher. I put the rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and one spray is all I used. Rubbing alcohol is cheap and I used very little. I just figured it would cut down on bacteria/molds and be quicker than boiling water. Maybe it is overkill or not even really efficient. Any thoughts?


Yeah....it's overkill and just not needed. Molds will probably never be a problem. Here's a thread with good cleaning methods an stuff...

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/food-feeding/37205-reusing-ff-culture-containers.html


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

If you can clean things with other items instead, like with boiling, that is preferable. You don't need to be breathing those vapors---they can cause asthma w/overexposure. 
I use vinegar to sanitize---IMO it's a lot safer, even though it's not as effective at sterilizing surfaces as isopropyl alcohol is.


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