7 replies to this topic

[Hightlyze]

The testtubes have molds

[Serafine]

A little spec of mold isn't an issue for the ants. In fact the entire cotton can turn black and the water yellow and usually the ants still won't be affected. The best you can do is to offer them a fresh test tube next to their current one so they can move on their own (if they want/need to). Don't shalke them into a new tube or dump them into the outworld, this may seriously affect their development (especially with Camponotus which are already slow-growing). If disturbed too much the queen might even decide to eat her brood.

 

Once the ants are out you can wash the test tubes with dish cleaner and use them again.

Edited by Serafine, April 6 2019 - 4:13 AM.

[drtrmiller]

In addition to the above, when you do finally have an empty GLASS test tube you'd like to clean and reuse, I simply use some long tweezers or another tool to pull the cotton out.  This usually removes a lot of dirt and residue from the sides of the tube, assuming the cotton was compacted into the test tube and pressed tightly against the walls during removal.

 

Next, I use an ultrasonic cleaning machine to remove any remaining dirt and grime inside the tube.  But if you don't have access to one, you can always use a brush or pipe cleaner with soapy water, and always rinse thoroughly.

 

Finally, you can boil the test tubes in a pot of water to kill any remaining organisms and remove any last bit of residue.  Alternatively, if you want to be 100% sure the tubes are sterile after they appear clean, you can bake them in an oven at a very high temperature before reusing. Temperatures over 450 F (230 C) may seem like overkill, but these high temperatures will burn away any remaining organic material, potentially leaving difficult-to-remove, burnt black spots on the test tubes.  Once the tubes have cooled to room temperature inside the oven, you can be assured they are 100% removed of any living organisms.

 

If all the above seems like too much work, you also have the option of buying test tubes in bulk at a very low price and discarding/recycling dirty, used tubes.  People who buy glass test tubes in bulk often get them for a couple cents each, so it's easy not to get emotionally attached when throwing them away and grabbing a clean one.

Edited by drtrmiller, April 6 2019 - 5:45 AM.

[Rstheant]

Woah, I just wash my tubes with soapy water and microwave them for 1 minute.

[ANTdrew]

I stick mine on one of the prongs in my dishwasher.
Another tip I learned from cleaning my hummingbird feeder is to put a pinch of dry rice grains in the tube with soapy water. Vigorously shaking the water and grains dislodges any caked on crud.

Edited by ANTdrew, April 6 2019 - 9:49 AM.

[B_rad0806]

pull out the cotton ball then use soap and water to clean it.

[Rstheant]

pull out the cotton ball then use soap and water to clean it.

While this could work, I like to microwave them, or oven them if they’re glass. This is a safety precaution, just to make sure it’s prefect, and it has absolutely no living organisms.

[Wa.Va]

The cotton method works well, if I don't really have time to do it properly, I just use lots of water and shake it a couple of times really hard.