Biosecurity again - another level

[ian]

So - my old methods ( spraying with disinfectant/bleach )  turn out to be inadequate for a hundred or so cultures, I found a live slime in the bin - it was quickly dispatched with a dose of bleach but that means things need changing. I tried just dumping everything into a vat of bleach, too messy by far and it means having a 5l bucket of bleach around.

I'll spare you the photos. New protocol for me - all my waste now goes into clear cellophane 2l bags, disinfectant is sprayed on and is kneeded into the waste ( the problem was the stuff not penetrating into large piles of oats ). Bags are changed once a day, old bags are kept for several days until I'm certain nothing is alive. 

It stinks, it feels gross and it's disgusting but I'm using a kilo of oats a week so I need to be a lot sharper on my biosecurity. I'm not suggesting everyone should do this but if you're bulk growing it's a good idea - we don't want news stories about big slimes roaming the city. 

[RyChu]

Sounds cool! Not growing in bulk over here, but I'll keep that in mind if I ever do.

Just out of curiosity, how do you have your slime space laid out?

[Lucas]

Did you tried hydrogen peroxide? It promotes a very high level of oxidation of proteins and lipids, at much higher levels than potassium permanganate or chlorine. It is widely used as a sterilization method in laboratory glassware and surgical instruments.

I always use it to sterilize my booze-making tools againt stray yeasts and bacterial spores, with great success.

[ian]

Hi 

I've used it for mushroom culture but it's really expensive, and the thirty vol stuff is downright nasty. Sodium percarbonate is pretty good too, I use it when I need something that doesn't leave residue