Disinfecting Via Heat? Home-done autoclaving?

[Medevil_Nuke]

Hey everyone!
So for those of you who do not know, or remember me, I'm totally getting back into the cornsnake scene!

Just was doing some thinking though.

For those of you who have ever worked in a science lab then perhaps you remember the autoclaves?

Well I was wondering if I could use my oven or microwave to disinfect beddings and cardboard hides for use in my cornsnake's habitat (like a do it at home autoclave). I would think that it would work, assuming there is not physical residue on them (poop). What are your thoughts one this? I think it's worth trying, or at very least considering (since I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing this before).

 

[iculatr]

Don't believe this will work...

To quickly try and simplify why;

Autoclaves work via a gravity displacement system using high pressure saturated steam as a heat source. You need to maintain a certain temp (270 degrees) for a minimum of 10 to 30mins (depending on how porous the item is you are trying to sterilize) with a pressure gradient that is at least 29-35 psi. There are medical autoclaves that can speed up the process, but they also have a pressurized drying system incorporated in the unit. For a displacement system to work, steam needs to enter the chamber at point A and force the surrounding air down to the bottom and out at point B. Forcing air out allows the steam to surround and penetrate the item. Steam under pressure fails to sterilize when the air is not completely exhausted.

I don't know what you are trying to sterilize, but most autoclaves are used for metal items. It's very important that the item goes through a pressurized drying process after the steam exposure. Items that come out of an autoclave wet are considered contaminated. Most items that you would be using for reptile care are made of porous materials that would not stand up to the steam or drying temperatures. Most items that are porous..ie..wood, plastics, rubber are more effectively sterilized by Gas -Ethylene Oxide (EO), STERIS, and hydrogen peroxide vapor sterilization, and that's opening a whole different box of worms!

I don't believe you would create anything but a melted mess and could possibly contaminate your oven with spores and other heat resistant bacteria. Hope this helps.
T.

 

[Medevil_Nuke]

Hmmm, informative and helpful.
From my experience I've mostly used autoclaves for sterilizing lab equipment (mostly petri-dishes) so I wasn't sure whether simply baking something would work.

I mentions that I was curious as to whether I could simply bake my old substrates, ideally killing all of the bacteria built up in them, and just reuse them.