Tort friendly cleaning products?

[thatrebecca]

I just picked up a non-working chest freezer on Craig's List which I plan to use to brumate my two CDTs. The size is perfect and the price was right (free), but it smells. There was meat in it when it stopped working. The seller cleaned it well but there is still an odor. Any idea of a way to clean and sanitize? The torts will be in boxes within the freezer, which will be cracked open, but I don't want their poor little noses inhaling stinkiness all winter.

 

[mike taylor]

Bleach and a lot of it . Then clean the bleach out and let it air out for a day or so .

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Vinegar. Or vinegar with 10-20 drops of lavender essential oil. Anti-everything ... anti-viral, bacterial, fungal, microbial.
Perhaps before putting them in, and I think there is time, sprinkle baking soda after cleaning and let it sit in there for a week.
Bleach is good but I worry in an enclosed area, even when it is aired out. Sometimes chemicals soak in and then your torts may breathe it later while brumating. I just worry about chemicals that way. Plastics can soak these things, as you can tell from the odor that still lingers.

 

[thatrebecca]

Thanks, guys! I think I do have time to let it air out, with some baking soda, in the back yard for a week or so. Hope I can get rid of it. Their little sniffers are so powerful. And I for one wouldn't want to sleep in a stinky place for 4-5 mos.

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Thanks, guys! I think I do have time to let it air out, with some baking soda, in the back yard for a week or so. Hope I can get rid of it. Their little sniffers are so powerful. And I for one wouldn't want to sleep in a stinky place for 4-5 mos.

 

[thatrebecca]

OK I've got the freezer open and airing out in the back yard, with two boxes of baking soda dumped in it. With no rain in the forecast, I plan to leave it like that for at least a week, and then I'll do another deep clean before putting the torts in. Fingers crossed it gets most of the smell out.

 

[thatrebecca]

Just FYI, in case anyone else ever has this problem, the freezer is fresh as a daisy. Dunno if it was the baking soda or the fresh air, but it worked, and without any chemicals.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Probably both. Baking soda is most awesome for deodorizing and neutralizing odors and so much more. Love to use it. It truly is a multi-task product. And safe. For tortoises, all pets, most important.
And "Sunlight is the best disinfectant" according to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis! : )

 

[thatrebecca]

Very clever, BeeBee!

 

[Yvonne G]

OK I've got the freezer open and airing out in the back yard, with two boxes of baking soda dumped in it. With no rain in the forecast, I plan to leave it like that for at least a week, and then I'll do another deep clean before putting the torts in. Fingers crossed it gets most of the smell out.

A Big HA HA on the rain!! I'm just a few hours north of you and I woke up this a.m. to rain!!

Clean it out with vinegar, as said above, then let it sit in the sun. Sun does wonders for killing off any unwanted 'stuff'.

 

[thatrebecca]

OK I've got the freezer open and airing out in the back yard, with two boxes of baking soda dumped in it. With no rain in the forecast, I plan to leave it like that for at least a week, and then I'll do another deep clean before putting the torts in. Fingers crossed it gets most of the smell out.

A Big HA HA on the rain!! I'm just a few hours north of you and I woke up this a.m. to rain!!

Clean it out with vinegar, as said above, then let it sit in the sun. Sun does wonders for killing off any unwanted 'stuff'.

Has the rain hit you already Yvonne? It's due here around 10am, and we're supposed to get lows in the 40s here tonight, which is very rare for LA in October. Luckily I aired it out the freezer last week, so it's clean and dry and in place in the shed ready for when Gomez and Morticia go down. Torts are snug and dry in their indoor boxes today, waiting out the rain.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yeah...sorry! I didn't realize I was replying to an older thread.

Rain! I guess that means its housework for me today.