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mekannic
just dropped 2 hits



Registered: 09/28/14
Posts: 238
Last seen: 1 year, 6 months
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my contamination removal method outlined.
#21210961 - 02/01/15 01:17 PM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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after UTFSE, and NOT coming up with something i could decide was right for me. i decided to post this to get some input.
this is my method of contamination removal from jars. i have had serious problems with both WBS and agar contam. i don't consider this a tek. and if it is a tek and it is not a new one, i haven't located the old one and don't claim ownership of this content, this is only how i figured would be the best way for my purposes of contam removal in as safe as possible way i could think of.
i keep my jars in my GB until i see signs of growth. my agar for transfer stays in my GB period. i opened what i thought was a clean agar dish ready to transfer and that is why i came up with this solution. very first thing i did was lysol and bleach. then i took them out and into a towel for transport to the kitchen. the towel goes directly into the washer with bleach. the jars go as is into a pc i do NOT use for mycological (or whatever the correct term should be) purposes. it is much smaller and this takes more time to do, but i feel it is necessary.
i pc the contam'd jars just as i would as if prepping for the very first time. i pc them for at least 45 minutes, and i shoot for 90. then the jars go into another towel for transport outside and removal of their contents. i think that, theoretically, these jars could now be opened anywhere at all and still be safe from spreading further contam. but why take the chance? it is just a rhetorical hypothesis i don't care about disproving (the scientific method). better safe than sorry. the same goes as to why i don't use my other pc with contam'd jars.
i do have trouble sometimes going for a full 90 because it is such a small pc it barely holds enough water and if i do it like you are supposed to, by bringing to a boil with the lid on and venting steam for a full 10 minutes, then i can rarely make the full 90 at 15 psi.
which brings up a point i forgot to mention and i am too lazy to go back and edit to insert it where it should go. besides, if you want to do it this way, the whole post should be read first, right? i always read the whole thing twice or thrice, then try it in real life, also while reading along.
when i put the lid on and bring it up to boil to vent steam, i don't just let it blow steam everywhere, i cover the vent lightly with a rag to filter the steam so just in case, i am not blasting contam throughout the whole house at high speed (and temps) because at this time i am not convinced that what is coming out of the vent is necessarily sterile. so i "catch" it with a rag that, when the rocker goes onto the vent and the rag comes off, it goes also directly into the washer with bleach.
i then take the "sterlized contamination" outside for disposal then go through the normal process of boiling jars and lids and this is where the cycle repeats with hopefully a different (and therefore NOT insane) outcome. oh yeah, before the beginning of the next cycle, i also clean myself. into the shower with me and into the washer with my clothes immediately after the disposal process is complete with all jars and they are all in the big pot to boil. too bad i can't bleach my clothes. i need to get some all whites and a lab coat.
starting over sucks and it seems it is all i have done since my re-entrance into this hobby.
i hope this helps someone who has to deal with contams. but what i really hope is that nobody has to deal with contams and that this thread be moot. if wishes were horses and frogs had wings.
-------------------- A lesson on every Element of the Periodic Table The Beautiful Math of Coral Ice Loss Project The Extreme Ice Survey Project Free cubensis prints "the leaf doesn't make it's own decision's. Instead, it is the wind that decides where the leaf shall be, and how long the trip shall take"-m
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Kizzle
Misanthrope


Registered: 08/30/11
Posts: 9,866
Last seen: 2 months, 9 days
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Re: my contamination removal method outlined. [Re: mekannic]
#21211250 - 02/01/15 02:25 PM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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That's overkill. Just dump the jars contents outside and rinse them out. If you don't catch them right away and there's a large amount of mold you can PC or steam them for an hour to kill it first.
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mekannic
just dropped 2 hits



Registered: 09/28/14
Posts: 238
Last seen: 1 year, 6 months
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Re: my contamination removal method outlined. [Re: Kizzle]
#21211306 - 02/01/15 02:37 PM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Kizzle said: That's overkill. Just dump the jars contents outside and rinse them out. If you don't catch them right away and there's a large amount of mold you can PC or steam them for an hour to kill it first.
large amount is EXACTLY why i posted this. i had a dozen agar dishes almost 100% colonized with putrid green. i thought it was pure titanium white myc by shining a light through the box across the tops of them. it was an illusion.
i opened a dish to transfer and that is when i realized i had 100% contamination and zero mycelium from a sponsor syringe. it has been dealt with.
and i am an overkill kinda guy anyway. i don't wanna open a jar or dish full of contam outside to dump it then come back into the house with it or with my clothes on. and i damn sure ain't gettin nekked to come back in. or take any other risk of spreading an already out of control situation further.
nuclear solution to an ongoing problem. if i had access to radiation, i would try that too.
-------------------- A lesson on every Element of the Periodic Table The Beautiful Math of Coral Ice Loss Project The Extreme Ice Survey Project Free cubensis prints "the leaf doesn't make it's own decision's. Instead, it is the wind that decides where the leaf shall be, and how long the trip shall take"-m
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Kizzle
Misanthrope


Registered: 08/30/11
Posts: 9,866
Last seen: 2 months, 9 days
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Re: my contamination removal method outlined. [Re: mekannic]
#21211502 - 02/01/15 03:16 PM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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Nevertheless the situation was in no way caused by it spreading. You had a contaminated syringe that wasn't even made in your home. There's nothing you could have done with the contaminated substrate that would have prevented it.
I mean I can understand your caution under the circumstances. Once you get back on your feet though you'll still run into the occasional contaminant. It doesn't need to be made into a big inconvenience to deal with it.
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mekannic
just dropped 2 hits



Registered: 09/28/14
Posts: 238
Last seen: 1 year, 6 months
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Re: my contamination removal method outlined. [Re: Kizzle]
#21212075 - 02/01/15 04:45 PM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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you are right about the origination. no prevention possible. i just wanted to prevent it from going any further. my point was that i had such a huge amount to dispose of, i don't want it coming out of those dishes alive and able to cause a single future problem. and there was certainly a large enough amount that i could have brought it back in the house with me after dumping outside.
i don't have lab grade clean technique and i am still learning what to and what not to do.
i used to do this back when PF was still alive and i didn't have any such thing as a clean technique and never had problems with contams. but the game has changed.
i'm just hopin to get on my feet once. i have had either zero germination rate, or contams, one of the two. not a clean sample yet. makes it hard to want to continue trying. and yes this was a knee jerk reaction, but i had so much to deal with and i was so angry that it keeps happening, even after getting replacement syringes that are "guaranteed". this was my first time getting the agar recipe right and getting anything to grow and through the box it all looked so white, so i was happy i had so much white to play with and transfer and isolate and noc up wbs with, and then i finally sat down to play with it and it was worse than being a five year old getting all his halloween candy stolen on christmas day with no presents. and this is like the fifth or sixth try to get ANYTHING to grow.
i don't tend to blame the material item that caused me pain, but in this case i damn well took out all my frustration on the living tissue that has made my life a living hell for the past few months.
i want out of hell. i want my candy and my presents.
-------------------- A lesson on every Element of the Periodic Table The Beautiful Math of Coral Ice Loss Project The Extreme Ice Survey Project Free cubensis prints "the leaf doesn't make it's own decision's. Instead, it is the wind that decides where the leaf shall be, and how long the trip shall take"-m
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Majesty
Stranger

Registered: 01/31/15
Posts: 5
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: my contamination removal method outlined. [Re: mekannic]
#21219093 - 02/02/15 11:45 PM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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very helpful thanks!
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blueeasy
fellow shroomer



Registered: 12/11/14
Posts: 124
Loc: Michigan
Last seen: 6 months, 7 days
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Re: my contamination removal method outlined. [Re: Majesty]
#21219984 - 02/03/15 08:42 AM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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Yes very excellent and helpful.
-------------------- Its not what you do, Its how you do it.....
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Kizzle
Misanthrope


Registered: 08/30/11
Posts: 9,866
Last seen: 2 months, 9 days
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Re: my contamination removal method outlined. [Re: blueeasy]
#21221193 - 02/03/15 01:36 PM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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That's one of the problems with syringes. If it's contaminated at all it's pretty much useless. With a spore print on the other hand it's still possible to obtain clean spores from it even if the spores on some parts of the print have become contaminated.
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