Cleaning Water Pools, Food Dishes, and Other Items???

[Motörcrab]

I was just rereading through the care sheets but did not see this noted or I may have missed it. I have been wondering if my technique for cleaning is safe. I believe I am safe but wanted to get everyone's thoughts.

When I do my food and water changes I empty the waters pools and discard the uneaten foods. Since some of the foods dry to the dish and are tough to remove I use warm/hot tap water to help loosen the food and to clean the pools. I then scrub everything with an old toothbrush to get the remaining food and coatings off of the water pools. Once everything is clean I rinse everything with my Prime treated fresh water. I let everything air dry a few minutes then dry the food containers with paper towels before restocking the foods. The pools I just leave wet since they get filled with water anyway.

[doth]

I've read somewhere on here that as long as the final rinse is dechlor it's ok to wash things down with tap water. btw I switched to glazed ceramic food dishes recently & find the food doesn't stick to them nearly as much as what I was using before, so that night make your cleaning easier.

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[Motörcrab]

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking I am safe with a final treated water rinse just waned some reassurance. I am using a large flower style glaze coated dish from Mary Akers in my main tank. most of the foods come off easily. My biggest struggle is with my color boosting powders. once they rehydrate from the humidity and the sugars get moist then start to dry again they get like a rock. similar to when the yolk of an egg dries on a plate.

[doth]

ohhh yeah that one can stick. I love her dishes & mixes!

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[curlysister]

Hmmmm....I was reading along, thinking that I clean my bowls exactly the same way...empty the bowls, use a toothbrush that has never been used for anything other than cleaning hermit crab bowls....and then BOOM!
OMG! I don't do a final rinse with my RO water!! Our tap water is well water. Any time I have added anything new to the tank, or when I first got the bowls, I clean with vinegar and water, then rinse with the RO water. But for some reason, I have never thought of it for the usual cleaning. It has been almost 9 years, but I think I will start!

PS- Yes, I am aware that not everyone considers RO water appropriate, but it is what I have always used, rather than my tap water and dechlorinator.

[RiNiKy506]

I do the same thing, except I don’t use soap all the time. I just rinse and scrub with my crabby toothbrush, rinse with treated water and dry. I do have the babyganics plant based soap that I’ll use once in awhile if it needs it. I’m always so scared to use any soaps so the plant based soap makes me feel a little better. I have the same color booster powders that you have, they can be hard to get off bc they melt from the humidity.

[Xenocrab]

Same here. Scrub with a toothbrush, dip in dcfw, let dry, or if I'm in a hurry, I'll use the crabby towels. They have their own towels for when I clean their stuff.

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[Scarletfire]

Could this be pinned or added to the crab care guide pages? When I was initially doing my research, I couldn't really find information like this specific to crabs, so just went with fish / shrimp care basics. Not sure if others, particularly if crabs are their first pets will know what to do.