Tube Washing Protocol

Materials and Equipment Needed

  1. 32 gallon garbage can(s) (without white drain plug)
  2. One 3 quart container of bleach
  3. One toilet bowl brush
  4. Rubber dish washing gloves
  5. Detergent safe to mix with bleach
  6. Water hose
  7. Optional: long lab coat and rubber boots

Safety Issues

  1. Bleach may cause skin to dry out.  Wearing gloves is required.  Wash bleach solution off of skin after any contact with bleach.
  2. Wear old clothes that can get bleach on them, or wear a long lab coat.  Bleach will discolor clothes. 
  3. Never use a dish soap that contains ammonia, such as Palmolive. Mixing bleach and ammonia creates Chlorine Gas which is toxic.

Time Required

Minimum of 1 hour

Procedure

Step Image

Take all the materials to the Turner Greenhouse crosshouse.  Best location is near a water hose and a drain. 

 

Fill garbage can with water till » 5" from the top.  Add whole container of bleach while water is filling up.  Add » 10-15mL of soap when water is 12" from the top.  Note: If soap is added too early, an excess of soap bubbles will overflow the can.

A second garbage can may be filled with plain water to presoak tubes before washing them in the soap and bleach solution.

 

Submerge approximately 8 tubes, top down, into the solution.  (Solution not shown in photo)

 

While wearing the gloves, use the toilet brush to reach into the tube to scrub any plant debris or soil off of the tube. 

Set cleaned tubes aside for rinsing. 

Once all the tubes have been scrubbed from the garbage can, add 8 more dirty tubes to the can to soak.

Rinse scrubbed tubes clean and set aside to dry.