Cleaning Gear To Avoid Contamination

[Frenchie]

I'm going fishing in Oregon next week and want to make sure my gear is well clean after being used in the Bow watershed.

I have 2 questions:

- what is a reliable way of cleaning boots and waders that is both safe for the gear and gets rid of all risk of contamination. I keep reading conflicting info, soap and rinsing is not enough, bleaching is too strong...

- do i need to clean lines and flies? If so what's the recommended method out there?

 

Thanks

[Flyfisher]

A 10 min. soak in Quat Plus. Product available online from Grand & Toy. Consult supplier for dilution rate. This product at correct dilution rate is harmless to gear. Used by Fish & Wildlife in BC.

 

https://www.grandandtoy.com/en/product/167412321_Dustbane_Quat_Plus_DisinfectantCleaner.aspx#review-tab

[Frenchie]

Thanks, i'll have a look.

Should i really clean flies with this too? It's likely they don't carry mud or residues and that would be quite a lot to clean up...

[Flyfisher]

Flies, I wouldn't, I don't. My landing net is included in disinfecting my gear.

[Dangus]

Guys, thoroughly rinsing any bulk debris off and drying thoroughly for a number of days more than enough. No need to go out and buy fancy cleaners. If you are in a time pinch and can't wait for things to go bone dry, soak it in white vinegar for 20 minutes. I can't see that wrecking any gear. The only thing I'd soak is felt soles anyways.

Lastly, pretty much whole west side of the US from the Canadian to the Mexican border has whirling disease.

They've known it's been in Oregon since 1986.

[jpinkster]

Lastly, pretty much whole west side of the US from the Canadian to the Mexican boarder has whirling disease.

They've known it's been in Oregon since 1986.

 

There is still a strong possibility that there are isolated systems along this stretch that are not infected. There are also numerous other invasives that are spread because of the same levels of complacency that allowed WD to get here. But yeah, let's not worry too much about it or anything.

[Fishcreek]

Vinegar is all you need. I put that s$&t on everything!

[BurningChrome]

I'm going fishing in Oregon next week and want to make sure my gear is well clean after being used in the Bow watershed.

 

Please also make sure to clean your gear again before you return. Don't want to bring some invasive back with you either...

[Dangus]

 

There is still a strong possibility that there are isolated systems along this stretch that are not infected. There are also numerous other invasives that are spread because of the same levels of complacency that allowed WD to get here. But yeah, let's not worry too much about it or anything.

Dude, it's been known to be in the state for over 30 years. Thus likely there even longer. You think people were putting their felt boots in quaternary ammonium in 1989? I don't think so.

My point is clean it, dry it. Doesn't need to go into a bloody autoclave.

[Dangus]

Vinegar is all you need. I put that s$&t on everything!

http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/pdf/best_management_practices/Cleaning%20of%20Watercraft%20and%20Equipment.pdf

[Frenchie]

Thanks, i didn't think of vinegar, sure is less scary to use on the waders (and net).

[danhunt]

With respect to the link that Bron posted, that relates to invasive species and makes sense for things like zebra mussels, Eurasian milfoil, etc. That said, the WD spores can remain viable outside of water for 20-30 years and there can be millions of spores in a single chunk of mud. Disinfecting our gear with which ever chemical treatment is the only way to be reasonably certain it's clean. Also, it might not be a bad idea to treat the gear before it's washed because otherwise the spores will just travel through a waste water treatment plant. Maybe not an issue if you're in Calgary, but if you're an Edmontonian and you come home and clean your gear after fishing the Bow...

[Dangus]

You can get a good look at a t bone by sticking your head up a bulls ass, but you'd be better off taking a butchers word for it.

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_015746.pdf

 

They took spores, dried them with or without UV, or didn't dry. Rehydrated dried samples and put the samples back into dishes with or without tubifex worms. Dried samples didn't cause any spores to be released.

Thorough drying kills the spores.

 

Interesting to note, I read one study that said the spore goes through the gut of a (mallard) duck and pike unaffected.

[adams]

If these diseases are contained in mud I question why I just switched from felt boots to vibram. These vibram soles pick up tons of mud (that my felt did not). The soles dry faster but they are caked in mud. They are also useless without cleats and the cleats pack in even more mud. Looks like you've got to thoroughly clean and dry regardless of your boot choice.

[danhunt]

Deleting because I'm too old to get in a flame war.

[Dangus]

Deleting because I'm too old to get in a flame war.

I guess debating things and exposing people to different information is just" fighting" on this site.

I made the comment about the ducks and pike as I figured that would bring up discussion about acetic acid. Not sure what the ph of a ducks gut is, but probably lower than that of acetic acid (>2 as far as I recall. Our guts are 2ish I think).

But ya, science is stupid.

[danhunt]

The spores are in water, but there is water in the mud. You hit the nail on the head, Adams - the vibram soles are just a bit easier to clean and dry than felts.

 

Bron, I don't want to engage you in a conversation because, in the words of Henery Hawk, you are a loud mouthed shnook. The only real way to deal with you is to ignore you until you get frustrated and head back to the AO forum.

[scel]

You can get a good look at a t bone by sticking your head up a bulls ass, but you'd be better off taking a butchers word for it.

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_015746.pdf

 

They took spores, dried them with or without UV, or didn't dry. Rehydrated dried samples and put the samples back into dishes with or without tubifex worms. Dried samples didn't cause any spores to be released.

Thorough drying kills the spores.

 

Interesting to note, I read one study that said the spore goes through the gut of a (mallard) duck and pike unaffected.

 

My wife is a biologist who works in the national parks. When she works, she only wears rubber boots (which she regularly changes), which can be very easily cleaned and dried. She literally has a car trunk full of rubber boots.

 

She is happy if I simply clean debris from gear and *completely* dry everything in the sunshine. The drying, heat, plus the solar UV is analogous to a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Drying kills almost all of the tubifex worms and spores, but the heat and UV act as accelerants and kill some of the parasite in the process.

 

Interesting note: goldfish are a natural carrier of whirling disease.

[scel]

If these diseases are contained in mud I question why I just switched from felt boots to vibram. These vibram soles pick up tons of mud (that my felt did not). The soles dry faster but they are caked in mud. They are also useless without cleats and the cleats pack in even more mud. Looks like you've got to thoroughly clean and dry regardless of your boot choice.

 

The felt totally picks up the mud---that is why they are not permitted in the parks. It is there; you just cannot see it. The mud gets deeply packed into the felt soles and takes something like 10x longer to dry. After a quick wash with a garden hose, the vibram soles will dry in a few hours. It would literally take a pressure washer to clean the mud from the depths of felt. The average male is 180-200lbs. when you walk, you roll the boot, so probably 1-2square inches are in contact, so it would take 90-200 psi to blast the mud out of a felt sole.

 

So, think about it...even if you use a disinfectant, you would still have to walk through a cobblestone laden wash-bin in order to force the disinfectant to the base of the felt sole.

 

Fine...just dry out the boot. The density of the felt is designed to take the wear of a couple hundred PSI. The water is sponged into the felt, so once it is in there, it takes a great deal of time for it to evaporate out without forcing it out the same way it was forced in. I do not know anyone who meticulously squeezes the water out of their felt boot soles.

 

Yeah, regardless of the disease and its vector, you always have to thoroughly clean and dry any transmission source. It is the same for the common cold. It is the same for measles. It is the same whirling disease. So, felt and vibram both have to be cleaned and dried. Yeah, cleated vibrams get muddy, but you can see it. I would hazard I could clean 90% of it with a garden hose, and completely dry it. The same is simply not true with felt.

[Dangus]

The spores are in water, but there is water in the mud. You hit the nail on the head, Adams - the vibram soles are just a bit easier to clean and dry than felts.

 

Bron, I don't want to engage you in a conversation because, in the words of Henery Hawk, you are a loud mouthed shnook. The only real way to deal with you is to ignore you until you get frustrated and head back to the AO forum.

5 am. I'm going fishing. Hugs and tight lines.