Lysol Wipes for the insides of tails

[Mermaid Galene]

7% hydrogen peroxide. Tea tree oil. Colloidal silver. All are antifungal and antibacterial without chemical residues left by chlorine or Lysol.

[AniaR]

My tail grew green mold on the inside even though I did my best to rinse with freshwater after every gig and dry it out as best as possible. Raina, when you talk about killing the mold in your tail, does it make the green patches go away, or does it just mean you killed it so the patches won't spread? I have been looking for ways to deep clean my tail to get the green out, especially when I was getting ready to ship it to its new owner. I mostly focused on using vinegar and baking soda, as that was all I had in the apartment aside from harsh cleaners.

For new mold I can kill it and scrub it off. Old mold all I could do was keep killijng it and prevent it from spreading.

7% hydrogen peroxide. Tea tree oil. Colloidal silver. All are antifungal and antibacterial without chemical residues left by chlorine or Lysol.

The lysol wipes don't leave behind a chemical residue. They actively promote that they dont and there's nothing in the MSDS. I have never found for this magnitude of what needs to be disinfected, that tea tree oil or other natural cleaners ever work. Plus like some others on here, I find it irritates my skin. I have never found in my 3 years that peroxide works either.


For anyone interested I have been searching a lot about how to clean medical grade silicone without ruining it. I came across this post on a forum about the silicone diva cups.

I just wanted to share something with everyone, and I hope it helps. Like many people here, I’ve been REALLY curious about gathering some facts on proper care of medical grade silicone. So I decided to turn to someone who works with this material regularly-- and ask them their professional opinion. I have forwarded the below letter to the head of a custom medical grade silicone molding company (they take custom moldings from hospitals for patients, and create artificial body parts of various kinds), and he sent me his reply.

Here is the company I contacted:

“ASC Applied Silicone Corporation” SILICONESALES@APPLIEDSILICONE.COM


Here is the letter I wrote:

Dear Richard,

I was wondering if you could help me. I have a question about medical grade silicone-- Are there any sterilizing/cleaning solutions or lubricants that can damage it? I ask because I’m part of an online support community of people who use “menstrual cups”-- small, flexible cups made of medical grade silicone, that are worn internally, to collect menstrual fluid, rather than absorbing it. The manufacturers recommend that during use, we should wash them daily with mild, perfume-free soap. Then sterilize by boiling for 5 minutes. Some of the companies forbid most sterilizing solutions, claiming they damage the silicone. But many of us aren’t sure what to believe on this matter. Especially when it comes to things like rubbing alcohol, peroxide, oil-based lubricants, etc. We wonder if the company’s recommendations are meant to increase sales of their special “cup wash” or to make our cups discolor faster, so we buy new ones more often. Could you (or someone you are associated with) please help to shed some light on this subject?

Thank you in advance-- Melissa


And here is what he had to say:


Dear Melissa,

My background consists of 30 years as a Research and Development Engineer involved in the development of silicone elastomers and implantable silicone devices. I agree with the manufacturers recommendations for cleaning the silicone cups. Silicone has poor resistance to acids and bases found in sterilizing solutions and hydrogen peroxide. I have personal knowledge of silicone degradation caused by beta dyne solutions commonly used as a micro biocide in surgery. Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) can cause slight temporary swelling of the silicone, but as long as it is allowed to evaporate completely it will not deteriorate silicone. Oil based lubricants can swell/permeate the silicone and may not readily evaporate and can cause a loss in physical properties. My main concern with oil based lubricants would be biocompatibility in such a sensitive tissue environment.

Best Regards,
Richard Dumas
Director of Technical Service
Applied Silicone Corporation
270 Quail Court, Santa Paula, CA 93060 USA

Interesting stuff.

But a lysol wipe IS safe to use to wipe down the inside of your silicone tail. I am making a video to show everyone

[Mermaid Galene]

I personally am not comfortable with ammonium chloride compounds and unspecified fragrance, but that's just my preference. I'm simply saying what has worked for me as an aquarist against water borne pathogens, so that we all have options to try. And also to gently and respectfully point out that others have, in fact, contributed ideas to this thread.

http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_...37016#Toxicity

[AniaR]

And here's my vlog about cleaning tails! Don't mind my awful lisp

[SeaGlass Siren]

oh how convenient! i was wondering last night if there was a tutorial video for cleaning THANKS!

[AniaR]

I've been making it over a few days but with our upload caps it took a whole day to upload ugh >.> I hope to have similar videos as I get time. I tried my best to show the difference the wipes make. You cant see it in the first clip but in the second clip it's glaringly obvious lol

[SeaGlass Siren]

yeah the wipe in the second clip looks pretty atrocious

[AniaR]

So for anyone who might be interested Here's an example folks:

In my video I referenced using an all natural cleaner called "nature clean" it has tea tree oil and lavender and other all natural properties. I use it for most of my cleaning unless I get really sick, that's when I usually have to bring out the non-natural stuff. I use it to clean my tail in the tub in the video as referenced, but while making my video I tried a few other things to show later in this post.



So in the image above here's how it worked. I put the wipe or the wet industrial paper towel (about the same thickness and texture as the wipe- as close to it as I could find in our home) on the dirty spots and let is sit for a second just to saturate the dirty spot. Then I scrubbed 5 swipes. The wipe on the top is after 5 swipes. The bottom left wad of paper towel is the soap I used in the video + water, the bottom right is just water.

Different texture materials like cloths can get a better result (I didn't bother showing the cloth I used because it was a dark color and I couldnt get anything to come up on the photo it just looked like a clean cloth when it was dirty) and I think one of the reasons why the wipes worked so well is because they have a certain texture. But I still got this much dirt after scrubbing it with the brush I showed in the video.

Personally, I have tried pretty much every cleaning style, and the reason I have shared the wipe trick is because it works, and I see a lot of silicone and latex costume makers talking about using them for cleaning (that's how I got the idea). I have tried alcohols, I have tried all natural cleaners, I've even tried stinky dawn dish detergent that I haaaate. I've tried sex toy cleaner. I've tried vinegar. I've tried practically boiling my tail. None of them clean it well enough, and the wipe shows all the stuff that's been left there after all that plus drying (even drying would remove a lot of surface stuff). And when I look inside the tail or touch it, it doesn't *seem* dirty. Just goes to show how those nasty mold growing bugs work.

I think as I mentioned in an earlier post, the wipes are great for when youre too busy to give a proper cleaning as well. At least you can wipe it out and know it's killing stuff instead of it sitting there. I buy unscented because the fragrance kind gives me headaches.

I prefer to use all natural whenever possible but have found with my immune system that sometimes I have to bring out the big guns or I keep getting sick. In this instance, I kept getting rashes and especially in places like the foot pocket. (I know someone else had a whole thread on that) I would sometimes wear tights under my tail to prevent getting what one of my mermaids calls "swamp bum". I think if you're going to use a silicone tail this much it's important to bring out the big guns every once in a while.

If you haven't watched the video I linked yet you can watch it for more info

[MermaidBrandie]

yup! powermesh is so helpful and yet so annoying to try and clean lol



I am already in the process of making a vlog on the issue (as I posted several times in the past few weeks) I get monetization for my vlogs as well which helps reimburse me for my time, efforts, and knowledge. I mean honestly, this entire thread is me giving a tip away for free.

I didn't mean to bother you with it. I'm sorry, I just figured since I was doing the research anyway, and these are silicone tails and I am going to be getting the pictures from the microscope of what these products do to them, people would want to know. :/

[AniaR]

I misunderstood! I think microscope pics would be really cool!!!

[Aziara]

I wonder if the lysol wipes would be as effective if done before soaking? Or perhaps after soaking for a few hours, then returning it to the soapy water after the wipe down. I know lysol says no residue, but I get really squick about traditional cleaners, and I think the smell of lysol in my tail would likely make me sneeze and stuff up. Or does the tail really need the long soak to loosen up the gunk inside?

[AniaR]

Asiara: they do help before, but before soaking I find if you've been to the beach or been in your tail a long time, you end up with so much crap in there I just found it easier to let it soak. I dont think a tail needs a good long soak all the time. A simple spray down inside and out with soap and water is probably fine for most things. But I had been to the beach and had organic matter all through my tail.

it's really up to you and your tail.

And yes Galene and I have been PMing so I'd appreciate if we can publicly move on from that issue. I know some people love to come "late to the party" and stir the pot after everything's been resolved so please dont I love and respect Galene and I am glad she and I are working things out and I see where she is coming from. Big hugs!

[Chrissy]

that is crazy how much yucky stuff came off on the Lysol wipe.......eeeeewwwwww. I have had a good amount of luck so far soaking and hanging my tail on my rack and putting a fan under it blowing up!!! My husband wants to create a fan drying system with pipes and holes and all sorts of crazy ideas for my tail rack..... but the Lysol wipes are on my grocery list for this week!!!!
Hey Raina can you include in your repair video (maybe) how to properly roll down your tail?? I saw that you said Sean had rolled it down so you could dry it better, for some reason I am not sure how to roll mine down w/o any kind of damage being done??? Just a thought?

[MermaidBrandie]

I misunderstood! I think microscope pics would be really cool!!!

^.^ Sorry I didn't specify better. I'll post them up when I get them. Would you want them on this forum or should I just make a forum for that separate? I still have plenty of the silicone left, if I made my own forum for it, then people could suggest other chemicals that I didn't think of.

[AniaR]

I think you should do a whole thread Lots of pics. Smooth on does say to let things evaporate for best results.

[Sherielle]

Man I wish my tail rolled down like yours does. It's too thick. All in all, I like it that way but it makes getting to the foot pockets damned near impossible.

[AniaR]

yeah mermaid creation tails are so hard to roll down. I can't do it with ours, Sean used to do it for the mermaids I put in it. way too thick.

I am doing videos of putting tails on soon but I'll warn yah it's in a more modest way because no one really feels comfortable over here having everyone see all that unflattering process LOL.

I have sean roll my tail down because I have damaged it in the past by being too aggressive and having long finger nails. So Sean rolls it down carefully for me so it stays strong

[Mermaid Leira]

All great ideas, everyone's chemical sensitivity is different I had a thought that maybe low grade uv light, heat and air flow
Would be a good idea, like a snow boot / gear drying rack you find in ski lodges but with light as well to kill fungi without alcohol or chem? Anyone made one? Also last dragon skin scale I made I put power mesh between a thick first outer layer then a thinner internal dragon skin one, silky smooth inside but stronger, that I think maybe could stop greenery hidy holes?

[AniaR]

yeah I think a lot of tail makers have started sandwiching the powermesh for that very reason. It's the best, but it makes mold hard. I feel like if I had used Lysol wipes from the start though i'd have never gotten mold. I think it came because we live in such a damp environment already, and I was experimenting with too many things that didn't work. I'm excited for my next tail because I know the best way to keep it clean for me now

As far as UV light I think it be fine inside, but long term UV exposure does dull the pigments.

[Mermaid Leira]

I haven't seen Lysol wipes in aus, I'm assuming they're like our Dettol wipes?? Antibacterial like you would clean a graze or for disinfecting a surface?