How do you clean, steralize and deodorize a dehydrator?

[Rawspberry]

I accidentally forgot something in my dehydrator and it grew the most awful green mold all over it. Actually I was culturing macadamia nuts and had put the bowl in there to warm up for an hour to get it going. Then I decided to just leave it in there with the dehydrator off to protect it from the fruit flies and everything. So I thought. Well instead of getting it out 8 hours later I totally forgot about it for a couple of days! When I finally remembered and panicked that it was in there I went to look and the top of bowl was covered in the most awful green mold and there were hundreds of fruit flies all over it. I threw it out but now the dehydrator has this weird funky smell in it from the mold. I hope I didn't screw up my dehydrator and don't want that to transfer to anything else I put inside of it, if there are any spores still alive floating around that are creating that smell. How do I fully steralize it and get that smell out? Thanks!

[Revvell]

Try white vinegar and/or baking soda. Charcoal absorbs odor as well.

[Conscious Midwife]

Try white vinegar and/or baking soda. Charcoal absorbs odor as well.


Yeah do this

and then run on the highest temp while empty just incase you have spores behind the fan or around the parts that water doesn't reach. Mayb the temp will help dry everything out.

Good Luck

[klomasius]

Unfortunately spores probably wont be killed off with the highest temperature on any dehydrator. But the physical sanitising action of the vinegar and baking soda will at least remove much of it. But prolly a good idea anyway to do as Life suggests.

Don't worry too much about things growing in their after your festy macadamia incident (hehe), spores are everywhere, nothing too much to worry about.

Sounds a little reminiscent of my sprouter incident! Oh boy! Aint dealing with living, growing things an experience?!