clean equipment! EEK

[Bananapie]

Always, Always, Always leave your dehydrator clean when either

A. Leaving town for an extended period of time
or
B. Falling off the wagon for an extended period of time

I opened up my poor dehydrator and it had become home to several meal moths and their offspring as well as one big fat spider.:eek: I am thinking of taking the vacuum cleaner to it but I was wondering if anyone else had tips for cleaning out the nooks and crannies of an Excalibur:confused:. I also think I will hang a clove ball or some mint in it when it is not in use.

Thanks

[DopeRawAbundance]

Dehydrate da buggies for 12-24 hours or until crispy, great for trailmixes or granola.

[DebB]

I do vacuum mine out. *Ü*

[rawrawks]

me too..kind of have to

[Thick]

I dont vacuum mine out, but kind of dump it out in the sink and tap tap tap it to get the pieces out, then wipe it with a bleach water cloth to get the smells/molds/etc out. A can of compressed air, like what some use to clean computer fans out and keyboards might help with the fan.

[Bananapie]

Thanks for the tips. DopeRaw you gave me a good laugh.

Do any of you also use Clorox on your teflex sheets? Or just wash in water and soap. I need to come up with something simple. I am wondering what other easy quick ways people have gone about cleaning or maintaining their dehydrator trays and sheets.

Thanks

[kaybee]

NOT an easy way, but when i went away for the winter i let someone who was interested in raw foods borrow my dehydrator because i figured someone might as well get use out of it. BAD CHOICE. it apparently ended up in her shed and when i opened it up it was full of MOUSE POOP. GROSSS. i didnt know HOW i was ever going to get it useable again. i discovered that if its REALLY necessary, you can actually unscrew the back of it to get into the area where the fan is and clean/bleach that too. and take the whole back off. major pain but i had to do it and at least i found out you can.

[DebB]

I was my Paraflex sheets with soap and water if they need it, otherwise I wipe with a damp cloth. I've never used bleach on them. Are yours stained?

I don't know about his being 'easy' - but I wanted to find something large enough to actually wash the whole tray and mesh in - my sink does not accomodate their 14x14" size. I found a single plastic drawer unit at Walmart and the drawer itself is about 16x16, so I can put the trays and mesh liners in to soak. I'd rather put them to soak then scrub scrub all the sticky dried on food.

And then when need be - I vacuum out the bottom. *Ü*

[RawKnitster]

DebB, what a great solution! I usually wash mine the kitchen table, it makes a mess and uses too much soap. Then I wipe down the inside with a well-rinsed sponge. After washing I put the trays and sheets into the dehydrator and turn it up to 155 until everything is dry.

[dicenut]

Hi,

I am think it is time for a dehydrator, I live in Maui, and it is warm here and we
have our share of insects, just thinking this will be a great place for bugs food
sitting in dehydrator for so long, will this be a problem?

Thanks

[margoss]

If you have a tub, soak what you can in the tub then rinse well with shower. No tub...try putting water, acv & baking soda in it to soak over night. Diluted acv will probably help clean the inside...soak some cloth napkins or towel in the liquid then lay in the dehydrator. I'm thinking if you turn it on after you've wiped it real good with a rag in it, the steam will loosen the food to clean easier. Just like soaking a rag in microwave to clean it.

[streetsurfer]

To make clean up easier after drying certain (sticky or messy) foods, you can first take a basting brush and give the trays or sheets a light coating of coconut oil.

[Bananapie]

Thanks for all your ideas.

Dicenut: I got bugs in my dehydrator because I did not clean it when it was not in use. If you leave your dehydrator clean the bugs will not be as attracted to it. Also I do not think the bugs will like it with the fan on, the fan should blow away any bug interested in checking out your dehydrator when it is in use. But I live in Michigan not Hawaii. I know there are a quite a few people in the community who live in warm climent maybe they will know if bug get into dehydrators when they are in use.