Can I put HOB filter in dishwasher?
- Thread starter catfishguy
- Start date
and in a sealed motor where the warrantee is voided if you take it apart, how do you KNOW when the water is dried and it's safe to plug it in without getting electrified and or house fire???
If you're referring to me, human safety comes 1st. This should all be very obvious by doing basic things like reading warning labels and instructions.
Also, I think supporting this idea is in every way irresponsible, especially coming from a Scientist, like yourself. NOTHING is safe about any of this and encouraging it is foolish. You should know better.
It puts lives at risk, both human and animal, from electric shock to soap residue
Whether one can or not this just seems like a total waste of time.I mean what sort of aquarium sludge could build up in a power filter that could not be removed after a few minutes of rinsing and scrubbing with a cloth or a bottle cleaner?
Hello; This has not been the case for me over the last four decades. From time to time, maybe once a year, I take my HOB's off the tank and give them a rinse with a garden hose. I am careful to not wet the sealed motor directly. Usually the hose will rinse out whatever happens to be in the filter.
I was intrigued when I first read about the practices of using tank water to gently rinse things such as the filter media and now the filter itself. I take it the idea is to preserve the beneficial bacteria (bb). This has not been a problem.
There are some ways to mitigate the bb question. First being keeping the established filter media wet, which can be put back into the filter housing after the filter is clean. Another is to not clean the siphon tubes at the same time as they should have colonies of bb on their surfaces.
A practice I have used for decades is to run some sort of air operated device in all may tanks along with a HOB. These devices (sponge filters, UGF's, bubbler operated HOB's and /or simply air stones will create some water flow. It is my take that the bb colonize many surfaces in a tank, not just the power filters, and will be on surfaces around water flow.
If my decades of experience itself seems not enough there is an article about cycling I can post a link to. In this article a small segments refers to the tennacity of the bb and that they are not easily rinsed away. Regardless, run your tanks any way you see fit and good luck.
Back to the OP's question. The heat of a dishwasher alone should be enough to ruin the filter. If the OP happens to give it ago, lets hope the results are posted.
Perhaps you haven't seen brands of filters where the motor is completely removable. Removing it does not void the warranty. It is meant to be removed for service.
But really I think you are blowing this way out of proportion. You are drawing conclusions about something that hasn't been tested. You wanna talk about unscientific? Lol. Furthermore you must not have read my post about removing the electrical components. That was addressed. I do not see how this is a risk for humans assuming you don't wash the filter AND your dishes at the same time. That's just silly. Do you think it's risky to wash filters in the kitchen sink? Just wash the dishes with soap after and they will be clean. If you wash the filter in the dishwasher sans soap THEN we have an experiment on our hands.
I was just going to give you a Meme of a Facepalm for this post, but I will explain, since you are somehow a scientist.
Want to test it? Fine, YOU be the Guinea Pig and tell us if it works, don't encourage others to try it. Experiment on your yourself and your own fish.
Our kitchen sink is for dishes only. We have other sinks for washing animal accessories, I use a wash basin/deep-sink......and that's ALL we use it for. Bathroom sinks are for washing hands in, not the sinks your DISHES go in. IDC HOW much soap is in the sink, you put a fish filter where I put my dishes I EAT off of, and we will have a problem. Too many pathogens out there for that kind of stuff, IMO.
Finally, you don't wash a filter in the kitchen sink with DISHES IN IT. You move the dishes somewhere else FIRST, then disinfect the sink when you are done before putting the dishes back in.
You're really a scientist and common sense things like this have never crossed your mind?? Trade that degree and title of yours in for a little common sense, that's my advice. Do you use the toilet for a dining room-table too? Good grief, your sinks must be a petri dish 24/7
For what it worth, HOB, internal filter and power head are equipped with the same motor design, sealed and fully submersible. I have experimented with submerging an HOB inside a tank and run it as an internal filter for days with no short. The only difference I notice is that HOB motor cable is less sturdy than power head cable so it is at risk if it is used beyond its intended purpose for long term and I won't recommend.
Again, you are totally blowing this out of proportion. The OP proposed the idea - I didn't put it in his head. I offered my thoughts on it and I'm sorry you took offense.
Clearly we differ on keeping filter cleaning separate from dishes. I have never come across someone who feels that way about washing filters in the kitchen sink. I once knew a guy who didn't like the dog bowl getting washed in the sink. Whatever. If that's your hangup then that's your prerogative. Having maintained tanks for about 100 people I can assure you that nobody has ever told me not to wash filters in the kitchen sink.
As a scientist in the field I know a little more about this than just "common sense". I have had classes on zoonotic diseases for school AND work. So no amount of "common sense" teleology is gonna convince me that dishes dirty from fish water are any more of a concern than the stuff that simply proliferates on dirty dishes from human use.
I trust my soap. That's the bottom line. If you don't trust soap then I guess you're just more paranoid than most of the world. And here's a chilling thought: every restaurant washes their dishes with soap. OOOOOH SCARY!
Hello; There are a lot of things i do not put in my kitchen sink, aquarium stuff being among them. Not so much because I think there are pathogens that the soap will not take care of, more why take the risk?
Inside a house or apartment there is always some chance of cross contamination from one area to another. Flush a toilet and some of the bowl water becomes an aerosol. I imagine the filters and bubblers that move and agitate the tank water do the same.
Lots of bacteria among the dust in the air. Have you ever made an infusoria culture? I boil water and put it into a gallon Jar (boy those are hard to find now days) . Put some lettuice in and leave it open to the air. In a few days you have a thriving culture of tiny critters. Where did the critters come from? My guess is the air and perjaps on the lettuice.
At any rate i keep my toilet stuff, my aquarium stuff and my kitchen stuff separate from each other as much as possible. To each his/her own, run your tanks any way you wish. How many of us have had a dog drink from the toilet and later lick our face?
Inside a house or apartment there is always some chance of cross contamination from one area to another. Flush a toilet and some of the bowl water becomes an aerosol. I imagine the filters and bubblers that move and agitate the tank water do the same.
Lots of bacteria among the dust in the air. Have you ever made an infusoria culture? I boil water and put it into a gallon Jar (boy those are hard to find now days) . Put some lettuice in and leave it open to the air. In a few days you have a thriving culture of tiny critters. Where did the critters come from? My guess is the air and perjaps on the lettuice.
At any rate i keep my toilet stuff, my aquarium stuff and my kitchen stuff separate from each other as much as possible. To each his/her own, run your tanks any way you wish. How many of us have had a dog drink from the toilet and later lick our face?
