Hello; The short answer is simple drying is not a foolproof way to disinfect. Some stuff will be taken care of a thorough drying but not for sure all. Decades ago a very good fish shop kept containers of a blue solution to dip their nets into. I suspect this solution was methylene blue. Methylene blue is likely good enough for such a task, but it is a dye. It will stain things. Some stains being permanent. Get it on your fingers and they are blue for days. I guess it does have the advantage of being ok to take a net from a soak in a mild solution directly into a tank.
Sounds like you need a quarantine procedure. Using some equipment in only one tank and not in multiple tanks.
If I have a known pathogen or contaminant such as slime algae I use a clorox solution to disinfect any suspect equipment. You will have to have a second solution of something such as PRIME, SAFE or other water conditioner on hand. Soak the equipment in the clorox solution and before using it in a tank rinse it off and then a soak in a solution of PRIME to neutralize the clorox.
I agree with you on method of using bleach I also
Used to bleach my dead white coral in my old
Salt tank for a few days in a bleach solution they’d look super white and new again then I’d rinse off and soak in water and water conditioner for a day or so usually flushing it out also it’s a bit of work but it make my corals bright white again
my input on this is agreeing itS
Safe to soak in bleachTo clean as long as you do a soak in Water conditioner afterwards to remove chlorine you can also let let it dry in the sun for added protection