Can I use Sodium Hypochlorite to clean my plastic coop?

[Margaid]

I collected the Solway hen house I bought on ebay today. Although the seller said he had power washed it, when we dismantled it to get it in the car the inside of the end pieces were still quite dirty as were other bits. I want give it a really good clean before we put it back together.

I was thinking of scrubbing it with soapy water (washing up liquid) to get all the muck off and then scrubbing again with a solution of sodium hypochlorite. We've still got some left from when we used to clean the water tank on the motorcaravan.

It's used for disinfecting drinking water and for things like cleaning down milking parlours and it's also one of the ingredients in Milton sterilising fluid. On that basis I thought it would probably be OK particularly as the girls won't be moving in for at least a week - I need to fit an external nest box amongst other things.

Has anyone any views or advice on this please? By the way our water supply isn't chlorinated as it comes from a borehole, but it doesn't conatin any bacteria either.

 

[Chuck]

Hypochlorite is a good all round cleaner and disinfectant which I've used many times and worls well on most plastic though it coud bleach it if left to soak. I clean my drinkers with it every so often.

 

[Margaid]

Thanks Chuck, now it's out with the scrubbing brushes if it stops raining and after I've cleaned out the back of the car!

 

[chrismahon]

It is the active ingredient in Nettex sterilising solution at 0.024% W/W. There is always a danger that chemicals will initiate 'environmental stress cracking' of plastics so keep the solution weak and the contact time short Margaid.

 

[Margaid]

Thanks Chris, i did wonder if it might degrade the plastic. All the bits have been scrubbed, although they weren't mucky as the seller had hosed it out. I wasn't going to leave the Hypochlorite on the bits - more of a quick rinse with it then a clean water rinse. I'll have to dilute it quite a bit as it's a 10% solution - when I used it in the motorcaravan tank I put too much in, it was a good job the curry was fairly strong as the rice gave off a smell of chlorine. After that we took bottles of water for drinking and cooking!! That was about 20 years ago and we don't seem to have suffered any ill effects.!