Lysol or 409 on Stenlight?

[submassabielle]

Will Lysol or 409 damage a Stenlight (including the battery and wires)? I am new to caving and a little nervous about dumping too many chemicals on such an expensive piece of equipment (which I have only used once), especially since my bottle of 409 says it is not recommended for aluminum. I don't live in a karst location, so there aren't other cavers in town I can ask. I have looked for this info on the forums and not found it, so if there is another thread where this is addressed, just let me know. Thanks in advance!

[boogercaver71]

I would just wash it with mild soap and water, then wipe it down with a Lysol wipe

[caveflower]

Alcohol on a paper towel after it is wiped down and free of mud should be fine. It's safe on aluminum.

[MUD]

Will Lysol or 409 damage a Stenlight (including the battery and wires)? I am new to caving and a little nervous about dumping too many chemicals on such an expensive piece of equipment (which I have only used once), especially since my bottle of 409 says it is not recommended for aluminum. I don't live in a karst location, so there aren't other cavers in town I can ask. I have looked for this info on the forums and not found it, so if there is another thread where this is addressed, just let me know. Thanks in advance!

If you think you need to put chemicals on your gear to go in a cave, you shouldn't be going in caves! That goes for all you other chem freaks too! I'm sooo very glad I don't have to cave with you type of cavers!

[submassabielle]

Cavemud,
As I said, I am new to caving...so I don't know if I am one of "you type of cavers" or a "chemfreak." I have gathered that I am supposed to put chemicals on my equipment from things I have found on the NSS website. I am preparing to use my gear for the second time ever and in a different cave nearly 600 miles west of the first cave I used it in. Are you saying I do not need to put chemicals on my gear?

[caveflower]

submassabielle welcome to caving and I hope you find it as enjoyable as I have. Every cave has it own unique enviroment so cleaning cave gear between caves is always a good idea. Some people do not like the fact that someone is telling them what they have to do. Very understandable. As a new caver you are trying to learn from us with more experience. For right now until they can find out that cavers do not spread WNS this is what we have to do. So the answer to your question is YES you do have to put chemicals on your gear.

[Chads93GT]

Or wash your gear with hot water to decontaminate. Why use chemicals when you don't have to?

[submassabielle]

So is hot water safe for a Stenlight? I used hot water for the rest of my gear, but didn't think I should submerge my light for a full 15 minutes in hot water (especially since it is technically water resistant not waterproof). Today, I finally just wiped it down with a lysol wipe as suggested. I am not sure if I kept it wet for 10 minutes though. Maybe I will wipe it down again?

[Chads93GT]

Dude you're fine. If you wiped it down it's good. No science has ever found humans as a transmission vector. Just wipe your light down and call it a day. Welcome to caving!!

[MUD]

submassabielle welcome to caving and I hope you find it as enjoyable as I have. Every cave has it own unique enviroment so cleaning cave gear between caves is always a good idea. Some people do not like the fact that someone is telling them what they have to do. Very understandable. As a new caver you are trying to learn from us with more experience. For right now until they can find out that cavers do not spread WNS this is what we have to do. So the answer to your question is YES you do have to put chemicals on your gear.

Sounds like another sheep being led to slaughter.......

You absolutely DO NOT need to put chemicals on your gear! You DO NOT have to do this. NO ONE has to do it! Think HARD about this...if you think you need to put chemicals on your gear to go in a cave, you shouldn't go in the cave! Its wrong, wrong, wrong.

The NSS is wrong about this as is anyone else who would promote such a idiotic thing! I truly can't believe people would say they care about a cave and then put chemicals on their gear so they can go into a cave!

Wash your gear. Don't put chemicals of any kind on it. Enjoy the cave. Wash, rinse, repeat!

[Chads93GT]

Yeah. I simply wash my gear at the car wash then at home. Electronics I clean in the sink. No bleach. No Lysol. Nothig but soap and hot water.

[MUD]

@ Chad! Thanks brother, as thats all you ever need to do!

...with chemical free gear.

[NZcaver]

So is hot water safe for a Stenlight? I used hot water for the rest of my gear, but didn't think I should submerge my light for a full 15 minutes in hot water (especially since it is technically water resistant not waterproof). Today, I finally just wiped it down with a lysol wipe as suggested. I am not sure if I kept it wet for 10 minutes though. Maybe I will wipe it down again?

Dude you're fine. If you wiped it down it's good. No science has ever found humans as a transmission vector. Just wipe your light down and call it a day. Welcome to caving!!

And welcome to the forum.

The NSS is wrong about this as is anyone else who would promote such a idiotic thing! I truly can't believe people would say they care about a cave and then put chemicals on their gear so they can go into a cave!

FYI to other readers - those who do use chemicals to disinfect gear should rinse everything thoroughly to remove any chemical residue before going caving. Obviously the new 122 F washing protocol is much simpler for most people, assuming you have access to hot water of course. The official decon protocol as of April 2012 can be found here.

Wash your gear. Don't put chemicals of any kind on it. Enjoy the cave. Wash, rinse, repeat!

Hey Cavemud, does this mean you've actually begun washing your own gear between trips?

[tagkycaver]

well if you're caving right now in most govt. owned caves, you gotta use lysol or some similar for decon re white-nose syndrome. if you have concerns about use on aluminum or other gear, just rinse and dry it off after the required few minutes. course some people are gonna scream when i mention decon for white-nose, which is beyond the scope of this forum.

[MUD]

If I'm going to the same cave repeatedly I may not wash my gear between trips. I may let the cave stream do it for me...or the fresh mountain stream...or the carwash! Out of my area caving It always gets washed.

I've never put any chems on my gear and frankly haven't caved with ANYONE that does. I truly can't wrap my head around using chemicals for "decontamination" purposes and then dragging them into a cave. Think really HARD about that people...but don't hurt yourself.