Cleaning a Ceramic Diffuser

[Superman]

Mine's a bit green and wondered how you clean the ceramic bit? I've tried rubbing it with a cloth but not coming off.

 

[aaronnorth]

soak it in 50% bleach 50% water for 10mins then clean it well, try a tootbrush aswell

 

[Steve Smith]

Use some dechlorinator after bleaching it too 🙂

 

[Superman]

Thanks, worked a treat.

 

[tanker]

i went to the shop, was introduced the ADA Superge that cleans ceramic and glassware. Spent about 3 or 4 pounds for it. Went home opened it, and i cursed because it smelled like bleach with lots of chlorine. Could have saved the money and gotten myself a cheap household chlorine bleach.
anyway the small bottle was very concentrated, and worked well. will last me a long time.

 

[Fred Dulley]

Pour bleach over the disk. Leave for 5mins.
Rinse it in water and dechlorinator just in case. Leave to soak for 10mins.
Repeat if necessary.
I’ve always heard not to "scrub" the disk as it decreases the quality of it.

 

[Themuleous]

50/50 bleach to water sounds high, I just leave mine is a tub of water with a good squirt of bleach then repeat with dechlorinator and water. I wouldn't worry about being to precise about it.

Sam

 

[ulster exile]

50/50 bleach to water sounds high, I just leave mine is a tub of water with a good squirt of bleach then repeat with dechlorinator and water. I wouldn't worry about being to precise about it.

Sam

I've had trouble with this method since I found it very difficult to get rid of the solution from inside the diffuser when I was using one of the Dymax ones with the pretty but superfluous spiral inside it. I switched to the method dscribed by Fred and had to admit to being much happier with the difference. If you're careful in putting the neat bleach over the ceramic and you have something to stand it upright in, the bleach only gets on the disk itself. 5 minutes is enough to bring it up white and spotless and rinsing is easy.

I suppose it comes down to whatever method both works for you and what method you're most comfortable with 🙂

 

[Steve Smith]

I also use this method. I've also read about someone that simply moves the diffuser to the top of the tank while doing a water change, and puts hydrogen peroxide onto the diffuser, similar to the bleach method fred describes, and then when the water change is complete he just moves the diffuser back into place.

I was a bit unsure about whether hydrogen peroxide was safe to get into your water, any ideas?

 

[Fred Dulley]

I was a bit unsure about whether hydrogen peroxide was safe to get into your water, any ideas?

Not safe 🙂
In chemistry we were urged not to allow it to come into contact with skin.

 

[Ed Seeley]

I was a bit unsure about whether hydrogen peroxide was safe to get into your water, any ideas?

Not safe 🙂
In chemistry we were urged not to allow it to come into contact with skin.

Actually it's not that bad. You don't want to get it onto your skin as it rapidly oxidises organic matter. However in water it quickly converts from H2O2 into H2O and O2. Some people use it to spot treat algae.

 

[Fred Dulley]

Oooh, interesting.
Thanks Ed.