Yes. 10% bleach solution. Soak overnight and rinse thoroughly.

That's great am I pushing it by asking if Orchiata can be also? It's so darn expensive.

I wouldn't.

But orchiata lasts for 5+ years. There is a bake method (you'd need to look it up) to sterilize potting bark.

Yes, I heard of that for soil. I guess it would be the same for bark. You bake with a potato at a certain temp for a certain amount of time. But, I read it really stinks up the house :-(

Not the method I have heard of. The one I heard about was just soaking thouroughly in water and baking at (whatever degrees) for a couple of hours. The soaking keeps things from catching fire, if I recall, since you are essentially using wood chips.

The hubby suggested using a bbq smoker to sterilize. Since we have a huge smoker ( we are originally from TX, lol), I may do a test to see how well it works.

Cold sterilizing may also work. Soak in 1/2 c white vinegar to a gallon of water overnight. Rinse well and allow to dry. When dry, soak in plain water for a few days to leach out any excess acetic acids.

Oh my gosh, I hadn't thought of the chips catching fire! Yes, soaking in water makes total sense before putting in a hot oven lol

I like the cold sterilization idea. I guess hydrogen peroxide could work the same as vinegar?

Hydrogen peroxide is a non-discriminating cell killer (it does not care which cell wall it is destroying, good or bad) . I don't recommend it for human, animal, or plant use.

Very interesting. And I will make sure not to use it on my son's scrapes and cuts like my parents did. I don't know what hurt more, the scrapes or fizzy burning from the hydrogen peroxide. I only use it for my dogs if I need to induce vomiting from something they ate that they shouldn't have (like when my mom fed them some grapes....ugh!)

Soap and warm water are just as effective as any antiseptic. We use saline in this house for minor wounds.

I never thought of that. And pain free :-)