| Phil first, then Tess:
Phil, I would not bother to sterilize a pop bottle if it is only rinsed out after use. The contents were quite sterile when you openned the bottle, but then, I suppose you will need to sterilize your scissors you cut the bottle with, if one is not planning to sterilize the finished pot. Now, all sources say the bleach must be mixed at 10%. A 1/4 tsp, even a tablespoon in a gallon won't sterilize anything for virus, and a soak time is usually called for.
Tess, the torch is to sterilize the cutting tool you use to cut into an orchid. You need to heat the tool short of glowing, but extremely hot, and this will be hard on the tool. If you use 10% bleach, soak the tool for a good 20 minutes, and make sure the tool is clean first, as dried sap will not be penetrated in 20 minutes. My preference is a saturated solution of trisodium phosphate from the hardware store, and not one of the substitutes. Don't let the the sales man try to switch you to something else, it must be exactly trisodium phosphate. Soak you tool in this 20 minutes, and you can store tools in this. TSP is a mild paint remover, so a very long soak WILL penetrate sap. Bleach solution should be made up fresh every day, but trisodium phosohate is good as long as there are crystals at the bottm of the container of liquid. Cynthia, Prescptt, AZ  |