Re-using Hydroton

[superultramega]

I have a double laundry sink and about 200L of heavily root infested hydroton. Any ideas or methods to clean this stuff? I've typically tossed it in the past and ran new. I figure there is some way I can rig a simple cleaning setup that won't take much longer than cleaning new hydroton.

what do you do?

 

[Amstel Light]

2 large tubs and a lot of water.

 

[EMj]

I have never thrown out hydroton. I remove plant matter and rinse with hot water. Then I let it soak in Clearex as stated on the bottle for 24 hrs. Rinse again with hot water, then let soak in ph corrected water until use. Grow On!

 

[superultramega]

I guess I had some kind of screen in mind. How do you guys sort out the roots from the hydroton? Will the roots simply fall to the bottom so you can scoop the hydroton off the top?

 

[CovertCrops]

I have a laundry sink for washing hydroton. I cut a piece of hardware cloth (wire mesh) that fits into the sink. I've got a garden hose and a spary nozzle T'd off the washer line. right next to the sink . I have to use clamps to hold the screen when working solo, but with a helping hand it goes even faster. Roots get blasted down into the sink and then I can take the screen out of the sink and pour hydroton into whatever container/pot. I can post some pics later, have to wash some this evening.

 

[superultramega]

Are you using 1/4" mesh or 1/8"? I think a lot of those tiny rocks would go through a 1/4" but I don't know if it would be enough to worry about. On the other hand the 1/8" likely wouldn't let the roots pass through.
I was thinking about using some 1-1/2" pvc to make a frame and zip tie the screen to it

 

[CovertCrops]

I use the 1/4" simply because the store didn't have anything smaller. High pressure water would get the roots through 1/8". I use a "hair strainer" in the sink to prevent the small rocks from goin down the drain also catches the roots so I can throw them away. I tend to throw out most of the rocks that fall through the screen, I save the big one but small ones always fall out of pots.

Your pvc frame is a good idea. just make sure t have the screen set down in the sink a bit, it contains the water splashes better.

 

[superultramega]

The hair strainer is a great idea.

The more I think about this, I think outlet els (an el where another pipe can be fitted 90 deg to the main el) with some short pipe lengths for legs would keep the screen a couple inches above the bottom of the sink. Fortunately my sink is square so I should be able to fab a screen frame that fits in nicely. I may need to figure out some kind of handles to pull it out.

 

[Shakedown Kid]

when is someone/ some co going to make a hydroton washing machine? I would buy two if there was such a thing.

 

[krunchbubble]

i used to put the hydroton in big laundry sacks and head to the do it yourself car wash. use the high pressure hose to clean your hydroton, works great!

 

[dubwise]

hey krunch-I could do the pressure washing thing...never thought about doing it that way.
I usually will put it in a 30gal tub, wash w/ hot water, strain it out with a 5gal. bucket w/ mesh lid. It's worked pretty well so far.

 

[superultramega]

I use the 1/4" simply because the store didn't have anything smaller.

After picking up some 1/4" mesh it looks like it will work perfectly. I really don't want any rocks smaller than that anyway as they could slip past the holes in my fill connection and clog the lines.
I couldn't find any outlet els less than 3" so I need to come up with something else to hold the screen off the bottom of the sink.

I'm working on it.

 

[OfficerStedanko]

I used to wash it with a pressure washer and a lil bleach... but I never felt totally cool about it. I had a bad run and messed up roots once, so now I get new stuff every time. its not worth the savings to risk an infection.

when i did wash em, id soak em first in a garbage can then put them into the baskets and stack em before I hosed em down. it took hours, pain in the ass and not worth it. toss it!

 

[Godless]

I take a low plastic bin (concrete mixing tray from HD) and put enough used hydroton to cover it in one layer. Put that into the sun in my sunroom until it is very dry. Then I take an air compressor and blow the roots out. It takes some practice to figure out how to blow the roots out without blowing the rocks, but it works well once you have the hang of it. There will still be some small roots stuck to the rocks, but I don't fret it.

Then I soak them in RO water with peroxide in it for a day or so. Rinse it real well and dry it out. I also use hygrozome in the first full res, which I drain and refill in a week.

 

[superultramega]

I hear what you're saying officer. It's always been a hassle getting rid of the old hydroton. This is more an exercise to eliminate the bulk of my waste. If I can't get the rocks clean to my satisfaction it will get replaced.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll report back with the results of my contraption after I'm done, hopefully with pictures.

 

[OfficerStedanko]

super... i use my old Hydroton in the garden and driveway.... like loose gravel, or under trees and shrubs. but then again i have a house deep in the woods too.

i had heard something about the "electro field of the clay" needed to be positivley charged every cycle ... ions or something. the local growshop guy was saying clorox charged em...
in the end, i just bought new ones, no questions there.

 

[globel]

Electric plastic cement mixer with holes in it. Run it out side or over a drain and just blast it with a hose... You can be all red neck with it and you ant gotta do nothin but sit in a lawn chair and blast your hose inside the mixer. You will also replace about 1/4 rocks every time... they get pulverized like the roots.