Biology Forum › Microbiology › Sterilization of paper rolls
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- August 28, 2007 at 7:05 am #8138
scrubtickParticipantCan anyone help me,
I was wondering if there is a way to sterilize toilet rolls to eliminate bacteria etc so they can be used in craft activities in a kindergarten / preschool.
If anyone can help or provide a link to information, I would appreciate any assistance.
I have read the forums that state that the microwave can only heat to 100c, therfore can not reach the required 120c to guarantee sterilization.
I have been told to wrap the toilet rolls in alfoil and then place in the oven for 30 minutes instead. Does this work ??Cheers in advance
Jodie - August 28, 2007 at 1:59 pm #75514canalonParticipant
Buy new toilet rolls, they should be safe. Not aseptic, but probably no more (and probably less) contaminated than anything around. Unless you are working with some Bubble children, without any immune system this is just a waste of time.
Or are you considering recycling the used paper? Then sterilization is a must, but I think you should reconsider this idea 😉
As for sterilizing with steam, good sterilization requires 15 to 20 minutes at 120ºC. This can easily be done in a steam cooker. But considering the nature of toilet paper, even wrapped in foil, since you need the steam to reach the paper, you will end up with a sterile mushy pulp rather than a roll of paper. Dry sterilization requires much higher temperature (300ºC to 400ºC for a few hours) which I would not recommend for paper… So to sterilize toilet paper you would need things that you cannot really find in normal household.
- August 28, 2007 at 4:20 pm #75521mithParticipant
UV lamps, but I dunno if you can find those.
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