washing hands

[vsnsofadrgn]

is there anything to wash ur hands in that is reef safe? i always just use water, but im still afraid of cross contaminants....

[melosu58]

All I do is wash my hands in just water also. No soap

[STARFYRE]

When I'm about to go in any of my tanks, I run my hands and arms up to my elbows under warm water and "scrub". I never use soap before going into a tank. I also move my rings around under the water in case there is leftover soap or other stuff stuck to my rings. I shake off the excess water, and if anything, use a paper towel to dry; never a hand towel.

[Devilishturtles]

I just rinse as well. But when I'm done in the tank for a while I just use handsoap.

[loyalrogue]

Depends...

If I haven't been working with any chemicals recently I'll just rinse well before.

If I've been messing with any test kit chemicals, or anything in the garage (cleaning liquids, gasoline, etc.) then I'll wash and rinse good with bar soap first.

I once made a bad mistake of not washing my hands after testing my tanks.
Within 10 minutes of sticking my hands in the tank, the tank crashed hard, and I lost half my critters before I could do enough emergency water changes to do any good.

Some lessons get learned the hard way...

[mp3z24]

Use gloves if you are worried about hand contamination....

Heavy Duty Gloves

Lightweight Disposable Gloves

~mike

[lando]

I just wash with plain old warm water. Rub your hands together to create friction and wash a bit longer. I also dry them paper towels instead of bathroom towels that have been washed and dried with soap and fabric softener.

[flanque]

I seem to be going against the grain here. I was them really well with running cold water and soap. I then keep them under the water rubbing all over the area to ensure the soap is off. I then don't dry them... just put them into the tank.

Seems to be OK. I've looked for any film leaving my body onto the surface of the water but nothing comes of it.

[Ziggy953]

I don't use soap either with I'm going into the tank. I run my hands up to the elbows with warm water for a few minutes and dry them off. Sometimes you have to wash your hands like Loyalrogue said, in that case I will rinse and rinse and rinse. We spend way to much time and money on our hobby to take chances!!!

[brad3314]

no i don't use soap either just wash well with warm water then i do dry with a handtowel specifically for my tanks but i've never had any problems.
every now and then if i haven't touched anything that will hurt the tank i don't worry about it