Storing your egg incubator

Whether you’re incubating as a hobby or a business, at some point you’re going to have to worry about cleaning your incubator. Businesses typically don’t worry about storage, but we will cover all of the information you will need to know regarding what to do with your incubator after a hatch. If you have questions about cleaning a specific incubator that aren’t covered below feel free to get in contact with Brinsea, The Incubation Specialists. Call us at (888) 667-7009 or message us on Facebook or Instagram.

Regardless of whether you’re planning on hatching again immediately or storing your incubator away for the season, it is important to sanitize your incubator immediately after hatching. Humid areas are a great place for bacteria to grow, and incubators stay fairly humid, especially during lockdown.

To keep bacteria from growing and contaminating your next batch, immediately remove all shells and other debris from the incubator. Our hatching mats make this part of the cleanup process as painless as possible. They are available for all of the different incubators we sell in the Consumables section.

Egg trays and other non-electrical parts can be soaked in a disinfectant solution for an hour. We recommend using a bleach solution to disinfect, containing one parts bleach to 100 parts water. Rinse thoroughly. Do not use any cleaners that contain alcohol, as this can deteriorate the plastic and cause cracks to form.

Do not place any parts in the dishwasher!

To remove fluff and other debris from around the electrical parts you can use compressed air, similar to what you would use to clean a computer keyboard. In addition, you can use a damp cloth and the diluted bleach solution (1:100) to gently clean the fan and other parts around the electrical panel.

While it is not necessary to remove the fan, taking it out allows for more thorough cleaning. Fans are oriented a certain way to allow for proper airflow and heating, so please take note of how your fan is placed in the lid before removing it. When you flip the lid over you should either see a white, circular label on the fan, or just the black plastic. This depends on the type of incubator you have. Make sure to put the fan back in the right way or your incubator will not heat properly.

When drying the parts you can either opt to leave the incubator disassembled until all parts are completely dry, or you can reassemble the incubator and run it for a day or so. If you have an EX model make sure that the pump is not hooked up. Running the incubator without water in it will quickly dry out all of the parts.

After drying you are either free to hatch again or put the incubator into storage. The incubator should be stored in a cool, dry place where it won’t be knocked over or damaged. We recommend storing all parts in one box so that nothing is lost. Some parts are easy to lose, so take extra care that everything is stored properly!

Before putting your incubator away or starting another hatch, check to make sure you have all of the parts you need. Common parts that need to be replaced include the hatching mat, evaporating block, and silicone tubing. If you need something and you can’t find it on your website feel free to contact us, we very likely have what you need.