MICE - made huge mess - how do I sterilize pots & stuff?

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Forum -> Household Management

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livalittle

Tue, Jan 02 2007, 4:33 pm

We went away for almost two weeks - and to our welcome back surprise - found a kitchen full of mice droppings - everywhere! Inside packaged UNOPENED boxes of kitchen asppliances, oven, stovetop, sink - but the worst is - in my pots. I can't eat from a pot where a mouse did his job in - they left such abig mess and they are really expensive pots (and my kitchen is clean - btw) - I don't want to throw them out - so how do I sterilize them so that I can eat with peace of mind?!

greenfire

Tue, Jan 02 2007, 4:39 pm

Mice droppings have been known to cause salmonella (spellcheck) so I would ask poison control if real worried. However I think a thorough washing with hot water and comet or bleach or something like that would be sufficient. Good luck.

Once my dd (who should have been in bed) was whimpering near hallway of her room by the time I came to see her - her nose was bleeding - I didn't know what on earth happened - she saw a mouse- I thought she killed it or something. It was scary and funny together.

mimsy7420

Tue, Jan 02 2007, 4:42 pm

Do you have a dishwasher? The water in the dishwasher gets much hotter then from the sink and should steralize it. Maybe add some bleach to the dishwashing soap.
If not a good scrubbing with bleach should do it. (Soak overnight if you want to be extra careful.) Scrub the pots in the bathtub, not your kitchen sink.

chocolate moose

Tue, Jan 02 2007, 4:52 pm

you shouldn't add ammonia or bleach to wooden things, or plastic, though.

mumoo

Tue, Jan 02 2007, 5:14 pm

I'm so sorry. We once went away for a week while the kitchen was being worked on-there was a big mouse party under the cabinets.

I strongly recommend you call an exterminator. Once the mice get, they are reluctant to leave especially if it is cold outside. The exterminator will set up poison bait traps that make the mouse thirsty and they leave to find water (and to die outside of your home).

He will also locate and seal up the entrance holes, which can be as small as a pen tube.

Marion

Wed, Jan 03 2007, 2:18 am

We also had this. It was ongoing...we had the exterminator in Erev RH because until then we'd only seen the droppings, not the mice...

Anyway, he said to soak in hot water w/ bleach for 24 hours, then wash (we don't have a dishwasher, so that wasn't an option). I had to do it a few times, because these mice were very persistent, but eventually they got the point and haven't been back.

It's really important that you find the source though, because otherwise the problem will be recurrent.

su7kids

Wed, Jan 03 2007, 2:24 am

from a Kashrus standpoint, I wouldn't use hot water until you ask your Rav.

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