Michigan Cichlid Association

General Category => DIY => Topic started by: theoryguru on January 20, 2013, 10:12:23 PM

Title: Hose cleaner
Post by: theoryguru on January 20, 2013, 10:12:23 PM: I bought a used xp3 yesterday and sat in my garage and thought about how I could clean the hoses.

(http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh579/theoryguru/Aqua/DSC_0671_zps8288161c.jpg)

I looked at my tackle box and the idea hit me. I remember my friends in who played sax used a bushy, cloth on string with a weight on the end to clean their saxes they passed into the neck and out the mouth.
So I opened my tackle box and got a few other things.

1 bell sinker - small enough pass onto the hose
fishing line - 12lb test allowed for enough pull
cloth pcs - cut into small round pcs
coarse sponge - provide additional scrubbing
small button - attached at the end of the line to pull everything through

(http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh579/theoryguru/Aqua/DSC_0669_zpsb1c8cda5.jpg)

Tie the bell sinker to the fishing line and measure enough line about 1.5x the hose length.
Cut a small hole into the centre of the clolth pcs and pass the other end of the fishing line through it, then through the coarse sponge, and tie off onto the button.
(http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh579/theoryguru/Aqua/DSC_0670_zps989f1595.jpg)

Insert the sinker into the hose (hose inputs were still attached) and feed it through the hose, I whipped the hose end until the sinker passed through.
(http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh579/theoryguru/Aqua/DSC_0672_zpsa7d74515.jpg)
(http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh579/theoryguru/Aqua/DSC_0674_zpsb18d25b2.jpg)

Pull the string and insert the cloth pcs one by one, I used a screwdriver to poke it in, and then start pulling slowly lightly squeezing/pinching the hose where the cloth is to help remove some 'gunk'. *wetting the cloth first helps feeding it through.
(http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh579/theoryguru/Aqua/DSC_0675_zps291ec117.jpg)

Nasty.
(http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh579/theoryguru/Aqua/DSC_0676_zps42ffbcbf.jpg)

Decent result after only 1 pass (top) vs the other uncleaned hose (bottom).
(http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh579/theoryguru/Aqua/DSC_0679_zps1b75b12a.jpg)

And after 3 passes and hot water
(http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh579/theoryguru/Aqua/DSC_0680_zps0c265583.jpg)

:D
Title: Re: Hose cleaner
Post by: Marty on January 20, 2013, 10:20:26 PM: Lol, I admire your ingenuity, but I'm pretty sure they make hose cleaners that you can get at your local hardware store.
Title: Re: Hose cleaner
Post by: Ron on January 20, 2013, 10:27:12 PM: Well done!
Title: Re: Hose cleaner
Post by: Regalblue on January 20, 2013, 11:46:34 PM: I have a python with about 10yrs worth of gunk built up in it. I bet this idea will prove to be useful. ;)
Title: Re: Hose cleaner
Post by: GrizzlysDad on January 21, 2013, 12:50:24 AM: I fill my washtub with hot water and bleach...let it sit overnight and then rinse very well...then I run hot water through it and presto, looks like new again.
Title: Re: Hose cleaner
Post by: Super Turtleman on January 21, 2013, 01:53:10 AM: I like your idea. I try to avoid bleach as much as I can when it comes to fish. I'll have to try to spruce up my Python system...
Title: Re: Hose cleaner
Post by: theoryguru on January 22, 2013, 09:49:15 PM: Quote from: Super Turtleman on January 21, 2013, 01:53:10 AM
I like your idea. I try to avoid bleach as much as I can when it comes to fish. I'll have to try to spruce up my Python system...

Thanks the idea was conceived from pure boredom [lol!] for hoses about 36" long; as for cleaning a Python - wow - that's at least 25ft long. Although as Regalblue mentioned, a thorough cleaning once every 10yrs isn't bad.
Title: Re: Hose cleaner
Post by: GrizzlysDad on January 22, 2013, 11:11:45 PM: I also use the bleaching method if I have to disinfect the Python after use on a sick tank.
Title: Re: Hose cleaner
Post by: dbosman on January 25, 2013, 01:39:34 PM: If you have the space (laundry tub or bath tub) adding a power head to the bleach solution, will circulate it through the hose. It needn't even fit well.