HYDRO Used hydroton medium

[YYCannabis]

What should/could be done with used clay hydroton balls after use?

Throw away?
or
Clean and reuse?

If they can be reused, what is the recommended cleaning/disinfecting protocol?

Cheers
YYC

[Tersky]

You can clean and reuse. There are many opinions on this. Some say its cheap and cleaning is a hassle so just get more. Others dont want to keep buying more and more hydroton. I kinda do both. I use for a while and then toss after a few grows.

As far as cleaning, surprise surprise, lots of opinions on this too. Some use a bleach solution and rinse really well, some use an H2O2 solution. Others just rinse with hot water and bake in the oven. Ive done the h2o2 and bake ways and they work reasonably well.

Really, it's a personal preference.

[DW2]

Howdy YYCannabis, I clean and reuse my clay pebbles after a grow. I usually wash them with a disinfectant like hydrogen peroxide or a solution of Flora Shield and water, rinse them, and then bake them dry in a 300° F oven for an hour or two. I would not recommend using bleach or any thing that one would not put directly into their reservoir. The baking does tend to cause the pebbles to break up some what (water trapped inside, etc.,) and the 'fines' need to be screened out. This can be reduced by placing the pebbles in a cold oven and letting them heat up slowly allowing the water to get out slower. I have reused the same pebbles for three to four grows before throwing them out.

[YYCannabis]

Thanks for the replies. I’m not worried about cost of replacement. Just wasn’t sure if they were reusable or should be reused.

I think I’ll try the clean n bake option and do it slow.

cheers
YYC

[gbauto]

I purchased a BIG bag of hydroton 3 years ago and I've re-used it every year since. I just rinse to remove as much funk as I can and that's it. It hasn't caused any issues so far for me.

[Eliot Pryor]

I been using hydroin over and over again for years. I rinse them with tap water and use 'em.