How to clean shells

[paul monfils]

Bleach is the best all around cleaning solution for shells. It doesn't harm the colors of the shells. It does remove periostracum, but on a shell with periostracum you can't see the colors anyway. Still, some serious collectors do like to have some specimenas with periostracum, and such specimens have to be cleaned without bleach. Bleach also removes many kinds of encrusting organisms as well as algae, ordinary mud and dirt, and most importantly, it removes any remaining soft parts of the animal from within the shell, thereby avoiding unpleasant odors. You don't have to use the bleach full strength. 1 part bleach to 10 parts water is sufficiently strong for most cleaning jobs. But stronger solutions can be used without harm to the shells. There are some exceptions. I don't use bleach on very thin, translucent shells, or on shells with a nacreous interior like pearl oysters and abalone. If you are nervous about using bleach, try it on a few less desirable specimens until you gain some confidence in the technique. After bleaching, just flush with water inside and out, and dry.

If the whole animal is in the shell, it has to be removed before using bleach. The usual ways of accomplishing this are:

cooking - start with room temperature water, put the shells in, bring to near boiling, then cool gradually. Avoid sudden temperature changes, or the shells may crack. Don't drop them into near boiling water, and don't remove them from very hot water and immediately rinse them with cold water. After cooking and cooling, the animal can usually be shaken or flushed or picked out of the shell with a narrow sharp instrument.

freeze/thaw - overnight in the freezer, then thaw at room temperature, after which the animal can be shaken/flushed/picked out of the shell.

microwave - some collectors like this method. I have tried it a few times. It's fast, and it seems ok for reasonably solid shells. But more fragile shells are likely to crack/break/explode, in my experience. put the shells inside a plastic container to prevent snail parts spattering all over the inside of your microwave.

You may find some more tips in the shell cleaning section of this website, here:

<a href="http://www.seashell-collector.com/Html/cleaning.htm" target="_blank"><!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.seashell-collector.com/Html/cleaning.htm">http://www.seashell-collector.com/Html/cleaning.htm</a><!-- m --></a>

.  <span class="petit">--Last edited by Paul Monfils on 2007-09-09 05:41:07 --</span>