Greetings all.
A friend mine has a very touchy situation regarding his woodpile, and I didn't know how to answer it. Therefore, I need to borrow on the expertise of all knowledgeable people.
Last Fall, my friend split and stacked his firewood so it can be seasoned. Fast forward to this Fall, he wants to use this firewood. Unfortunately, when he uncovered the stack, he found evidence of mice living in the pile (droppings and an old nest). Wearing gloves and an N95 mask (very smart), he took each split from the stack and threw it against his asphalt driveway to knock off the droppings from those splits that had droppings on them. He then re-stacked the splits onto a log rack he built that keeps the splits and un-split logs 2 feet off of the ground.
Even if all visible droppings have been removed from the splits and logs, there could have been mouse urine on them as well. So, he is unsure of whether or not the splits are safe to use in a smoker.
In researching on the Internet, one post on a bulletin board suggested to pre-burn the outsides of the splits/logs before placing them into a smoker.
Another post suggested that it is safe to just put the split into the firebox, as the intense heat would burn up any nastiness.
Even if the split is placed into the firebox to get burned up, it doesn't burn up immediately. Therefore, my friend is highly concerned about the possibility of any unseen droppings still present on the split turning into dust that would carry the Hantavirus in it. That dust would contaminate the entire inside of the smoker (no food put in smoker yet).
The Internet says the following will kill Hantavirus:
-dish soap.
-bleach/water solution.
-30 minutes exposure to sunlight.
-temperatures of at least 140F (a roaring firebox exceeds this many times over).
If anyone can please give me sound advice and guidance on whether or not it is safe to use "miced" log splits, I would greatly appreciate it.
Take care.
-Z
A friend mine has a very touchy situation regarding his woodpile, and I didn't know how to answer it. Therefore, I need to borrow on the expertise of all knowledgeable people.
Last Fall, my friend split and stacked his firewood so it can be seasoned. Fast forward to this Fall, he wants to use this firewood. Unfortunately, when he uncovered the stack, he found evidence of mice living in the pile (droppings and an old nest). Wearing gloves and an N95 mask (very smart), he took each split from the stack and threw it against his asphalt driveway to knock off the droppings from those splits that had droppings on them. He then re-stacked the splits onto a log rack he built that keeps the splits and un-split logs 2 feet off of the ground.
Even if all visible droppings have been removed from the splits and logs, there could have been mouse urine on them as well. So, he is unsure of whether or not the splits are safe to use in a smoker.
In researching on the Internet, one post on a bulletin board suggested to pre-burn the outsides of the splits/logs before placing them into a smoker.
Another post suggested that it is safe to just put the split into the firebox, as the intense heat would burn up any nastiness.
Even if the split is placed into the firebox to get burned up, it doesn't burn up immediately. Therefore, my friend is highly concerned about the possibility of any unseen droppings still present on the split turning into dust that would carry the Hantavirus in it. That dust would contaminate the entire inside of the smoker (no food put in smoker yet).
The Internet says the following will kill Hantavirus:
-dish soap.
-bleach/water solution.
-30 minutes exposure to sunlight.
-temperatures of at least 140F (a roaring firebox exceeds this many times over).
If anyone can please give me sound advice and guidance on whether or not it is safe to use "miced" log splits, I would greatly appreciate it.
Take care.
-Z
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