Sterilizing Rapid Rooters

I have a ziplock bag with about 25 rapid rooter plugs leftover from last grow. I want to use them but am concerned that they might have picked up mold or fungus that can be transmitted to seedlings. They were stored in a sealed ziplock bag in a cool, dry and dark file cabinet while still moist out of their original package. This was about a month or two ago.

I was thinking of microwaving them but I dont want the house to stink like burnt dirt. Boiling also crossed my mind....

I went out and bought a 6 pack the other day just to be sure. I'd rather not toss all the older ones if I could avoid it.

Any ideas?

Dunk them in a bowl of Dutch Master Zone, sm-90, Physan 20, or a similar sterilizing agent, or alternatively, a compost tea.

I'd be careful about using Rapid Rooters/Root Riots for germination. They can very easily stay too saturated for too long and germinated seeds will have problems.
I lost at least 15 seeds out of 20 recently while using Root Riots. I'm nervous about it now and it's really not worth the risk in my opinion. I do live in a VERY humid area though, so if you live in a drier area you might have better luck.

Also, they are innoculated with beneficial fungus, so they might be ok. I'm sure the stores keep them stored for long term anyway.

Unless they look messed up I would just use them I have used them that were over a month old and had mo problems

slim83 said:

Unless they look messed up I would just use them I have used them that were over a month old and had mo problems

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I agree. The rapid rooter plugs all ready have all the stuff for rooting. anti-fungal. You don't need to sterilize them bro. I've had a bag of them for going on two years.
And yes they can become very water logged if you don't watch them.

I use em for clones..have never worried. I used a single bag 6+ months.

In my experience they tend to last quite a while and be just fine. As the material is already composted they are not really prime realestate for microbe growth. However, unless they are kept in a hermetically sealed container there is always some chance of contamination. An offensive odor is the best indication of pathogens. No odor, no problem.