Cleaning Bird Nests - Part 2

I also wanted to improve on the rinsing process in removing fine hairs & particles. So I come up with this DIY filtration process. A small fountain pump circulates water up a tumbler that carries a coarse wire mesh sieve at the top. Water overflow to the next filtration unit and down to the water basin.



















The filter unit is made of common household items. A tall plastic cup houses a finer wire mesh sieve and washing sponge form the filter.



















Transferring the bird nest from the ultrasonic cleaner into the wire mesh sieve, it is then wash continually by circulating water. The finer wire sieve retains bird nest that overflowed into the filter cup.















I am pretty satisfied with the result. These are fine particles trapped by the filter sponge after cleaning - ones that can't be picked by tweezers.















So I am using a 2 stage process now. First using the ultrasonic cleaner (& hand picked the larger feathers of course) before transferring to the 2nd rinsing/filtration process.

A logical next step is to combine the two into a single process. But I am happy with this arrangement for the meantime. Hope you will find it useful too.

Cleaning Bird Nests - Part 1

Cleaning bird nest is a simple process but tedious & time consuming. Just soak the bird nest overnight in a bowl of water, it will soften and expand. It is a matter of picking out the feathers with a pair of tweezers!

The tweezers look alike, you will learn to differentiate them after using and appreciate the pair with sharper tips & gentler on fingers.















Then there are finer particles & feathers that seem an endless task to remove! Rinsing many times with water seem the only practical way. Still there are many fine hairs left to pick. So depend how clean you want it, the remaining task is still very time consuming! One can then understand why commercial cleaning resort to bleaching agents.

I did it several times for personal consumption. Each time I was motivated to find a better way. I toyed with the idea of using a ultra-sonic cleaner for a while. Its mechanical vibrations would help to shake loose the feathers & fine particles trapped within.

Recently I found this 35W ultrasonic cleaner that comes with a plastic tray. Fine hairs & particles are attracted to the plastic tray by electrostatics, which I find is a plus.



















I tried and it does help and effective to some extend. Rather than to describe my experience here, I suggest it is better for one to experiment & discover for themselves. I merely want to introduce it as a tool here.

A DIY humidifier cum ventilator

This is not my DIY project but an excellent idea I picked up during a recent trip to southern Thailand.

In essence it is a combination of ventilation & humidifier all-in-one. Like it immediately soon as I seen its construction and operation.

The bricks used in the wall construction have 4 extrusion holes each. A dripping tap keep the wall moist always (as seen in photo). In-coming air passes through the damp brick wall and pick up moisture. Excess water is drained off from the bottom water pool.















A very clever arrangement indeed! I give top marks to its originator!