There is a product called Dishwasher Magic which is available at WalMart. I learned this the hard way after destroying a dishwasher with lyme-away.. Expensive mistake!

This stuff is great for anything that gets Lyme and mildew buildup. It's safe for metal and plastic parts. After having a couple flooded rat tubs from clogged up water valves leaking I tried this. I recommend it!

Just take the valve apart, use a toothpick or something small to pop out the O ring and flat rubber gasket. Put all the parts in a small rubbermaid container with enough dishwasher magic to cover the parts. The rubber parts will float so gently shake it around a couple times and let it soak over night. It will remove all buildup while conditioning the rubber parts so they don't dry rot. Just be sure to rinse everything very well in warm water before putting it all back together. Remember that the valves should only be hand tightened. If they are screwed together too tightly, no water will come out no matter how hard you move the valve stick.

Then just save that container of dishwasher magic for next time. The bottle has a wax seal for use in a dishwasher. Just puncture a hole in it with something so you can squirt out what you need. (lol off topic hilarity!)

The dry season is here so we will be using humidifiers and vaporizers now. Once a vaporizer has been used a few times, it stops working so well. The rods inside get all caked with Lyme. If you fill the entire tank (above the fill line) with hot water and add about 1/4 bottle of dishwasher magic, let sit over night, and then rinse everything well, it works like new!

This stuff is awesome for preserving the life of your gravity feed watering systems and the devices you may use to increase the humidity in your home or reptile room

Just remember, never mix it with any other chemical and rinse and rinse again anything that has been soaked in it.

Pass it on!