Curing and sanitizing wood

This is my first time making furniture for my tanks so bare with me.

I had trimmed some willow out front of my house and found some great pieces for a climby hide. I first off researched willow and it seems everything I read said it is non toxic to reptiles, so please correct me if I am wrong. Secondly, I researched how to go about sanitizing and I combined all the methods I found in order to be cautious. So I soaked the wood in scalding water for 30 mins, I then baked the wood at 300 for another 30 mins. I then soaked the wood in a diluted bleach solution for over 2 hours, then leeched the bleach out with plain water baths. The bleach soaking and leeching process lasted about 6 hours total. I no longer smell bleach in the pieces, and they are currently drying.

Am I safe to assume all pathogens are out of these things? One branch is quite small at maybe just a little over a foot, the second is a medium sized branch with not a lot of thickness, just multiple branches. Thank you for any advice.

Probably should have put this in DIY.:confuse:

Never heard anything about Willow, good or bad.

I would bake it dry just to be safe.

Personally I wouldn't put any wood in mine. You have to be careful that from humidity, and poops/pees that may get on it, that stuff doesn't start growing on it. You may have gone through a lot of work to get it ready, and may have to take it out in a bit because its moldy or nasty. Just my opinion.

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Would it be possible to seal the wood with minwax( or comparable) to prevent mildew/mold and keep the cleaning process minimal?

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

Personally I wouldn't put any wood in mine. You have to be careful that from humidity, and poops/pees that may get on it, that stuff doesn't start growing on it. You may have gone through a lot of work to get it ready, and may have to take it out in a bit because its moldy or nasty. Just my opinion.

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Very very few people use wood free enclosures. Substrates paper products there are very few other options. I willow is fine it is a great wood. I would just use a soap and scrub brush and bake it for 20-30 min after perhaps spray it down after baking with a good disinfectant. As it is from a local tree it is easy to prep a few branches and replace then if they became soiled visibly.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

Very very few people use wood free enclosures. Substrates paper products there are very few other options. I willow is fine it is a great wood. I would just use a soap and scrub brush and bake it for 20-30 min after perhaps spray it down after baking with a good disinfectant. As it is from a local tree it is easy to prep a few branches and replace then if they became soiled visibly.

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I didn't mean as far as substrate...

I meant as far as pieces of wood, for decoration or whatever.

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