The answer to your question is ... sonicate!  A small ultrasonic cleaner
isn't too expensive, and it will remove every trace of sand and dirt and
grit from a shell in a few seconds, while being very gentle to the shell
itself.  There are always many ultrasonic cleaners available on EBay.  Some
are quite large and powerful, and expensive.  But many of them are small and
inexpensive.

Paul M.

> ----------
> From:         Conchologists List on behalf of umit
> Reply To:     Conchologists List
> Sent:         Wednesday, November 1, 2006 1:34 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Cleaning without chemicals
>
> This morning when i was cleaning my rather delicate land shells, i figured
> that a +- some dirt or sand still remains after all of my treatments.
> Chemicals do harm the shells. So what to do?
>
> I thought if a tiny worm kind capable of oscillations when moving within
> earth can be reared it can do a good job for removing sand. Do you have
> any
> idea on this?
>
> Ümit KEBAPÇI
> Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi
> Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi, Biyoloji Bölümü
> Çünür, ISPARTA
>
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