Purple Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus)
The Purple Sea Star was particularly dirty, and had a dulled and grey appearance. It was initially cleaned with a soft brush and a museum vacuum was used to remove loose dusty accretions. Dry cleaning did little to remove the dirt and the specimen still had a dull, grey appearance so it was decided to give it a wet clean. The aboral surface is covered with small spines (ossicles) roughly 2mm in height which meant cleaning with cotton wool swabs would be problematic as the cotton wool would catch on the spines; consequently the Sea Star was given a bubble bath!
This was done by placing the specimen on a Correx board and placing it at a slight angle into a plastic tray. It was then cleaned using a (< 1%) solution of Synperonic A7 (a non-ionic detergent) and reverse osmosis water. The solution was brushed on in small sections to create a slight lather and was then rinsed with water applied via a squeeze pot. As the Sea Star sat at a slight angle in the tray the water was allowed to flow away and this meant the specimen was never fully immersed in water.
Once cleaned the specimen was allowed to dry and the results of the wet cleaning could then be fully appreciated. The dull, grey colour was replaced by a lovely clean, golden yellow and the anatomical features such as the central disc, madreporite, ossicles and podia could be viewed in more detail.
This was done by placing the specimen on a Correx board and placing it at a slight angle into a plastic tray. It was then cleaned using a (< 1%) solution of Synperonic A7 (a non-ionic detergent) and reverse osmosis water. The solution was brushed on in small sections to create a slight lather and was then rinsed with water applied via a squeeze pot. As the Sea Star sat at a slight angle in the tray the water was allowed to flow away and this meant the specimen was never fully immersed in water.
Once cleaned the specimen was allowed to dry and the results of the wet cleaning could then be fully appreciated. The dull, grey colour was replaced by a lovely clean, golden yellow and the anatomical features such as the central disc, madreporite, ossicles and podia could be viewed in more detail.