Does anyone here have an effective method for doing so? Yes they are cheap but I’m cheaper when it comes to growing supplies so if there’s a good way to renew them that would beat waiting on Amazon. I guess it’s no so much that I’m cheap it’s more that I’m broke an impatient 
having several children will have that effect on you
8 Likes
Mine aren’t cheap. I too would like to know what others do.
6 Likes
You could try drowning them in water mixed with peroxide and wait … 
5 Likes
I have not tried this but I pulled it off a hydroponics web site. Found the same instructions in a few places so might be worth a shot.
- Rinse completely and pre-scrub
- Boil for 10 minutes
- Let the airstone soak for a full day in a cleaning solution consisting of 1/3 household bleach and 2/3 water. The diluted bleach will disinfect and clean your airstone at the same time. You can let the stone soak for as long as two days if it looks really bad.
- Remove from solution and rinse
- Allow to completely dry
5 Likes
I read that and it takes too long . I’m bored and wanna take some clones because I killed off some males lol. But my airstones are very dirty. I’m gonna try this method if no one has a better answer than a toothbrush and some vinegar/water solution. I’ll try a toothbrush and vinegar water then this method and we will see which works better 
1 Like
the boiling may have a chance on the deposits. i get mechanical psychical things. if you are not filtering the air you are pumping into the stones they will clog from the inside first. air deposits are nasty. forms a thick varnish. you could scrape dunk scrape and dunk again.will not remove the air particle junk you pumped into the stones. get new ones. your air pump with thank you too. it will be easier to breath more bubbles to you. stone are less expense than a new air pump?
3 Likes
Trash those airstones and use the waterfall effect to aerate the water.
Boom 
4 Likes
that is what nature naturally does. right on Mr Mithridate. i am not sure of the grow set up / process going on for posters first question? so this tech might not be possible for @BlazeUno423 nature is hard to beat / duplicate.
1 Like
You are absolutely right.
I visited blazes thread and there’s no water pump. They are stand alone dwc buckets.
When I used airstones, I simply submerged them in water+bleach and let them run overnight between runs. If they are gunky, use a soft sponge and gently clean them beforehand.
The common cheaper airstones are pretty brittle, so I wouldn’t boil them or do anything too rough. Else they may not work properly anymore and blast giant useless bubbles.
Nb: having a filter on the pumps air intake is crucial. There are special socks made for that, I simply put the airpump in a pantyhose 
3 Likes
I do all but step two. I throw in bleach water usually overnight (just because that works for me) than dunk into fresh water a few time and leave to dry. I will try step two next time.
I was just trying to kill the bad stuff.
2 Likes
That’s what I used to do when I was in hydro. Just bubble over night in bleach water, then for a bit longer in straight tap.
2 Likes
Speaking of,
not to hijack this thread but can anyone recommend a good air stone/pump brand?
1 Like
That would depend on the use.
1 Like
I’ve tried every method mentioned and the best one by far is a long soak in bleach/water.
As far as pump brands I prefer Danner, they’re expensive but they’re quieter than other brands and some models are servicable.
1 Like
Supplement to a submerged pump for aeroponics. it’s only on 5 mins every 45 mins so i’m thinking some 24/7 stones would be of benefit
1 Like
So a good one with lots of power? I grow in soil but have a so so one to run 27/7 in the auto water revivor to bubble and a really good one to pump to plants.
I have the coke can style air stones; I take I butter knife to scrape off the major crud and then soak in peroxide and RO water. I intend to try abandoning the air stone like @JoeCrowe has done, he just uses a tee connector weighted down with a galvanized nut, no issues over there.
6 Likes
I haven’t tried it myself but I heard denture cleaner is what’s up for airstones.