Cleaning

American Ant nests and outworlds are printed in PETG, and the lids are acrylic. Both clean up easily if you keep the water cool and the products mild.

• Lukewarm water with a drop of unscented dish soap, then a thorough rinse. Soap left behind can harm ants.
• A soft toothbrush, cotton swabs, and pipe cleaners for tunnels.
• A soft microfiber cloth for the lids. Paper towels can scratch acrylic.
• Time. Let every part dry completely before ants go back in.

Avoid:

• Boiling water, the dishwasher and the microwave. Heat can warp PETG.
• Alcohol, acetone, ammonia glass cleaners and other solvents. They can cloud or crack acrylic.
• Bleach and scented cleaners. The residue and smell linger.

Most cleaning happens without moving the colony:

• Take out uneaten food within a day, before it molds.
• Ants keep a trash pile of leftovers and dead nestmates, usually in the outworld. Lift it out with long tweezers or a cotton swab every week or two.
• A little mold on a scrap of food is normal: remove the scrap. If mold keeps coming back, you may be overfeeding or keeping the nest too wet.
• Wipe the outside of the lids with a dry or barely damp cloth.

If the colony piles trash inside the nest, leave it unless it molds. Most colonies move it out once they have an outworld.

Clean the Scout between queens. Pull out the test tube, slide the lid out, and wash the body and lid by hand. A cotton swab reaches into the queen chamber and the two small chambers.

Start the next queen with a fresh tube and new cotton. Wash the Cover too if it's dusty.

Once the Founder is empty, lift the Top straight off and remove the cotton. Wash the nest by hand; clean the printed-hole Hydration Insert and cotton cup gently, then rinse and dry them. Replace the cotton before setting the Top back on.

Once it's empty, lift both lids and wash the nest by hand. A pipe cleaner reaches through the tunnels.

Once the Homestead is empty, lift both lids and wash the nest by hand. Remove cotton from both cups, then clean the cups and printed-hole Hydration Inserts and let them dry completely. There is no reservoir or fill port.

Each quadrant is its own colony under its own lid, so clean them one at a time. When a quadrant is empty, clean it with a damp cotton swab and a soft brush while the other three lids stay closed.

Each quadrant has a separate cotton cup and printed-hole Hydration Insert. Replace moldy cotton in that cup without sharing it between colonies.

For a full wash, wait until all four quadrants are empty. Lift the Top, remove the cotton from all four cups, then wash, rinse and dry the cups and inserts. There is no central reservoir or fill port.

Clean the outworld little and often: remove leftover food and the trash pile, and replace the sand in the sand pit when it gets dirty.

The Fluon band on the top inch of the wall wears off with scrubbing. Clean below it, and repaint it when ants start climbing past it.

For a full wash, disconnect the empty outworld, wash it by hand, let it dry completely, and repaint the Fluon before connecting it again.

Worn parts are easy to replace:

• Spare Acrylic Lids, in Founder and Homestead sizes