I am hoping that someone can answer my problem. I am a fitter and have an absolute mountain of tools. Obviously they are going to have to be cleaned before I send them, but not sure as to how clean they have to be. I will be sending them by airfreight as I'll need them pretty soon after arriving in Brisbane.
Does anyone know the standard for AQIS, and is the standard the same for airfreight as it is for container shipment. Please bear in mind that they are engineering tools. Any advice would help.

Neil.

Hi,

We didnt have a load of tools, just the usual stuff most homeowners have.
i cleaned all of them with jeyes fluid (yukky, nasty stuff). the spanners, hammers, screwdrivers, even the electric sander. It all got through ok.

Not 100% sure but it isn't cleanliness that they are after it is the removal of dirt, grass, food and things like that?

http://www.affa.gov.au/content/outpu...00060B0AA00014

might be worth checking the small print...

For what it's worth, we were advised by a PSS guy not to use Jayes but for tools etc the best thing is something called Virkon SE. You can get it at animal feed wholesalers.

Saying that anyone who has used Jayes seems to have got their stuff through with no probs. Just not sure it works well with tools

Hiya Neil,

The dishwasher may be one option, not as mad as it sounds!
Easy option

You could use a rag & bleach solution, cheeper and easier.
Bleach cost 85 p /5litres at Lidle.

The rest need to have the organic stuff removed, that's what it's all about.

Bye
Mark

Thanks for the idea. Just don't relish the thought of cleaning over 2000 individual items by hand. But if that what it takes, I'd better roll my sleeves up and get going.

Neil

My husband also brought his tools with him and if I remember correctly, he tried to get rid of any rust on them with a wire brush or something.

He washed some with soap and water, took the rest into work and put them in some sort of cleaner/acid stuff to get the crap off them.

Didn't bother with Jayes or anything.

We had no problems.

Mandy

LET me assure you that AQIS are only worried about SOIL or VEG/PLANT contamination.................. mm

Thanks for that. Should save me a lot of time.

I have a very ancient and much loved stone bird bath (sad or wot) that we want to take with us. Can anyone reccomend anything suitable to get it AQIS clean? Its got a bit of moss at the base but otherwise in fairly good nick. Also got the regulation Belfast Sink with herbs in at moment, although they are being taken out of it tomorrow.

Any help....?

Thanks, Mrs Muppet

Something like Brick acid should clean it, (available from builders merchants), but I would try it on a small area first. Should be ok on the Belfast sink though.

Neil.

just use a kitchen scour pad, as long as there is no dirt [soil] or vegetable matter visible you will be ok.............. mm

We used a pressure cleaner to clean our bird bath and bird table – it did a great job and our stuff sailed through its inspection.

Your not mad, bought ours with us, jet washed it and bought a dustbin (new.clean) and put all sorts of garden things in there, including the bird bath, they got checked and got the thumbs up.

Hubbies tools on the other hand, I asked him to make sure they were clean clean clean and he said he had cleaned them all, they arrived here and passed and when I looked at them, bloody hell they looked like they had been in a muddy puddle, hubbies idea of cleaning well not at all sprung to mind, how they passed is anyones idea.

Another one, I found a pine cone!!!!! yep thought I had got rid of all of those sorts of things and lo and behold a drawer had one in, our packers did leave some drawers full, the sorts of bitty bits that you cant really put a description on, none got checked.

Hubby is working in international removals now and said that they purely go on what is written down on the inventory list, he said if you put kitchen etc it will be checked, if you put kitchen glasware, no one will ever check, he said that the way round some things is to be sparse with the truth of whats in the boxes, they just packaged somebodies up who wanted to put food items in the owner wouldn't have it when they said it can't go out of state so they put "kitchen items" on the box knowing it would get checked.

He did say that any box with "misc" on it will now be checked... dunno if that is just Perth or what.

Jenny