Quote Originally Posted by DrTimPerkins View Post
Since you still seem to be skeptical (although others have generously offered reasonable answers to your questions), I'll try to give a bit more in depth answer.

Many types of microbes we deal with in the maple world are not simple, single organisms that live alone. They tend to clump into clusters of organisms, and in doing so, form microfilms, which are exudations of saccharides and other gel-like substances that form a semi-solid matrix in which the microbes are protected and can proliferate. Getting these biofilms off the surface of materials is extremely difficult, and generally requires scrubbing or sonication AND chemical sanitizers. Good cleaning in most cases requires two steps, dislodging particles of "dirt" and sanitizing. Boiling, and even chemical cleaning alone, will kill many, if not most (or in some cases, all) of the microbes. Even when it does kill all of them, unless dislodged somehow, the biofilm itself remains. This is basically a house where a once a few microbes get back in, they will proliferate rapidly. So unless you both kill the microbes, and remove the biofilms, recolonization with microbes will be fairly quick. With something like a spout, if you scrub it out, you're likely to make small scratches in the surface of the plastic, which provide nice spots for microbes to "grab" onto and begin the colonization process. With a device like the CV, any imperfections in the ball itself due to these films could make the ball seat improperly, thus rendering it ineffective.
Or, carefully scrub the "footprint". Thanks Dr.Tim! I looked for the original discussion with no luck and I appreciate you taking the time to rewrite the explanation. Ted