How to preserve sand dollars

In this brief guide, we will answer the question, “how to preserve sand dollars?”, and discuss the different methods used to preserve sand dollars.

How to preserve sand dollars?

You can preserve sand dollars by soaking them in bleach, then washing and painting them with a glue mixture.

Sand dollars have a very small amount of flesh and they are not eaten. Sand dollars have very few predators like seagulls and other sea creatures

It is illegal to take home living sand dollars, so make sure that the sand dollar is dead before you decide to take it home and preserve it.

How to tell if a sand dollar is alive?

Dead sand dollars are usually white.

Turn over the sand dollar and if you see blackish, moving filaments that are moving, the sand dollar is alive.

Living sand dollars secrete a substance that will turn your skin yellow. If your palm is stained yellow when holding the sand dollar, the sand dollar is alive.

If the sand dollar is buried deep in the sand. It might be alive. Sand dollars usually bury themselves deep in the sand to protect them from predators. Do not dig out sand dollars from the soil.

If you pick up a living sand dollar, place it back in the water.

How to preserve dead sand dollars?

Preserved sand dollars are used for decorations and collections. Dried sand dollars are very fragile so you must always handle them with care.

Steps to preserving a sand dollar

• Soak in water to deodorize: Sand dollars will give off a foul fish odor if you don’t properly soak them. Soak the sand dollars in a bowl of freshwater. In a few hours, the water may discolor and smell foul. If this happens, change the water. Keep soaking the sand dollars until the water stays clean.

• Brush off the debris: Use a soft brush to remove any soil lodged into the crevices of the sand dollar. Be very careful because too much pressure will crack the sand dollar.

• Soak the sand dollars in a bleach solution: Prepare a bleach solution by mixing 1 part of bleach with 1 part of water. Soak the sand dollars in the bleach solution for about 10 minutes. Do not keep the sand dollars in the bleach for too long as this can cause the shells to break apart.

• Wash the sand dollars in clean water: Remove the sand dollars from the bleach solution. Make sure to either wear gloves or use a pair of tongs when removing the sand dollars from the bleach solution. Then the sand dollars in clean water until traces of bleach are gone.

• Dry the sand dollars: Spread out the sand dollars on a tray or a towel. Place them outside to dry in sunlight. You can also sir-dry the sand dollars inside your house.

• Make a glue and water mix: Mix equal parts of water with glue to form a mixture. This mixture will seal the sand dollars. It will also heal tiny cracks in the shells and harden the shells a little.

• Apply the glue mix on the sand dollars: Use a paintbrush to apply the glue mix on one side of the sand dollars. Do not touch the sand dollars until the glue has completely dried. It will take a couple of hours to dry out the glue. Once the painted side is dried, turn over the sand dollars and paint the other side as well. 

• Paint and decorate: Now the sand dollars are ready to be painted and decorated.

How to preserve sand dollars without bleach?

• Fill a bucket halfway with clean, freshwater, then dip the sand dollar shells in and soak for a few hours.

• The water in the bucket will discolor after a few hours.

• Drain the water and replace it with new water. Continue this procedure until the color of the water does not change.

• After you’ve completed this process and thoroughly wash them and dry them in the sun. 

• Your shell will be available to decorate in a few days. No bleaching is required.

What are the tips for preserving sand dollars?

• Sand dollars are extremely fragile. Handle them with extra care if you don’t want them to break. If you notice a small crack, you can always seal it with a glue water mix.

• When collecting sand dollars from the beach, make careful to dip them as quickly as possible into freshwater. Wash them quickly and the odor will be minimal.

• While cleaning, use a brush to readily open the holes and clean the sand dollars of sand and algae.

• Bleaching is required to preserve the sand dollars and bring out their shine. As a result, bleaching should never be skipped.

Conclusion

In this brief guide, we answered the question, “how to preserve sand dollars?”, and discussed the different methods used to preserve sand dollars.

References