"Rock Slime"..??

[Silver Creek]

Bleach will eventually destroy fabrics. Detergent will not.

However, long soak times are needed to reach every crevice and to insure contact with every fiber. That same soak time insures that there will be residual detergent left in the boots that will leach out into the stream one your next trip. That is why I recommend freezing as having the least impact of all the methods of decontamination.

It will not surprise me if manufacturers eventually void warranties for chemical treatments of their gear with bleach. If manufacturers are really concerned with invasive species, they should recommend how their gear can be treated in a non destructive yet environmentally safe manner.

What is needed is not consumers trying to figure out what is the best and safest methods, but the manufacturers, because they know what their products are made of and how it can be safely treated. The fact that no manufacturer that I know of has published recommendations, even though they now have come out with rubber soles, indicates to me that there is no single good method of treatment that is both environmentally friendly and tackle friendly for invasives.