Questions on apple wood preparation

[Luciole]

In the past, I prepared organic apple wood by:
1). soaking and scrubbing in hot water
2). boiling for 30-45 minutes
3) baking at 300 F for at least 45 minutes to dry


My question is whether or not it is necessary to boil the wood if it has already been soaked and well-scrubbed. The smell of boiling apple wood makes me nauseous (but I love it when it bakes), and the process creates far too much humidity in the summer when the AC is on. Might boiling be redundant considering the wood is first soaked and well-scrubbed in hot water and then baked at a temperature much higher than boiling point?

Please volunteer your opinions. I don't want to overlook anything and potentially give my chins wood that has not been adequately prepared.

 

[Amethyst]

Boiling the wood is not a required step, not everyone does it. I for one just soak, scrub and bake when I make my boys poplar perches. The point of boiling is to kill anything possibly living inside, which I would think the soaking the wood in the hot water and the high heat of the oven would do. Boiling is probably a more important step if you just scrub the outside without soaking at all. I bake at a lower temp though, it dries the wood slower so it's less likely to burn, but it takes hours.

 

[Luciole]

Thanks Amethyst. Now that I don't have to boil the wood, I won't have to wait until the weather cools off and my boys will get a fresh batch of wood in the next couple days.

 

[Caroline]

Boiling for that long is not required. By then microorganisms are long dead. By 45 minutes all nutrients in the wood have been killed as well.