Abstract
Fungal stains on slides dewaxed by domestic dishwashing detergent in hot water were compared to xylene and alcohol dewaxing. The fungal stains were Grocott’s Methenamine Silver (GMS), Periodic Acid Schiff’s following diastase (DPAS), and Sulphation Toluidine Blue (STB). For detergent dewaxing, a 2% concentration of domestic dishwashing detergent in distilled water heated to 90°C was used and paraffin sections were treated twice for 1 minute each. Hot detergent dewaxing is not only faster, cheaper, and safer than xylene dewaxing, but also equivalent or better than xylene for detecting fungi on DPAS, GMS and STB.