... i'd like to make sure it is properly sanitized from a bacteria removal perspective. i sure as heck aint gonna throw it in the dish washer
I would go with good sanitizing cleaning. Here's more info if you have more biological/pathogen concerns:
Bacterial spores can survive for years and can survive contact/soak in solvents/germicide solutions and freezing. The dishwasher can be used, without dishwashing soap or chemical drying agents (such as Jet Dry), to heat-sanitize equipment, as well as dry them in the same cycle. The rack in most dishwashers makes it the perfect vessel for this method.
Here's a useful pdf US Centers for Disease Control put out that covers everything from parasites, virus, fungi, bacteria/bacterial spore, and toxin.
Bacterial spores. Some bacteria produces spores. These spores contain all the genetic material of the bacteria. They can survive disinfection, sanitization, cooking, and freezing. And indeed, many of the bacteria that produce spores are present in the ground and survive the freezing and thawing of seasonal changes
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/training/videos/transcripts/microworld.pdf
Here's a quick overview of difference between cleaning, sanitizing, sterilizing:
Cleaning - The process of removing visible residue - in other words, dirt - from your equipment. Cleaning agents will not usually kill a significant number of the microorganisms. However, cleaning is an important first step, because without careful cleaning, dirt can provide a place for these microorganisms to hide, making sanitizing almost impossible.
Sanitizing - The process of killing most of the microorganisms on your equipment.
Most sanitizing methods used will kill most of the active organisms, but may not kill spores or destroy every individual bacteria. Often, when sanitizing equipment with sanitizing solutions, meaning that any microorganisms that are not on the surface of the equipment, such as those hidden in dirt or residue inside the equipment, will not be affected. This is why it is important to clean thoroughly before you sanitize. Sanitized surfaces still contain some microorganisms.
Sterilizing - The process of killing every living cell in your equipment, including spores. In my opinion, sterilizing is usually not necessary for general shooting/reloading purposes unless your equipment actually come in contact with infectious organisms/spores. Spores are everywhere, especially on ground.
