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Best Practice: Cleaning and Sanitising

Animal Care Facilities

 

Our aim is to provide you with valid information to enable you to make informed decisions about the products and methods you choose to clean and sanitise your animal care facilities.


In this report you will learn:


1. The most common mistake made when cleaning kennels and catteries;

2. What every operator should know about bleach;

3. The effect organic soils and faeces can have on disinfectant;

4. How mops can reduce a product's efficacy to eliminate bacteria and viruses;

5. Classifications and animal care facilities.


The most common mistake made when cleaning kennels and catteries


Supermarket Grade Disinfectants: Most supermarket grade disinfectants rely on one ingredient, Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride (ADBAC) also known as benzalkonium chloride, to provide their sanitising capability. ADBAC based disinfectants have been around since the early 1930s and manufacturers tend to “flavour” some of these products with strong perfumes and promote useage to mask odours. These disinfectants are targeted primarily at the domestic household and food production sectors to combat food related bacteria and viruses.

ADBAC based products in our opinion are unsuitable for animal care facilities, vet practices, hospitals or anywhere highly resilient viruses and bacteria are present. Test data shows that ADBAC based products are ineffective on non-enveloped viruses and protozan parasites and I highly recommend the use of professional animal care products that are efficacy tested against the viruses and bacteria that are harmful to our domestic pet population, as the use of these cleaners and sanitisers will ensure your facility is safe for the animals under your care.


What every operator should know about bleach


Bleach (liquid sodium hypochlorite) and bleach powders (calcium chloride) have the benefit of being cheap and highly effective at killing viruses and bacteria. This is due to their corrosive oxidising properties. There are however some critical points to consider that impact on how these chemicals perform in animal care facilities.


 

Instability: Sodium hypochlorite has a short shelf life. It deteriorates in the storage drum, when mixed with water in a spray bottle, or when exposed to heat or heavy metals. This means that as the chemical ages, its efficiency to kill viruses and bacteria becomes compromised.  

Health and Safety: Sodium hypochlorite needs to be used with care. Staff generally do not like using bleach, as it gives off fumes that can affect breathing or cause irritation to the skin and eyes. Constant exposure can corrode the mucus glands in the throat and nasal passages for both humans and animals. It also has a corrosive and “bleaching” effect when it comes into contact with clothing. Bleach is often used incorrectly in "hard to get at" places with the resultant problem being that bacteria and viruses are left untreated.

Toxicity: Bleach produces chlorine gas when mixed with substances such as heavy acids. This can also happen with strong urine. Appropriate ventilation is necessary when using bleach products in confined spaces or where urine is present.

Dangerous Good: Bleach stored inappropriately is dangerous. It should never be decanted into new containers unless they are vented properly. It should be locked away from staff and animals. I have witnessed unvented drums of chemical being stored in a warm area around animals and were so swollen they were close to exploding.


Organic Soiling: Bleach is not effective on organic matter such as soil or feaces and is not an efficient cleaner having poor soil lifting properties. Consequently dirt and general soiling builds up on floors and other surfaces, reducing the efficacy of a diluted bleach solution. Bleach is not residual and breaks down very quickly. It will quickly kill viruses and bacteria on a clean surface and then deactivate. 


Efficacy: It is not clear if sodium hypochlorite is effective against protozan parasites such as coccidia and giardia. Tests performed by Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph in Canada showed a 6% solution of sodium hypochlorite ineffective on the Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts after 30 minutes of exposure.


What Dilution Rate?: The dilution rate for bleach that is guaranteed to kill a range of viruses and bacteria is not widely known. This is due to the cost associated with the testing of the product and the low return rate for the company paying for the tests. From our experiences either too much or too little gets used. Both approaches are harmful to a facility. Too little is not effective and too much is dangerous to animals and workers.


The effect organic soils and faeces have on disinfectant


Generally, when manufacturers of disinfectants test the efficacy of their products the conditions are sterile. In this sterile environment, the products are subjected to organic soils to determine at what stage they become ineffective. Soil tolerances vary between products so it can be confusing to staff and owners when evaluating what rating the products have. Some products have good organic soil loadings and some are very poor. A best practice standard to adopt regardless of what soil tolerance your product has is to remove soiling before cleaning is undertaken and by doing so, any doubt surrounding a product's efficacy will be removed. Foot baths should be changed regularly also ensuring fresh reactive chemical is available.

Depending on how a product was tested, the effective contact time for disinfectants ranges between 3 to 10 minutes. Further complicating the issue, this contact time can vary between viruses and bacteria.


A best practice standard contact time of 10 minutes should be established, This means leaving the product wet on the surface for at least 10 minutes. If you are using your disinfectant diluted as an antibacterial spray on a clean surface, then a contact time of 1 minute is generally all that is required. Always check the manufacturer's recommendations first.

How mops can reduce a product's efficacy to eliminate bacteria and viruses

 

The use of a mop and bucket is the most common method of applying cleaners and sanitisers in large areas.perfect also for roof coatings


Unfortunately a damp mop is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and viruses. Mops have the potential to be hazardous to a facility if they are not treated correctly however it is not practical to change the mop every time a facility is cleaned. A best practice standard to improve sanitising efficacy and reduce cross contamination of surfaces is to clean your mops as follows:

When the daily cleaning of a facility is finished, thoroughly rinse the mop head in fresh water. Then place the mop head in a new solution of disinfectant or diluted bleach for 5 minutes. Rinse the mop again in fresh water and leave to dry thoroughly. This process will ensure you have a relatively sterile mop to clean with the next day.


Classifications and animal care


MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries) no longer classifies or approves products or ingredients for the export or food sectors. The role of classifying chemicals has been taken on by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), who approves all products and ingredients that are used in and around the food production sectors. MAF's primary function is to protect and preserve New Zealand, as this quote from MAF's website states:


“Our mission is to enhance New Zealand's natural advantage. We do this by encouraging high-performing sectors; developing safe and freer trade; ensuring healthy New Zealanders; and by protecting our natural resources for the benefit of future generations”.


The NZFSA classifications, or “register” as it is known, relates to cleaners and sanitisers used in food processing, export food production and associated cleaning of equipment, to ensure the high standards of food exports are maintained.


Some confusion surrounds the classifications as they don't necessarily relate to animal care facilities, so its important to understand what a MAF, or now NZFSA classification is, and to ensure if your product carries one of these classifications, that it is appropriate for the application in your facility.  For more information on classifications go to the NZFSA website: http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/registers-lists/


Viruses in bedding and soft furnishings

When an outbreak of a non enveloped virus such as feline infectious enteritis (also known as (FIE) feline panleukopenia or feline parvovirus FPV) or other non enveloped viruses such as Feline Calicivirus (a surrogate of norovirus) ocurrs it is not always possible to disinfect all the items that have had exposure easily. Particularly in a breeders/animal care situation where many soft furnishings, carpets, blankets and other items are used and can be problematic to throughly disinfect. Many of the non enveloped viruses can stay around for a very long time (up to a year) and are resistant to alot of disinfectants. The viruses need to be killed fast and the best way to kill such viruses is to use an approved disinfectant. However these products are not always practical to use on a couch as example, or pillows, toys and to clean the carpets with so the operator is left with very few options. 

 Introducing a new solution....Ozone treatment.

Ozone (O3) is a highly reactive gas composed of three oxygen atoms that is extremely effective at eliminating odours, mould, fungii, bacteria and viruses (enveloped and non enveloped) present in water and atmosphere (i.e permeable surfaces such as furniture, carpet, cat poles etc). Massive bacterial colony reduction is effected almost instantaneously upon contact and ozone has been of considerable interest in bacterial, viral and fungii reduction for breeders and other industries where controlled disinfection is difficult due to non-permeable substrates.  Ozone is a very powerful oxidiser and oxidises viruses.

The stongest oxidiser on the planet is fire, followed by fluorine gas, atomic A1, and then Ozone (O3). Bleach as example is approximately No 35 on the list and this indicates just how powerful ozone is if used at the correct dosage on viruses, bacteria fungii and mould. Picture of a ozone machine below

 

Ozone is the one of the strongest available steriliser known to man, yet it is safe because it is made up completely of simple Oxygen, and completely reverts back to Oxygen in a relatively short time.

www.ozone.org.nz

That's one of the best features of ozone. It can be very toxic at high levels, which you must by definition of the word have to kill something, and yet have the ability to revert completely back to a completely non toxic state very quickly. Because of these amazing qualities ozone may be the safest, yet most powerful bactericides available.

Our range of Ozone machines are suited for all applications including water purification to remove manganse and iron or protozoan parasites such as Giardia. Ozone is used in hospitals, food processing, operating theatres worldwide to completely sterilise equipment and buildings

Treatment of a facility and the time it takes is dependent on size of the premise and the location. Pricing starts from as little as $150-00 plus gst** . Odarid NZ Ltd will access your facility and provide a machine that has the capacity to produce enough ozone to penetrate permeable substrates and materials to eliminate all bacteria and viruses.

At this stage the machines are based in Auckland but will be available nationwide in the near future. Contact Craig on 0274 579505 for more information. Please note: during treatment all animals and humans must be removed and premises can not be entered.


Well that just about wraps it up. At Odarid we have a national distribution network and would welcome your enquiry or questions.

Our aim is to help and ensure you have excellent products and a solution to any odour or sanitising issues you may face.



If we can help further, please contact us here
 
** Travel charges may apply depending on location

 

 

 

April 2008

New Product

Septic tank Odour Remover

Have a look at out new product designed to get your septic tank working naturally and efficiently while reducing odours very quickly and saving you money. All is explained by clicking this link   More here

Hot Tips for your carpet

I thought it may be useful to give you some tips each newsletter on how to help you with carpet issues and to answer some of the many questions we get asked on a regular basis

How do I get Dog Odour out of my carpet?

Dog odour in carpet is particularly difficult to remove as the odour comes from the oil in the dogs hair which permeates the fibres and for unknown reasons last for many years. Often there is a combination of dog oils and anal glands expressing fluid onto the carpet which makes interesting work for the carpet cleaner. Quite a combo and certainly designed to test the equipment. There are many stop cap measure you can do such as the good old baking soda sprinkled around, a deodoriser sprayed around but unfortunately the smell will always come back. I recommend you get a good carpet cleaner and give him this information.

Dog Smell in carpet: Use our Odarid Turbo Steam Powder . Mix up a "prespray" of 1 scoop into 10 litres of warm water. Dissolve the powder then apply it to the carpet in a spray pack (Always spot test first overnight in an inconspicuous area to ensure no damage or staining occurs to the carpet. Dilute up to 20-1 if required). Immediately after prespraying the carpet, using hot water, a good quality carpet cleaning machine and our Odarid Turbo Steam Powder to boost the Odarid carpet Cleaner in the machines tank, inject the carpet and extract using industry standard methods. Repeat this twice. Then follow the clean with an Acid Rinse using warm water and our Odarid Acid Rinse. This will neutralise the alkaline detergent and help remove any remaining residues.

We would be happy to work in with your carpet cleaner and help where we can with advise so please feel free to have them contact us.

Now I should warn you that these treatments are best done by a carpet cleaner who has some experience and quality equipment. If the above method fails then use this technique (Nylon carpets only)

Nylon: Using  a weak solution of Sodium Hydroxide prespray the carpet in 1 metre lots. Wait 20 seconds (spot test this first in a inconspicuous area to ensure the carpet is not being damaged) and then apply an acid spray to neutralise the alkaline The high alkaline (diluted caustic)  will corrode the oils and reduce the odour considerably. Then clean and extract with normal carpet shampoo.

 

There you go a couple of techniques to help. Are they easy..................not really but dog smell is very resiliant and needs special treatment

I suggest also to follow up that treatment with an ozone treatment which will remove any lingering odours and also sanitise the area leaving a very clear smell.

Some interesting animal facts to finish on

 

  • 70% of people sign their pet's name on greeting and holiday cards (me too!)
  • NZ spends 307 million dollars annually on Pet Food
  • 38.7% of NZ hoseholds have pets (2006/2007 Household Economic Survey)

     

February 2008 Newsletter
 

Good morning all

Did you know Pet owners live longer, happier lives with less stress and less heart attacks ??

Craig Connelly here from Odarid NZ Ltd

First of all I would like to wish you a belated Happy New Year and trust that you all had a nice break to enjoy the beautiful weather. Secondly I would like to welcome you to the first newsletter of 2008 for Odarid. You can of course opt out of this newsletter at the bottom of this email if you wish as our intention is always to help, never to offend. Isn't that great news that we will live longer as pet owners.

Well whether it is true or not I don't know but it certainly makes those large vet bills more enjoyable knowing that looking after my beloved furry friends is extending my life :-).

One of the first studies indicating the heart benefits from pet ownership appeared in "Public Health Reports" in 1980. It showed that the survival rates of heart attack victims who had a pet were 28 percent higher than those of patients who didn't have an animal companion. "The health effects seem to be very real and by no means mystical," says Alan Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University. "Contact with companion animals triggers a relaxation response," he says.

More recent studies have shown survival rates for heart attack victims who had a pet are 12% longer than for those who did not have one, according to researcher Erica Friedmann.

In that study, only 5.7 percent of 53 pet owners, compared with 28.2 percent of 39 patients who did not own pets, died within a year of discharge from a coronary-care unit.

“The effect of pet ownership on survival was independent of the severity of the cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Erika Friedmann, who worked on the study. “That is, among people with equally severe disease, pet owners were less likely to die than non-owners. Thanks to http://www.showcatsonline.com/x/pet-owners-live-longer.htm for the information.

 

 

Aren't the flies bad this year and why are they so bad ?

Apparantly its due to the unseasonably hot December/January right through New Zealand, which has increased the fly population considerably. Some writers claim by up to 40% !! My automated spray inside the house cannot keep up so I have installed a couple of fly traps outside the house and boy what a difference. They catch and eliminate up to 25,000 flys per trap and at $15-00* that is great value. For our readers today we have a two pack deal here which is great value. The Dog kennels love these things and they are always popular at this time of year.

Some gross facts about flies that may encourage  you to get rid of them.

  1. The warmer it is, the faster flies will hatch and grow.
  2. In a warm, moist site the whole cycle of egg to adult can take a week!
  3.  An average garbage can is capable of producing over 1,000 new flies a week.
  4. Flies defecate every 5 minutes Ugh!!!!
  5. The average female fly lives for 21 days and can produce 150 eggs every 3 days (you do the maths) 
  6. Flies vomit on their food before eating it. Their vomit is full of bacteria (it is estimated flys carry 2 million bacteria on their body)

 

 

 


From flies to rubbish bins which go together I guess.  We are always asked what is the best product for cleaning rubbish bins so they are hygenic and smell nice. Particularly at this time of year and in holiday season the poor old bin ends up smelling like a rubbish truck and if you have followed one of those lately it is not pleasant.

I use our new product called Oda-Out on my bin and it works a treat. It is a deodoriser, a disinfectant and a cleaner. It cleans very well and has the most beautiful fragrance consisting of bergamot, lemon, lime, eucalyptus and camphor. The last two essential oils burn off in a few days and leave the bergamot and lime that lingers for a long time. Its an excellent floor cleaner, shower cleaner, toilet cleaner, and much much more. The product is also used to deodorise carpets, kennels and has a million other uses around the home. I also add some to the washing machine when doing my work gear and they smell wonderful for days .

Auckland Animal News

For the east side dog owners in Auckland there is a very nice dog day care facility opened in Botany called Pinkies (website coming soon) in the old Pet Boutique building on Te Irirangi drive just down from the Mitre 10 Mega and Pets Wonderland, for the city people Barkley Manor in Grey Lynn where you can take your pooch to be pampered by experienced dog lovers and if you are out west there is another facility opened called "K9to5" Daycare and Grooming who even offer paw painting!! All these facilites have dog grooming, enthusiastic owners and are very clean and well run, a credit to the staff and operators. I have personally visited all three facilties and although the offers are quite different I would recommend them all based on your location in our expanding metropolis

Also Rebecca Frost who was based at Pets By Air in Auckland has started a dog minding/walking/watering plants etc business and comes with glowing referrals already. More information here www.petsbestfriend.co.nz and Rebecca would welcome your business.

If you are in other regions of NZ or in Auckland and have an animal service that will be of interest to our readers,  and would like a mention in our newsletter please contact me.

Carpet News

We have now released our full range of carpet care products for professional commercial operators and take pride in knowing these are some of the best on the market at very competitive rates. Since the release the turbo steam powder in particular has been sold out twice! We have plenty of stock now to cope with demand

 

Call Out work

In Auckland only at this stage we are available for professional odour removal work.  This usually involves disinfecting areas, removing urine and other residues from carpets and flooring, along with other odour related jobs. Keep us in mind for rental properties and all manner of pongs. Also in Auckland we are available for disinfecting work spaces, soft furnishings etc with our ozone machine. More information here

Some interesting animal facts to finish on

  • If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could product over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!
  • Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic - a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese
  • 70% of people sign their pet's name on greeting and holiday cards (me too!)
  • The oldest known breed is likely the Saluki - originally trained by Egyptians to help them track game
  • Sometimes your cat will find it difficult to find the treats you throw him/her on the floor. The reason is cats can't see directly under their own noses
  • Pet owners live longer, happier lives with less stress and less heart attacks


    From the team at Odarid I wish you all a very safe and happy weekend and hope where ever you are in the country the summer sunshine falls upon you

    Kind Regards

    Odarid NZ Ltd
    25A Gollan Road,
    Mt Wellington,
    Auckland,
    New Zealand
    Ph 006495270029 or 0274579505
    Cat or dog pee odours? www.odarid.co.nz

    Your Referral Is Our Greatest Compliment

    You are receiving this email as an opt in subscriber to the Odarid NZ Ltd email database. If you do not wish to receive our newsletters and offers please unsubscribe by clicking the link below and entering the email address you received our newsletter on. Odarid NZ Ltd does not wish to offend only to help . Thankyou for your support and we wish you a very happy day.

     September 2009

    Hi everyone. Craig here from Odarid NZ
     


    Well a busy winter for us and to celebrate spring we have given the website a total makeover! New logos and colours so we hope you like it. We also have moved hosting company due to issues with the newsletter so hoping this one works better

    Stripey and Ralph are still around (our cartoon animal characters) and will always be a part of Odarid (just not in the header)



     
     
    Ozone News
     
    From time to time we hold a $1 no reserve auction on an Ozone machine and currently we have one running on Trademe for our most popular model the OA200
    These machines are simply amazing and great value

    Don't miss this one as you could quite easily grab a bargain.


    http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=243416520



     
     
    CHRISTCHURCH ODOUR REMOVAL

    John White (Odarid Canterbury) is now up and running officially removing odours in properties and vehicles.

    The feedback has been amazing and the service is being well received in Canterbury

    You can contact John here

    http://www.odarid.co.nz/Distributors.php

     

    Apparantly our last email was not successful at getting through and I will repeat the information below for those of you that missed it

    DOG ODOUR!!
     

    If you've ever wondered why stubborn dog odour is so difficult to remove from carpet then here is some useful information for you to ponder. Not all dogs produce this unpleasant problem and it is more common in elderly dogs however if you have this issue you will understand  the difficulties involved in keeping the house smelling fresh

    There are 3 main reasons why dog odour is so prevalent and challenging to remove and here they are........

    1. The oil from a dogs coat (particularly old dogs) will penetrate the carpet fibre to the very core and will remain there for many years to come even after being cleaned. Dog oil odour is one of the hardest items to remove and has on occassions really tested us over the years. In my test samples I still have a piece of carpet that still produces odour some 10 years later.

    2. Mature Dogs express an oily fluid through a gland located near their backsides which will make even the most hardened odour professional lose his/her lunch and consider a change in profession. The fluid is expressed through pressure being applied to the glands (Do I need to tell you more or will your imagination run wild) Ok you asked!

    The gland gets itchy which is a sign to the said hound to drag his or her bum on the carpet to relieve the itch and express the fluid. Ask any vet what nearly gets his/her subway lunch to vacate the stomach and he/she will tell you it's the fluid from the glands located near the back region. It also contains oil it which will penetrate deep into carpet fibre and linger for many years even after cleaning

    3. Number 3 on the list is good old Dog urine normally caused by an accident or an oversight by the owner.

     

    Now combine the 3 potent ingredients listed above and there you have it...........dog odour.

     

    There are a couple of solutions we offer.

    To break down the dog oil you need a high alkaline carpet cleaner and the best to use is our world famous in New Zealand Turbo Steam powder shown below. Make sure you tell your carpet cleaner about it

     Turbo Steam Powder 

    Once the carpet is cleaned with this product it is advisable to run an Acid rinse through the carpet to neutralise the alkaline and make the carpet soft as a Jellytip on a summer day. Follow up with an ozone treatment once the carpet is dry.

    Or for all you guys and gals that don't have professional carpet cleaning equipment and just want to spray something around  to hide the odour while you save up for the big clean........ use the most amazing product on the planet. Our General Purpose odour remover which contains no fragrance and will choke any odour instantly

    Use Odarid General Purpose odour remover to mask dog smell. NO PERFUME!


     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Stinky Shoes. Solution here plus many more tips
     
     
     
    I also thought it appropriate to show this link which has valuable tips on it for removing odours from shoes and other helpful ideas. This is a popular phonecall that we get and this trick to remove shoe odour works a treat