In this post, we are going to discuss why it’s important to pressure wash and clean barns. Farmers know what it means to work with livestock. Cows, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, and even chickens make a mess. They poop where they want, they roll around in the mud, shed and more. The dirty deeds of a farmer’s animals require him to consistently clean, wash, and muck out stalls. Hiring a pressure washing service to perform these tasks can help ensure a sanitary and safe environment in which to raise and harvest livestock and their various byproducts.
It’s never a bad idea to call a professional heavy equipment pressure washing team to give you hand. That way, you don’t have to worry about having your own cleaning equipment and materials. If you do choose to use a professional team of pressure washers, consider giving us, Nuance Pressure Washing Services, a call. Talk soon.
1. Why Pressure Washing and Cleaning Barns is Important
Frequent pressure washing of barns, coops, stables, and corrals helps protect your workers, animals, visitors, and family. Sanitization of pens, machinery, and equipment is crucial when dealing with food. No one wants to be responsible for passing contaminated food on to consumers and having them get sick. Cleaning out farm buildings regularly helps prevent the formation of bacterial breeding grounds. Regular cleaning will also mitigate the spread of disease if any of your animals do become sick. For dairy barns and chicken coops, these animal products are delivered to consumers daily. It’s essential to ensure milk is collected in a sterile environment and that eggs are sanitized before export. Use hot water with your pressure washer to help ensure that milking parlours are sanitized correctly. Make sure that all cleaning agents are good to use around your animals.
Regular cleaning of equipment, machinery, and animal enclosures also helps eliminate bad odours. A fresh-smelling farm is good for business. Workers are happier, your neighbours don’t complain, and your family will appreciate it too. A fresh and clean farm attracts customers and workers. Clean barns and other animal enclosures are important for the general health conditions of humans and animals.
- Remember, frequent pressure washing of farm buildings, equipment, and machinery:
- Mitigates the chance of disease
- It helps prevent breeding grounds for bacteria
- Reduces possible sources of contamination of milk
- Reduces bad odours
- It is necessary for general health conditions (for humans and animals)
- It’s good practice to maintain general hygiene and sanitation on your farm
2. What Cleaning Agents to use to Clean your Dairy Barns, Stables, and Corrals
The selection of cleaners and disinfectants you use with a hot water pressure washer to clean out barns, stables, and corrals is important. These specialized cleaning agents must be safe to use around your animals and correct selection is even more important for milk-producing animals, such as dairy cows. The milking parlour makes for a high-density space for the animals where they can be more likely to acquire and spread diseases than when they are feeding outside in the open.
It’s unlikely that you will find a broad spectrum, all-in-one cleaner/disinfectant that will meet all of your cleaning needs. A variety of chemicals are available for use such as iodine, quaternary ammonium compounds, chlorine, and glutaraldehyde. However, none of these compounds is a standalone solution for cleaning your animal enclosures. Likely, you will have to use a mixture of these compounds along with stabilizers and buffering agents to produce the best results.
Ensure that disinfectants and antibacterial compounds are safe to use around your workers and your animals. Always read the manufacturer’s instructions on how to apply cleaning agents to your animal pens. The more porous the surface you are cleaning, the longer you should take to clean it. Finished concrete floors and metal siding take less time to clean than unfinished cement and wood.
3. Use Hot Water a High Volume and Low Pressure of Water to Clean
Some animal enclosures, such as milking parlours and birthing pens, may have sensitive equipment. Other enclosures may be made out of materials that may be compromised high pressures. A hot water pressure washer for cleaning farm equipment, machinery, and animal enclosures should be adjustable. A 4000 psi (27,500 kPa) pressure washer capable of delivering 5 gal/min (18.9 L/min) of water should be ideal for most farm-related applications. Make sure your pressure washer comes with a chemical tank. A tank will greatly reduce the application time of disinfectants and other cleaning agents.
4. Step-By-Step Instructions on How To Clean Animal Enclosures
Cleaning animal enclosures is an unpleasant but necessary task. To make it easier and more efficient, it helps to have a procedure in place. The first step is to gather all of your tools. Here is a shortlist of what you may need:
- Hot water pressure washer
- Shovels
- Buckets
- Wheelbarrow
- Hard floor brush
- Wall brush
- Broom
- Cleaning agents
- Disinfectants
After gathering your tools and equipment, follow these general steps to clean out your animal enclosure:
- Use the shovel to pick up the dung and place it in the wheelbarrow. Dung is a breeding ground for pathogenic, disease-causing organisms.
- Remove any dirty bedding and dispose of it.
- Use a hard brush to scrape any remaining dung into a pile and use the shovel to pick it up.
- Splash some water onto the floor to soften up any remaining dung.
- Use the shovel to scrape as much of the remaining dung that you can.
- Use the hot water pressure washer to spray any dung off of the walls.
- Use the wall brush to scrub off any remaining dung and spray it off.
- Apply the cleaning agents and disinfectants by hand or with the pressure washer.
- Use the pressure washer to clean the animal enclosure, starting from the top and working your way down to the floor.
- Use the pressure washer and a broom to drain the water from the higher end of the enclosure to the lower end.
Conclusion
We at Nuance Pressure Washing Services hope that you have found this blog post informative and enjoyable. Please feel free to add your comments and share them with your friends. We are always happy to learn more. Remember that Nuance blasts away grime.
Contact Nuance Pressure Washing Services today by calling us at 403-304-6790 or emailing us at mc*************@gm***.com. We are open from 7 am to 7 pm, Monday through Sunday. Visit our secure website at https://reddeerpressurewashingservices.com/ to learn more about all of our pressure washing and property management services.
