General Producer Guide - National Avian On-Farm Biosecurity Standard
Annex D - Barn Cleaning and Disinfection in Inclement Weather

This page is part of the Guidance Document Repository (GDR).

Place additional emphasis on dry cleaning to reduce the time required for wet cleaning.
Provide supplementary heat to raise barn temperatures to allow wet cleaning and disinfection to occur.
Focus on critical areas where birds are housed to reduce the volume of water applied: bird contact areas (floors, nest boxes, cages, walls to a height of three feet, feeders, and waterers). Dry clean the ventilation system.
Add propylene glycol, and use machines capable of heating water, to increase the effectiveness of detergents and disinfectants and to prevent wash and disinfectant solutions from freezing.
Increase the surface contact time for disinfectants.
If wet cleaning cannot be performed, thoroughly dry clean the barn, and raise and maintain barn temperatures; this can be effective at inactivating pathogens. The temperature and time required for pathogen inactivation vary for different organisms and should be discussed with your veterinarian.
Thoroughly drying the barn after any cleaning stage is important for pathogen inactivation.

Raise barn temperatures.
Use warm to hot water when using detergents and disinfectants.
Increase the concentration and surface contact time of the disinfectant. Rain and wet surfaces can significantly reduce the concentration of cleaning and disinfectant solutions.

Disinfectant fogging, disinfectant foam, fumigation, and steam cleaning are measures that may be employed in adverse weather conditions.
Steam cleaning can reduce the amount of water required and increases temperature to reduce pathogen load.
Consult with commercial cleaning companies, disinfectant manufacturers, industry experts, and veterinary professionals on sanitation measures when environmental conditions impair routine cleaning and disinfection.