Equipment Decontamination with a Mobile Power Washer Followed by Disinfectant Applications

Abstract

Decontamination of field equipment has been used by farmers for many years in order to prevent the spread of plant and animal diseases. A greenhouse study evaluated the effects of an electrostatic sprayer, and several disinfectants on their efficacy to inactivate Bacillus subtilis spores. In addition, a field study was conducted with a two stage, decontamination system that evaluated a mobile power washer, five disinfectants, and repeated disinfectant applications on their efficacy to dislodge and inactivate B. subtilis spores. In the first study, EasyDecon@ DF 200 reduced viable spores by a log10 reduction of 1.42. In the second study, power washing effectively dislodged viable spores by nearly 3-fold compared to applying the disinfectants alone. EasyDecon@ DF 200 applied three times and Electro Biocide applied twice resulted in the greatest reduction of viable spores (4.51 log10) when applied after power washing. Two stage decontamination of agricultural equipment is effective for sanitizing most equipment that do not have exposed electronic instruments or sensors. Mobile power washers are economical for small scale sanitization of farm equipment daily.