Animal rehoming centres play a crucial role in providing a safe haven for animals in need, but maintaining a clean and disease-free environment is equally essential.
That’s why it’s important to establish best practice infection control protocols to ensure the health and well-being of the animals that come through these facilities, as well as the staff that care for them.
Are you following infection control best practice? Here are the four key questions you need to ask yourself.
Do you have a cleaning & disinfection protocol?
A failsafe cleaning and disinfection protocol is essential for effective infection prevention and control in an animal rehoming facility setting. The best disinfection regimes are ones that are easy to understand, execute and repeat day after day – regardless of who is performing the task.
Your disinfection regime should include clear processes to clean and disinfect:
- Each individual animal housing
- Runs
- Crates
- Any other multi-use surfaces
Are you using the best product?
One key element in an effective infection control protocol process is the use of veterinary-grade disinfectants that are non-toxic and safe for animals and people.
Without the correct product, you could be leaving your clinic at risk of spreading disease amongst your animals. There are countless disinfection products available to purchase. These include bleach, ammonia, and products based on alcohol, phenols, or aldehydes. While many of these products may be effective as a cleaner or disinfectant in some circumstances, they can actually be quite harmful to both your staff and animals.
If you’re concerned about the ingredients that are in your cleaning products, a good test is to check the instructions for usage. If it directs you to rinse off the product, that means it includes toxic ingredients that aren’t safe for people and animals.
That’s why the Safe4 disinfectant cleaner was developed as an alternative to these products. Safe4 is non-toxic, non-staining and a non-irritant, so you can use it with confidence on all hard surfaces throughout your clinic, with no need to rinse off. Its effectiveness has also been thoroughly tested – and proven – against a range of viruses, bacteria and fungi, including parvovirus, coronavirus, canine cough, FIV, E-coli, and MRSA.
Are you cleaning before disinfecting?
While you don’t need to thoroughly clean your hard surfaces before using a disinfectant, for the best results, we recommend that you use hot soapy water first. When it comes to your flooring, a quick sweep with a broom before mopping with disinfectant will ensure any organic matter or dirt is removed.
Are you diluting your disinfectant correctly?
It’s not a case of “the more the better” when it comes to disinfectant. Like any chemical, the dilution of any veterinary disinfectant cleaner is an exact science. Dilute it with too much water and you may minimise its effectiveness. Not enough dilution could result in a solution that is too concentrated and you’ll be wasting money down the drain.
Contact the Safe4 team
If you have any questions about infection control protocols for your animal rehoming centre, give us a call on 1300 661 821 or email info@safe4-aust.bingobango.com.au.