What Is The Best Way To Disinfect A Dog Run?

[Guest dsszarzi]

Hi,

 

I'm new to Greytalk.

 

Two of my three Greyhounds have diarrhea due to Clostridia. Both are currently on meds.

 

They are inside dogs, but by using a doggy door, can go outside in the dog run whenever they want. The dog run is the whole west side of our yard. The surface of the dog run is crushed granite (very permeable). I pick up their poops 2-3 times a day and we hose down the granite once a week. Obviously hosing down with just water is not enough. I have been told I can use bleach and water or Roccal to disinfect my dog run. Is bleach effective to kill the bacteria? If so, what would the bleach to water dilution ratio be? I want to use something that is safe for my hounds. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ahicks51]

Tricky. You'll never get rid of 100% without popping the gravel into an autoclave, but you can knock it back some.

 

I'd begin by picking up all the bulk material; get out any feces, wetting them down with a spray bottle carrying 10% bleach before picking them up with gloves or a bag. Spray down the immediate area.

 

Get a garden sprayer- a 2-1/2 or 5 gallon pump sprayer, and put in a couple of gallons of 10% bleach. Add a couple of drops of wetting agent like dishwashing detergent, and mix thoroughly. Cover as much of the area as possible. Thoroughly coat the area. Allow to dry before releasing dogs again.

 

There is also "Virkon," a veterinary disinfectant. If you're in the UK, it's easier to find. Otherwise, you'll end up buying a 5-pound container for almost $100, and since bleach works so well, there's no reason to go nuts over it.

 

Also note that you can muzzle your dogs along with a poop cup if you're worried about fecal-oral transmission. Wash down the paws before they come in if you wish.

[Guest ChasesMum]

Since bleach solution will kill parvovirus, I guess I think I'd trust it to kill clostridium too.

 

My jug of bleach has directions for 3/4c bleach to 1gallon water for general household use... I think that works out to a 5% solution?

Someone correct my math if its wrong!

 

I don't know what solution to use, maybe ask your vet?

[Guest Ingear]

I use a product called "Mold STAT PLUS" it is mainly used for killing mold but it is also a Sporicide, MildewStat, Fungicide, Disinfectant and is EPA Registered. Its a little expensive but it lasts a long time. It is also great to spray around the basement or any damp areas to kill odor and mold. I use a one gallon sprayer to clean the area. Well first hose it down and let it dry then spray.

 

http://www.cleanertoday.com/ProductDetails...CFQw9GgodXEpgYA

Edited November 18, 2008 by Ingear

[ahicks51]

I use a product called "Mold STAT PLUS" it is mainly used for killing mold but it is also a Sporicide, MildewStat, Fungicide, Disinfectant and is EPA Registered. Its a little expensive but it lasts a long time. It is also great to spray around the basement or any damp areas to kill odor and mold. I use a one gallon sprayer to clean the area. Well first hose it down and let it dry then spray.

 

http://www.cleanertoday.com/ProductDetails...CFQw9GgodXEpgYA

 

The ingredients for Moldstat Plus are quats (quaternary ammonium compounds), based on their MSDS:

 

http://www.e-barnett.com/SHOP/xt_MSDSSearch.asp?StartsWith=M

 

Unfortunately, quats don't work well on clostridia. From:

 

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/529165

 

"In addition, traditional hospital cleaning agents (quaternary ammonium–based products) do not kill C. difficile spores. In fact, quaternary ammonium-based cleaning agents have been shown to substantially increase the sporulation capacity of C. difficile.[12]"

[Guest dsszarzi]

Thank you all for responding to my question!

 

ahicks51, your advise was excellent. I was considering using Roccal, which is a quat. I had no idea that could have made things worse. You are my hero!

 

Even though the crushed granite is permeable, I find it takes awhile to dry. The crushed granite has a lot of granite dust that holds moisture much like dirt. Also the area is shaded by a 6' cedar fence and the days are short now (not much sunlight). So I'm thinking that after I spray the diluted bleach on the crushed granite, I will not let the hounds back in the dog run until the next day. I googled bleach/water dilution ratio for kennels and kept finding 1:32 (that's 4 oz. bleach to one gallon water). What do you think of that ratio?

 

One more question. I hose down the crushed granite with the bleach/water solution, let dry, and not rinse? Any danger of bleach residue that can harm my hounds if I don't rinse?

[ahicks51]

"Bleach/hypochlorite-based disinfectants have been used with some success for environmental surface disinfection. Recent studies indicate that 6,000 PPM chlorine at 10 and 20 minutes may reduce the number of viable spores by 99.99% (Rutala, 2006) (2)"

 

Now, for 200 ppm with 5.25% sodium hypochlorite (most bleach is 6.0% these days), you need 1:2,380 bleach to water. So, for 6,000 ppm you need 30 times as much, or 1:79. Call it 1:80 for 6,000 ppm chlorine at 5.25% (or 1:70 with 6.0% bleach). By the way- the 5.25% or 6.0% is a MINIMUM figure; I went 'round and 'round with the guys at Clorox a few years back. They adjust the actual concentration throughout the year to ensure the customer gets at LEAST that concentration year 'round, based on how long it stays on the shelf and even the season.

 

Problem is, bleach is deactivated quickly on contact with gross organic matter, i.e.: dirt. Granite isn't so much of a problem as is what's under it- lots of organic matter that likes to turn hypochlorite into chloride, causing its killing power to be lost.

 

So, I'd go with the 1:32 ratio you see, which is considerably more than the established literature has to say on the subject, given the organic matter you'd be swimming upstream against. Remove bulk matter, and go over it at least once with the 1:32 spray and allow to dry.

 

As for safety- bleach quickly turns into sodium chloride once its oxidizing capacity is lost. It simply turns into sodium chloride. No rinse required, particularly in an uncontrolled environment in which there will be plenty of organic matter to break it down. For the same reason, one can add chlorinated tap water (in some limited quantity- maybe 20% of total volume) to an established aquarium; the chlorine in the water will react with organic matter in the detritus, rendering it much safer to the fish than with a brand-new tank with no reducing ability.

[Guest ChasesMum]

bleach also isnt toxic. You can drink it straight out of the bottle and it won't kill you. it is however extremely corrosive and would burn your mouth badly before you even swallowed it. Interesting hey?

 

 

Seriously... my friend called poison control when her young son accidentally got ahold of a diluted bleach solution!

 

 

Good info ahicks! very neat read!

[Guest dsszarzi]

Never heard of a poop cup. What is it?

[ahicks51]

Fits into the front of a muzzle to prevent the delightful and exciting obsession with coprophagia.

 

[Guest dsszarzi]

Hi again,

 

I just got back from the vet for a follow-up. When I was there, I asked about the bleach to water dilution ratio. My vet personally uses 1 to 10. I think that is what ahicks51 first suggested. I figure that would be 12.8 oz. of bleach to 1 gallon of water. Did I calculate right?

 

Sorry, ahicks51. I didn't mean to second guess you. I just got caught up on what I found some kennels were using.

[ahicks51]

No worries. The difference between 1:10, 1:32, 1:70, 1:80 when you're dealing with rogue bacteria is the difference between 99.99%, 99.98%, 99.90%, and 99.2% efficacy. I just pulled those numbers out of my wazoo, but the point is that doing SOMETHING is better than nothing.

 

And, yes: 12.8 oz bleach made up to a total volume of 1 gallon would be a 10% solution of bleach. Add a drop or two of dishwashing detergent as a spreader/sticker.

[Guest dsszarzi]

Thanks ahicks51!

 

Oh...you wouldn't want to know what I thought a poop cup was.