The utilization of chemical disinfectants within a boarding kennel or pet hotel setting is very common.  In fact, I'd venture to say that 100% of boarding kennels in the United States use at least one chemical disinfectant. Although surprisingly, I'd further venture to guess that the majority of boarding kennel operators, managers and/or line staff lack the basic knowledge to effectively and efficiently utilize these common disinfectants. In this article, I'll briefly discuss the five essential elements of effective chemical disinfection.

Before I begin, I'd first like to discuss the implications associated with improper chemical utilization.  In addition to the worst possible outcome - death, a multitude of other possibilities exist. 

A few of these are:

• Acute chemical toxicity (i.e. illness) to humans & kennel boarding animals as a result of being over exposed to cleaning chemicals.
• Added boarding kennel expenses by over using and wasting chemicals.
• Sick boarding kennel animals due to ineffective cleaning (i.e. not using enough chemicals to effectively disinfect).

The five essential elements are as follows:

1. Selected the proper chemical disinfectant for the type of cleaning your doing.  Not all cleaning chemicals are equal.  Some can remain effective when in the presence of an organic material (i.e. poop, dirt, hair, etc), while others become quickly inactivated.  Worse yet, not all chemicals are able to "killing" all viruses.  Therefore, before choosing a chemical do your homework.  Understand the types of viruses and bacteria you present and choose a chemical accordingly.
2. Properly dilute the chemical before using.  Since each type of chemical cleaner is a different concentration and a different concentrations may be required, it's essential that chemical disinfectants are properly diluted before being used.  Too much chemical can cause chemical toxicity and even death.  While too little chemical disinfectant will cause your cleaning to be ineffective.
3. Apply the chemical disinfectant to a "clean" surface.  Since chemical disinfectants are most oftentimes inactivated by organic material, therefore it's important that all surfaces to be disinfected first have all organic material removed. Commonly, this is accomplished via dry mopping, sweeping and/or rinsing with water.  For heavily soiled surfaces a degreasing agent should first be properly utilized.
4. Ensure sufficient contact time (i.e. time for the chemical disinfectants to remain on the surface in order to inactive pathogens).  All chemical disinfectants require a certain amount of time to properly "kill" viruses and bacteria.  Without sufficient contact time not all viruses and bacteria will be killed.  As a result, "cleaned" will remain dirty.
5. Never mix chemicals.  All cleaning chemicals have unique formulas.  When mixed, these formulas are altered and the chemical can no longer perform the function it was intended to do.  Said differently, two chemicals mixed will form ONE new chemical.  The new chemical will always have its own unique properties and will present a serious danger to staff and boarding kennel animals.

When the above five elements are practiced, you can be certain that your cleaning protocol will have a greater degree of effectiveness.  In turn, the dogs and cats will be healthier, your clients will be happier and your staff will perform with greater confidence and higher morale.

Lastly, two additional chemical cleaning elements to that should be considered within your boarding kennel:

• Chemical storage - store chemicals in a cool, dry dark place (preferably) at their original concentration
• Application method - Ensure the chemical disinfectant is applied via (i.e. wiping, brushing, spraying & misting) the appropriate method.