# Best way to sanitize milking equipment



## desertlily (Jul 22, 2011)

I'll be brand new to milking here in a few months when my to ND does kid, so I've been doing a lot of reading, but I'm getting a little confused. Some places say you need to use an alkaline cleaner then an acid cleaner, then others just bleach, still others just the dishwasher.

So, input please!!!! How do you all handle your milking equipment for the best (but hopefully not too difficult!) results?

Thanks!


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

last year I put it in the dishwasher and used bleach onece a week..... but this year we will be giving it to some friends so will be cleaning it with bleach...


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## .:Linz:. (Aug 25, 2011)

When we started, we soaked in bleach water (I forget the bleach to water ratio and the time - 3 mins maybe?) rinsed, and let everything air dry for 15 minutes so the bleach would evaporate. Then all of a sudden the milk started to pick up a bleach-y flavor, though we made sure to rinse very thoroughly. 

So we switched to just using dish soap and super-hot water (drawn straight off the furnace so it's like 150*). We had a designated dishcloth for washing everything that was changed very frequently, designated towels to dry it all, etc. After milking, we rinsed everything with cold water first and then washed it again. Plus we ran all equipment through the dishwasher on the sanitize setting as often as possible - at least 5 times a week if not every day. Every few weeks I made a sink-full of water with a little white vinegar added as the acid wash to avoid milkstone build-up. This worked really well and is what we plan on continuing to do.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Well, i've both used handwashing with detergent (dawn) and a little squirt of bleach.. or the dishwasher. When I have used my hand pump milker I would run mild bleach/detergent water thru, rinse, then follow with a little sanitizer solution and hang to dry.


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## LoneStarChic (Jan 19, 2012)

I use this kit:

http://www.hoeggerfarmyard.com/xcart/Cleaning-Kit.html

I bought a package of commercial spray bottles from Sam's, they are much sturdier than the ones from Wal-Mart.... Got 6 for $7.50.

In one bottle, I mixed about 2 tablespoons of the dairy soap into a bottle of water. Labeled it "Step #1-Dairy Soap" with a sharpie. If it's not sudsy enough, add another spoon of powdered soap to the bottle.

The next bottle I mixed up the acid wash. Mixed about 2-3 caps to a bottle of water. Should be the color of Apple Cider Vinegar mixed 1/2 & 1/2 with water.... Adjust accordingly for your bottle size. Labled this one "Step 2-Acid Wash"

Last bottle is chlorine rinse. Only takes a small amount.... About 1 1/2 teaspoons of chlorine rinse to a bottle of water. Labled it "Step 3-Chlorine Rinse".

I have a dish rack just for milking jars & such. I have a long handled scrub brush just for milking equipment.

I spray with Step #1, scrub well, rinse.
Spray with Step #2, let sit for about 2 minutes..... Rinse very well.
Spray with Step #3, then place on rack. The light chlorine rinse sanitizes & evaporates off, leaving it all sterilized. You don't rinse the last step out. I spray my scrub brush with the chlorine rinse, then hang to dry.

I tried vinegar rinses, dish soap, boiling water, all were a hassle & my equipment was never as clean as it is now. This is very ecconomical, I bought my set, split with my mom & we haven't even finished it & we bought it over a year & a half ago. Not using spray bottles, you go through it a lil faster.

This is easy too...... The lables are on the bottles just in case hubby has to clean my jars & such  He's able to get everything cleaned properly & I don't have to redo it later


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## Goat Song (May 4, 2011)

I am a total neat-freak when it comes to washing my milk pail, but after a few years of experimenting with different stuff, I've finally settled on what I found to produce the best tasting milk for me. Here's my regimen: (and this is all directly after I've strained the milk and have it in a refrigerated ice bath)

1. Rinse pail with COOL water. Neither hot, nor cold; until all the milk is washed out.

2. Wash with really hot water (my tap hits 150 degrees, so I use that), and Hoegger dairy powder. The powder is amazing; I will use dish detergent in a pinch, but it does leave a film on the pail after a couple uses. The powder is cheap, effective, and works just splendidly.

3. Rinse well with hot water. If I've used dish detergent, then after rinsing the soap out, I put a splash of bleach in, fill the pail 1/3 up with hot water and swish it all around. And of course, the pail needs to be rinsed really well after the bleach swish.

4. Spray with sanitizing spray, which also comes from Hoegger. I just spritz a few squirts in the interior of the pail.

5. stand pail upside down on a stainless steel cooling rack.

6. Once a week, usually on Saturday nights, I will spray the pail with an acid wash, which I DO feel is necessary. And once again, a thorough, hot rinse is mandatory after that.

Some may say this is overkill, but I sell raw milk, and I want to be able to stand behind my quality. Plus, all of this really does affect the milk taste and keeping qualities.


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## LoneStarChic (Jan 19, 2012)

Oh and I only use Step #2 every other day (3 days a week).

Takes off milk stone & build up from hard water & it only takes 2-3 sprays to fully coat my 1/2 gallon jars really well......


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## LoneStarChic (Jan 19, 2012)

lol Caitlyn, I'm a neat freak too...... Seems us neat freaks like the same products.

I don't sell raw milk, but my children drink raw milk


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## Goat Song (May 4, 2011)

LoneStarChic said:


> lol Caitlyn, I'm a neat freak too...... Seems us neat freaks like the same products.
> 
> I don't sell raw milk, but my children drink raw milk


 LOL. Yeah, I've seen so many places where folks don't handle the milk right that I'm down right fanatical about how my milk is dealt with, and the equipment washed. :laugh:


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## desertlily (Jul 22, 2011)

Thank you so much everybody! 

Caitlyn, I like the idea of using the squirt bottles with the Hoegger products. Seems like it would do a good job, but be pretty simple too.

Now I have another question - what size bucket do I need to milk my little Nigi does with? I kind of like the idea of bringing out 2 buckets, one filled with ice and my glass jar with a strainer ready to go. Then another bucket to milk with...(I got that idea from this site somewhere). But what size should the milking bucket be?

Any and all tips appreciated!!


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## desertlily (Jul 22, 2011)

Woops! I guess, I meant Crystal's idea with the squirt bottles. :sigh:


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## Goat Song (May 4, 2011)

:laugh: I knew who ya' meant. That was great advice, Crystal. :thumb: 

I like that idea of the two buckets... Might have to try implementing that on my own does this summer! If you're just milking on Nigerian, then you can get away with a really small pail. I don't know where the Nigerian breeders here on TGS get their pails, but I've seen some really tiny, 1 quart ones at goat shows. Maybe someone else will chime in with some advice...


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## Breezy-Trail (Sep 16, 2011)

Lots of great advise and tips given. 

I don't do all of that quite yet...as I don't have everything listed from hoeggers.
So my process isn't what I would like it to be right now, but it works.
I use baby wipes for hands and teats (with the doe shaved and 2 wipes are used) and then milk and wipes the stand down with a cleaning solution after each milking with paper towels.
As far as washing milk pail I just double wash it. I use a stainless pot right now and wash it when I am done and before I use it. I need to place a hoegger order and soon  

I am not a neat freak but I am fairly close. :roll: I have a process for everything and like things done "my way or the highway".
Family says I am fussy and will never get married because of that, lol :roll: i.e. I like my eggs sunny side up(yes half raw) and not popped, some salt and course ground pepper, never poached. If it isn't made by me or not made right I loose my appetite. So maybe they are right^ :laugh: 
I have a systematical process for just about everything yet my room is a mess. Not a neat freak..than what am I... Freak?


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## xymenah (Jul 1, 2011)

I currently just use HOT water and some dawn dish soap and bleach once a day. Then again I also don't have a milking pail or anything just a mason jar.



jesse-goats said:


> I am not a neat freak but I am fairly close. :roll: I have a process for everything and like things done "my way or the highway".
> Family says I am fussy and will never get married because of that, lol :roll: i.e. I like my eggs sunny side up(yes half raw) and not popped, some salt and course ground pepper, never poached. If it isn't made by me or not made right I loose my appetite. So maybe they are right^ :laugh:
> I have a systematical process for just about everything yet my room is a mess. Not a neat freak..than what am I... Freak?


Lol Jesse you sound like me. Except I like my eggs over easy but with the yoke still liquid and the salt cooked into them and NO pepper. It takes my twenty minuets to make a sandwich because everything has to be perfect yet my room is an abosute mess. Even worse is if a picture is sideways even if it not my house I have to fix it because it will drive me nuts.


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## Breezy-Trail (Sep 16, 2011)

^^ that is what I meant, over easy with it still liquid. If there is a difference between sunny side up and that idk.
I don't go fixing other peoples picture but it does drive me crazy. I keep visioning in my mind over and over how to straighten it but I don't.
My brother does that and it drives the home owners crazy(not really crazy but annoyed)...that is why I don't do it.

Okay, back to original topic!


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## rkl4570 (Nov 21, 2011)

After reading everybody else's posts I think we might be processing our milk wrong...  I filter the milk, then the jars go into the freezer for an hour. The milk pail and filter funnel just gets washed with dish detergent and rinsed in really hot water (I dont know the temp but our hot water heater is set higher than normal, its scalding) and then air dried. We don't bleach or have any dairy cleansers. We're the only ones who use our milk, since its illegal here to sell raw milk or sell pastr milk w/o a ton of liscenses. No side effects here! If we think anything has gotten in the milk or someone sticks thir hoof in it the milk goes to the dogs and chickens


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I do not sterilize my equipment either. This is just what I do and I am not criticizing nor do I think others should do it my way. Honest.
At first I sprayed everything with a 10:1 water/bleach solution and let it all air dry. But when my son asked me where I thought the bacteria was going to come from and what I was afraid of; like the water that I drink everyday or the dishes from the dishwasher that I eat off of everyday I had to really think about it.
Now everything goes in the dishwasher and I put vinegar in the final rinse. (I use vinegar to clean just about everything.) Our milk tastes great and no one has gotten sick. I am careful to keep everything very clean but only sterilize if I know equipment has been contaminated with feces or other barnyard smurt.


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## Breezy-Trail (Sep 16, 2011)

I second that.

I do pretty much the same thing. I milk into a pot and bring it inside to filter and straight into the freezer.
I try to have it in the freezer no more than 10-15 mins after it comes out...even then might be too long.
With keeping the stand clean,teats clean and shaved, hands clean I have never had a problem.
Oh and like I said earlier all I do is double wash the milk pot with regular dish soap, after use and before use.
This isn't the best way I am sure but our milk tastes absolutely wonderful.
It is too bad there isn't enough to go around right now...waiting on more does to kid.

Also it is good to try to keep smells out. My milk parlor is sealed up so as the chicken coop and smell and regular barn smell isn't as much in there.
Keep contaminants to a minimum. This means doe has a clean udder and underside, you have clean hands, stand is clean, and environment is clean.


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## rkl4570 (Nov 21, 2011)

Thats one thing we dont do that I wish we did, is shave the girls. Oreo hase virtually no hair on the lower half of her udder, its always very clean. But Zena has tons of hair! Luckily she doesnt seem to shed much. Compared to all of yalls' dairy set-ups were totally backwards! Lol
I hope that someday either after or if my hoping-future-career doesnt work out I can get the liscensing to be a dairy. :lovey:


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