National Biosecurity Standard for Livestock, Poultry and Deadstock Transportation
Annex 4c: Example of a cleaning and disinfection protocol for equine trailers at a wash station

• 1. Remove feed, bedding and manure at destination according to the premises waste management plans.
  1. Use a shovel to remove the bulk of the waste.
  2. Use a broom to remove as much of the organic matter as possible.
• 2. Drive the trailer for washing to the wash station. Place the trailer onto the wash pad.
• 3. Remove all leads, shovels, buckets, brooms, ties, chest and rear guards, dividers and floor mats (where possible) from the trailer and place them onto the floor of the wash pad so they can be cleaned and disinfected separately.
• 4. Using the high volume hose (low pressure), spray the entire trailer and try to remove as much organic matter as possible. Work from outside to inside, top to bottom and front to back. Follow this order:
  1. Spray the outside of the front of the trailer and work your way back.
  2. Spray wheels, axels, mud flaps, and the under carriage and the back door.
  3. Open the loading ramp and rinse the interior walls and ceiling of the trailer as you move back towards the loading ramp.
  4. Rinse the floor working from the front all the way back towards the loading ramp.
  5. Rinse floor mats, leads, shovels, buckets, brooms, ties, chest and rear guards.

Note: Use warm water if the trailer is heavily soiled or frozen. Use of high pressure (pressure washer) is not recommended as it distributes organic matter and infectious agents into the air and adjacent surfaces.

• 5. Using the sprayer and brush, apply the premixed detergent and scrub all surfaces to loosen stuck organic matter. Apply the detergent to a 24" section from bottom to top and then use a hard bristle brush and scrub the section until all of the organic matter has been loosened from the surface. Work in this order:
  1. Start with the outside of the front of the trailer and work your way back
  2. Apply detergent and brush the wheels, axels, mud flaps, and the under carriage and the back door.
  3. Wash the interior walls of the trailer starting with the front of the trailer and working your way back.
  4. Working from front to back, wash the ceiling, floors and loading ramp.
  5. Wash floor mats, leads, shovels, buckets, brooms, ties, chest and rear guards.
• 6. Using the high volume hose and warm water, rinse the entire trailer to remove all detergent and organic matter from the exterior and interior of the trailer.
• 7. Rinse the wash bay floor out from the trailer towards the drains.
• 8. Apply detergent to your boots and scrub them clean.
• 9. Rinse your boots and the brush that was used to scrub the trailer and hose to remove all organic matter.
• 10. Let the trailer sit for 20 minutes to allow water to drain from the trailer.
• 11. Using additional light such as a strong flash light, inspect the exterior and interior of the trailer to ensure its visibly clean and that there are no pools of water on the floor of the trailer.

Note: Pay particular attention to hard-to-reach areas such as hinges, corners, windows, tie rings and latches. If organic matter is visible then repeat steps 5–11 on affected areas until they are visibly clean.

• 12. Using the disinfectant sprayer, apply disinfectant to the trailer. Work from bottom to top and in this order:
  1. Start with the outside of the front of the trailer and work your way back towards the wheels on each side of the trailer.
  2. Spray the wheels, axels, mud flaps, and the undercarriage
  3. Spray the back of the trailer and the back door.
  4. Spray the interior of the trailer starting with the front of the trailer and working your way back.
  5. Spray all sides of the floor mats, leads, shovels, buckets, brooms, ties, chest and rear guards.
  6. Spray the wash bay floor and hose.

Note: Pay attention to the length of time that surfaces remain wet with the disinfectant. In hot and dry environments it may be necessary to respray the entire trailer with disinfectant in order to achieve the manufactures' recommended contact time. In sub-freezing weather conditions, anti-freeze agent can be added while preparing disinfectant solution.

• 13. Allow the trailer and equipment to dry completely before placing the floor mats, leads, shovels, buckets, brooms, ties, chest and rear guards back into the trailer.
• 14. Complete the trailer wash bay checklist.

Trailer cleaning and disinfection record sheet:

Ensure that the detergents, disinfectant and antifreeze agent are prepared as per manufacturers recommendations. Follow safety instructions on the product label.

Person who performed the cleaning and disinfection:

Date:

Name of the wash station:

Detergent Information:

Product name:

Concentration:

Application method:

Was the trailer inspected and found to be visibly clean following the wash procedure?

• Yes
• No

Disinfectant information

Product name:

Concentration:

Application method:

Contact time:

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