Monthly Archives: February 2015

Correctly sizing your brush is critical for optimal cleaning. When selecting the diameter of the brush used to clean the interior of tubing, pipes, drains, valves, etc., keep these tips in mind:

• The key to efficiency is maximum tip contact to the surface—the tips of the brush are what provides proper cleaning.
• Select a brush with an outside diameter exactly the inside diameter of the pipe.
• A larger diameter brush will bend when entering the pipe providing less effective cleaning as the bristle tips will not contact the surface. This will cause extra wear and tear on your brush, and may result in the brush getting stuck in the pipe.
• A smaller diameter brush with require additional passes in order to clean and may result in missed areas.
• The handle of your brush should reach the entire length of your pipe or tubing for quick and effective cleaning.

For those of you in states buried under several feet of snow, navigating slippery roads, or simply trying to remember what the sun looks like, it may be hard to fathom, but warm weather is around the corner!

Along with picnics, baseball, vacations, and relief from seasonal affective disorder, spring and summer come along with some uninvited guests: a myriad of pests. In all fairness, cockroaches, flies, rodents, etc. are threats to food safety operations all year but with warmer weather food operations often see additional challenges when it comes to managing pests.

A good pest control program takes a good deal of planning and proper maintenance. Before the warmer weather hits, it might not hurt to examine your current program and anticipate the needs for your operation. Where to start though? Well, don’t “wing it.”

The following free sources provide some good, introductory insight into Pest Control in food processing environments: