Cleaning the plant is about two things – removing any milk residue still in the plant after milking, and removing any chemical residue you have used to remove the milk residue.
It’s not only about keeping the milk that day clean and safe. It’s also about next week and next month. Milk and detergent are the two big enemies of rubberware.
Leave either in your cups after milking and your rubberware will degrade faster than it should, allowing milk fats and proteins into the cracks and bacteria to thrive.
Your cleaning system should be documented and also ideally written up on a wall in the dairy so anyone can follow it so you can get that sleep-in.
It should include a cold water rinse of the milking plant immediately after milking – while the last row is walking away from the dairy, not after you have returned from locking it in the paddock – and a sanitiser (acid) wash followed by a rinse to remove the sanitiser from the plant.
It should also include a twice-weekly wash with hot water and alkaline detergent to remove fat deposits, followed by an acid rinse to neutralise it.
On the days when a hot wash and alkaline is not done, one of the acid washes should be with hot water.
Measuring containers and protective gloves kept together with cleaning chemicals in the milk room.
They will damage skin and cause chemical reactions if you stuff it up, producing poisonous gases and some other nasty stuff. If you want to find out what, watch YouTube instead of trying it at home or in the dairy.
Once a month check rubberware, inspection ports in the plant and everywhere you think or know fat and protein deposits and bacteria can lurk in your plant – the top of the receiving can, the underside of the agitator in the vat, the test bucket and so on.
Check the docket after every pick-up and know where to start looking, or what to change, if things aren’t as they should be.
React quickly if cell counts are climbing. If you don’t do anything, the next docket will no doubt be worse.
Coliform are bacteria that don’t survive hot washes so if that is becoming a problem check the temperature of your hot wash and that it’s reaching all parts of your plant.
Counts can also be high because of mastitis in the herd or simply because dirt from muddy teats and udders is getting sucked up into the plant.
Let udders drip after washing before putting cups on, otherwise dirty water can drip into the cups while milking.
Sometimes it’s better to rub dry dirt off than to try to wash it off. Checking the filters after milking can show what is going on because they will pick up dirt particles and mastitis.
Warm milk grows coliform bacteria extremely quickly, whatever the source, so check your cooler is also working as well as it should be and the milk is the right temperature going into the vat.
Thermodurics on the docket are bacteria that can survive hot washes and thrive if there is milk left behind for them to feed off after milking so if you see them climbing look for cracked liners and also milk residues and protein films (the rainbow look on the stainless steel).
Also look to see if any detergent and sanitiser residuals have been detected. If residuals are becoming a problem, check you are using the chemicals correctly as well as rinsing and draining the plant well enough.
If you can’t figure it out ask for help before you grade. And make sure you get that sleep-in.
While the wash is going through
- Check all the clusters have water going through them
- Check the wash line injector or flushing pulsator is working (make sure you can see turbulence in the receiving can)
- Time the recycle time of the alkaline washes on the plant and vat – it should be at least five minutes
- Check the initial hot water wash temperature is 80-85C and above 55C at the end of the wash.
