Chlorhexidine question

Yup it is not a cleaner the surface must be clean before the disinfectant. If there is pee/poo still there it neutralizes almost on contact. That is also why Pfizer (nolvasan maker) recommends distilled water for dilution tap water has enough stuff in it to reduce the shelf life.

Look at it this way. We use compounds to kill germs, bacteria, fungi, and virus. the thing that makes them safer than other compounds (like Carbolic Acid which 100 years ago was used a lot for such things) is they become in active quickly and break down to safe materials. This feature is also the reason why if you use it on something dirty it does work it breaks down faster than it can be effective.

There is no magic cleanser, all take some amount of scrubbing to be effective.

My sequence...

Remove any large material (I use a silicone spoon intended for baking).
Rinse in hot water.
Scrub with an antibacterial soap and hot water.
Rinse two or three times.
Shake dry (not really dry but not very many large drops of water remain)
Spray disinfectant on all surfaces (very heavy coat I use quite a lot the surface must be wet) I have been using F10 lately it has better shelf life diluted and for me is cheaper and easier to get than Chlorhexidine.
WAIT 20 to 30 min re spray if the sides dry out.
pat dry and return the cage stuff (substrate what ever else)

If you are doing a rack remember to pay attention to the flexwatt electricity and water (disinfectant) don't mix well.

From Fisher Scientific website:

Nolvasan, Chlorhexidine diacetate, EPA-registered chlorhexidine disinfectant, Non-corrosive, No-Skin irritation, Retains Antimicrobial activity in the presence of organic matter

Check out Heather's blog (with links):

http://heathersherpsblog.blogspot.co.../nolvasan.html

http://www.triton-vet.com/uso%20y%20...nfectantes.pdf

"Chlorhexidine, a biguanide, is one of the more widely used disinfectants. Chlorhexidine is relatively nonirritating to tissues. Chlorhexidine, while considered bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal, is less effective against these agents than many other disinfectants. Chlorhexidine maintains effectiveness in the presence of some organic material, but cleaning before application is recommended. To be effective chlorhexidine must remain in contact with the surface for at least five minutes. Hard or alkaline water will cause precipi- tation of the active ingredients necessary for disinfection. Chlorhexidine disinfectants include Nolvasan, Chlorhex, Chlorasan, Virosan, Hibistat Phisohex."

The contact time increases as it is diluted, at 2% it is 15 min at 0.5% it is 20min... I got contact times from Pfizer the manufacturer of Nolvasan. There is a LARGE amount of data on chemical disinfectants available it is likely better to read this than catalogues.

Thank you for your inquiry regarding Nolvasan Solution. When reconstituted with tap water, Nolvasan Solution may be stored in tightly sealed containers, at 25 °C (typical room temperature conditions), for up to one week. When reconstituted with water purified by deionization or an equivalent method, Nolvasan Solution may be stored at 25 °C (typical room temperature conditions), in tightly sealed containers, for up to 6 weeks. Containers should not be dipped into.


Veterinary Medical Information and Product Support
Pfizer Animal Health
800-366-5288

One of the email from the manufacturer.

This is the one I've been using, looks like yours is cheaper though. What are the shipping charges? I usually buy 4 gallons at a time and the shipping can be pretty steep.

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.h...=chlorhexidine