CLEANING DAIRY UTENSILS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1683, 1 June 1904, Page 68

CLEANING DAIRY UTENSILS

The principal things necessary for keeping utensils clean are hot water or steam, some alkali, a scrubbing-brush, or a coarse cloth, combined with plenty of ‘‘elbow grease” to make these agents effective. All utensils should be cleaned immediately after using. The method for cleaning varies slightly, according to what the utensils have con-

tained. If they have been used for milk they' should first be rinsed with cold or luke-wann water, so as to wash off the viscous albuminoids, which, if subjected to boiling water, would coagulate and adhere firmly to the tin, thus becoming difficult to Tremove. They should then be thoroughly washed in hot water with some cleasing material, such as washing powders or v caustic soda, in order to remove the' grease. The water should be quite hot, and the washing powders should not be used sparingly, for we too often find vessels where the grease has not been removed, but simply smeared over the tin. Caustics and washing powders are not only effective in cleaning the .grease from utensils, but they also act as a means of destroying bacteria. Common soaps should- be avoided. After tfee washing, utensils should be treated differently according to conditions. If steam is at hand, a thorough steaming should follow, steam being the cheapest and most effective agent for destroying germs in creameries, cheese factories, and large dairies. Since the production of steam requires a boiler, which is quite expensive for the average dairy farmer, it is necessary in his case to pursue a different course for destroying bacteria. .* It has been found that a 5 to 7 per cent solution of good, fresh washingpowder applied in hot water will make a good material for destroying germ life,' provided the utensils are subjected to this solution for at least 10 minutes, after which they should be rinsed in hot. water and set away in

the pure air to dry. The latter method requires more time to accomplish the same purpose than with steam, but is better adapted for farm use. „

The accompanying illustration shows a sterilising tank for. dairy-farmers where no steam is at hand. In the drawing t the heater represents the firebox of a cooking-stove. .Heating the iron pipes causes a circulation pf water, and maintains the temperature in the tank, which contains the , alkali. “American Agriculturist.”