What’s the best cage wash detergent for your vivarium cage wash program?

What’s the best cage wash detergent for your vivarium cage wash program?

What’s the best cage wash detergent for your vivarium cage wash program? Well, while that depends a lot on the specifics of your cage wash program, there are a few things to always look out for when choosing a cage wash detergent.

Your pH needs:

The first thing to keep in mind is always going to be your pH needs. Choosing an alkaline cage wash detergent or an acid cage wash detergent will depend mostly on what kind of soils you’re dealing with more. If you’re mostly concerned about inorganic soils such as mineral build up and urine scale, you’ll definitely want to go with an acid detergent specifically formulated for vivariums—like one of the products in our Acidulate line.

If you have specific needs with organic soils like large animal feces and oily build-up, an alkaline detergent may work better for you. Regardless of your soil type, our biosafety account managers can help walk you through the pH you’ll need to power through your soils and get your caging clean.

Our recommendation often leans towards a dynamic blend of acid and alkaline detergents. Our preferred acid cleaner, Acidulate 150, excels in chelating mineral deposits. Alongside it, Enviro-Kleen 100, the alkaline counterpart, effectively penetrates and loosens stubborn residues. This synergistic blend enhances cleaning efficiency without necessitating pre-cleaning, all while eliminating the need for neutralization.

Your species:

While the necessary pH of your detergent will play a big role in your decision, but the biggest factor is actually which species you have in your lab.

While many cage wash suppliers try to provide a one-size-fits-all roadmap to choosing cage wash detergents, at Quip Labs, we’ve found that the species of animal that you’re dealing with is the single most important factor in choosing a cage wash detergent.

The types of soils that you deal with, the amount of soils, and the pH balances are different between rodents, dogs and large animals, so it’s important to understand how those factors come into play when choosing a vivarium or cage wash detergent.   For customers of our MaestroChem Services, our Biosafety Account Managers will examine your specific needs including factors like the quantity and species of animals that you’re dealing with, and steam, water usage and energy requirements. They will make recommendations based off your actual needs, not just a one-size-fits-all-solution. Not only does this mean that your caging gets cleaner with less chemical, but it can also save enormous amounts on water and energy usage (for example, going from three wash cycles to a single cycle controlled by automatic dosing with our MaestroChem controllers).

The provider’s details:

Finally, when choosing a cage wash detergent, it’s important to consider the actual provider that you’ll be working with. You’ll want to make sure they are regularly audited for quality, safety, and good manufacturing practices. Reordering should be simple (and automatic reordering can make things even simpler.) You’ll want to be sure you understand all shipping costs, and how much support you’ll receive on-site, as well as how the chemical dosing will be monitored remotely.

Unveiling Enzymatic Excellence for Enrichment

Intricate and crevice-filled enrichment devices and heavily soiled caging often warrant special attention, and spending the time to manually clean these items can often be a huge drain on your staff’s precious time.

Introducing the Enzyron™ Enzymatic Soaking Station, an all-encompassing cleaning system. Paired with our enzymatic detergents like Vigor, the Enzyron will help you pre-clean more effectively, reaching every nook and cranny. Vigor’s eco-friendly profile and prowess in breaking down stubborn soils make it the perfect choice for animal care facilities looking to deal with stubborn soils or hard to reach cracks.

Introducing MaestroChem: A Holistic Solution

Our MaestroChem Cage Wash Services transcend the realm of a mere cage wash program setup. It’s a holistic solution that manages the entire chemical aspect. From resolving dosing issues to predictive chemical analytics, MaestroChem optimizes usage and takes care of any changes to your cage wash program so that you can focus your attention on everything else.

The MaestroChem© System ensures safe and efficient delivery, transfer, storage, distribution, monitoring and dispensing of Quip Laboratories’ chemistries. Clients benefit from having a tailored system that enable continuous operation of their washing centers with reduced staff involvement in the direct handling of chemicals.

While each system is designed for the client’s specific needs, each MaestroChem© System effectively integrates components, and services, to work in concert with Quip Laboratories’ proprietary chemistries. Since your confidence in these system components is a key to your management’s peace of mind, the equipment represents the latest in reliable, cost-effective technology.

Each MaestroChem© Cage Wash Chemical Management System employs both technical equipment and a team of biosafety experts dedicated to superior operational performance in your facility.

Our web-based conductivity probes and chemical purchasing algorithms provide predictive insights. In case of malfunctions, instant alerts ensure minimal waste and maximum cleanliness.

Conclusion: Elevating Vivarium Hygiene with Expert Precision

At Quip Labs, we know that vivarium hygiene encompasses more than just cleaning—it necessitates a profound grasp of pH, species, and precise chemistry. With our Acidulate and Enviro-Kleen selections, Enzyron Soaking Station, and MaestroChem Services, we stand as pioneers in vivarium cage washing excellence. Our commitment to animal well-being and research integrity drives us forward. Partner with us today to elevate your vivarium hygiene standards. Connect with Quip Labs and embark on a journey towards cleaner, safer, and thriving vivariums.

All that being said,  you shouldn’t take a recommendation from a company before they’ve had a chance to explore your actual pH, species, and energy requirements. At Quip Labs, we have over four decades of providing hands-on, species-specific, cage wash detergents and services that can reduce your costs and provide better results.

​When you’re ready to get started, you can reach out to us by filling out our Contact Form, or by calling 1 (800) 424-2436.