Although it is probably one of the most disliked jobs on farm, the summer clean out and power washing of livestock houses not only gives the farm an overall cleaner appearance, but more importantly, it will help to build up of diseases that may reside in farm buildings from one housing period to the next.

For suckler and calf housing, scours can rapidly break out in sheds that are under pressure from a disease point of view, while ecto parasites such as sheep scab can remain within walls and barriers causing an outbreak to occur in housed ewes.

The risk of Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) spreading within a herd can also be reduced through proper cleaning and disinfection. As some farmers will unfortunately be all too well aware, cleaning and disinfecting of livestock housing is a requirement when an outbreak of TB has been recorded in a herd.

Here are some key tips on getting sheds washed and prepped again for winter 2026.

Remove all surface manure and bedding: To allow for access to the concrete surfaces of slats/floor, all used bedding and dung should be removed and placed in a dung heap/spread on land. As much dung as possible should be removed to make the power washing process easier.

Use of detergents: Detergents can be used to loosen the dirt and grime on surfaces within the house. Soaking agents will loosen dried in dirt, cutting down the time and volume of water used to clean housing.

Alkaline solutions work best for removing faeces and any proteins or fats (in milk residues) from surfaces. If you do not use a soaking agent, it may be beneficial to thoroughly soak the housing area for a number of days before undertaking a full power washing to loosen dirt.

Power washing all surfaces: It’s not just the walls and floors of animal houses that should be washed. Gates and barriers, side sheeting, doors and feed passages should all be thoroughly washed as well.

Care should be taken that the underside of gates and barriers or hard to access areas are thoroughly washed. Any adjoining animal handling facilities should also be cleaned at this time. If there is excessive mould on the side sheeting, roof sheeting or timbers, then appropriate equipment to access these areas (cherry pickers, safety cages) should be used and the area washed.

Significant mould growth is an indicator of poor ventilation and should be rectified. There is little point in power washing a shed to reduce infection and disease where we have inadequate ventilation, as it will give rise to airborne diseases, primarily pneumonia.

Treating with a disinfectant: The Department of Agriculture has approved disinfectants for animal housing which should be available at your local agri chemical merchant. The appropriate dilution rate and safety equipment should be used when applying any disinfectant. It is the Department’s recommendation that all surfaces be soaked thoroughly before the disinfectant dries in.

Ample spreading of hydrated lime also works well as a disinfectant for all animal housing. After disinfection has taken place, the doors of the building should be left open to allow for the surfaces to dry out. Sunlight is a natural disinfectant, so allowing as much light and air into the building will be of added benefit.

Repairs

As mentioned above with regard to rectifying poor ventilation, other necessary repairs and upkeep of farm buildings should also be undertaken between now and housing.

When clean, check slats for signs of cracks, more so on the under surface where the greatest amount of corrosion occurs.

Some farmers have also told me of older slats becoming worn and polished with little grip, particularly in high traffic areas.

Grooving these slats may also be an option worth exploring.

Other areas that may required attention are matting on cubicles or slats, feed barriers and dividing gates as well as drinkers and piping.

A clean environment will also show any corrosion to upright RSJs or gate posts, with these having to be cut out and replaced with new steel where sever corrosion has inset.

Where the corrosion is only mild, cleaning and painting the bases will help extend the working life of the steel.

Finally, look at the roof structure, particularly sheeting and sky lights. Examine the roof in a safe manner for loose sheeting or rotten timbers, and consider retrofitting sky lights with safety cages.