The Animal Care & Use Program has an established set of guidelines to formalize the cleaning process for ALL equipment that does NOT go to cagewash (i.e., not cleaned by the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine).
These guidelines were developed to help Principal Investigators (PIs) and their laboratories – especially those who perform their own surgeries or conduct behavioral studies – remain consistent with the guidance for equipment cleaning, sanitization, and testing outlined by the Guide for the Care & Use of Laboratory Animals.
Groups who use ANY of the chemicals and/or materials outlined in the existing Guidelines for Manual Sanitization of Caging and Equipment 
are generally NOT required to seek additional consultation/validation for their equipment sanitization processes as long as they use all products in accordance with ULAM’s recommended instructions; however, an initial consultation with U-M’s Animal Safety Coordinator is strongly encouraged for all laboratories who sanitize their own equipment.
WHEN Equipment Testing and Validation is Required
- If your laboratory would like to use materials and/or chemicals that differ from those outlined by the sanitization guidelines, then prior review and approval by a ULAM Faculty Veterinarian is required.
- If your sanitization procedures have changed since your last consultation with the Animal Safety Coordinator, your new processes must be tested and appropriately validated before implementation.
- If you are cleaning your own equipment and your processes have NOT been validated to show at least a 90% reduction in Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) levels once sanitized, as determined by a review of testing results from the ULAM Faculty Veterinarian and Animal Safety Coordinator.
HOW to Have Your Equipment Tested and Validated
To simplify how consultations are scheduled with the Animal Safety Coordinator to have equipment processes tested and validated, the Animal Care & Use Program has launched a new automated Equipment Sanitization Testing & Validation Consultation Request Form.
Available at animalcare.umich.edu/sani-form using valid U-M login credentials, the simple form will ask you to provide some basic information about your animal use protocol (e.g., PI name, primary housing location, primary laboratory contact) and a brief description of the objects/equipment (i.e., induction chambers, weighing bowls/apparatus, operant chambers, balance beams, open fields) that you need to have tested.
Upon successful form completion, all users will be provided with an option to receive a copy of their responses via email as well as a curated list of references and resources pertaining to proper equipment cleaning, sanitization, and testing processes.
WHERE to Learn More
- Guidelines for Manual Sanitization of Caging and Equipment – Outline the specific procedures for hand washing all caging and equipment that comes into direct contact with a live animal.
- Guidelines for Validation of Mechanical and Manual Sanitization of Caging and Equipment – Outline the procedures and expectations for validating the sanitization of caging and equipment that is sanitized either manually or mechanically.
- Quick Reference Sheet: Equipment Cleaning & Sanitization Guidance – Available via PDF download, this sheet provides a high-level overview of the sanitization guidelines first introduced in 2019.
Links marked with a lock icon can only be accessed using valid U-M login credentials.