Giardia is hard to completely eliminate from the environment, but there are things you can do to help decrease the risk of reinfection and of human infection. Please remember that despite your best efforts to clean the environment, Giardia can persist in outdoor spaces and pet reinfection is possible 4.
Outdoors:
- Wear gloves when handling faeces.
- Remove faeces promptly 4 and put them in a plastic bag.
- Eliminate any source of standing water (for example, puddles, containers with water, and fountains that are not in use).
- Do not attempt to use bleach or F10 in your soil or grass area, as they will be ineffective and will likely kill the grass.
- Do not allow any new animals, especially young ones, to enter the yard or other outdoor space
- Keep dogs off of lawn for a minimum of 1 week and allow direct sunlight to kill protozoa
- Isolate affected dogs from one another to prevent spread
Indoors:
- Hard surfaces (for example: cement and tile floors, crates, tables, trash cans, etc.)
- Cleaning
- Wear gloves.
- Remove faeces and discard in a plastic bag.
- Clean and scrub surfaces using soap. Rinse surface thoroughly until no obvious visible contamination is present
- Disinfection
- Wear gloves.
- Disinfect with:
- F10– needs to be at a high dilution 1:100 (1mL/100mL of water) and have a minimum contact time of 15minutes.
- Alternate days with diluted bleach (1:100) with 5-10 minute contact time.
- Rinse with clean water.
- Cleaning
- Carpet / Upholstered Furniture
- Cleaning
- Wear gloves.
- If faeces are on a carpet or upholstered furniture, remove them with absorbent material (for example, double layered paper towels).
- Place and discard the faeces in a plastic bag.
- Clean the contaminated area with regular detergent or carpet cleaning agent.
- Allow carpet or upholstered furniture to fully dry.
- Disinfection
- Wear gloves.
- Steam clean the area at 158°F for 5 minutes or 212°F for 1 minute.
- Quaternary ammonium compound products (QATS) are found in some carpet cleaning products and can also be used after cleaning to disinfect. Read the product labels for specifications, and follow all instructions.
- Cleaning
- Other items (toys, clothing, pet bed, etc.)
- Household items should be cleaned and disinfected daily while a dog or cat is being treated for Giardia
- Dishwasher
- Dishwasher-safe toys and water and food bowls can be disinfected in a dishwasher that has a dry cycle or a final rinse that exceeds one of the following:
- 113°F for 20 minutes
- 122°F for 5 minutes
- 162°F for 1 minute
- If a dishwasher is not available, submerge dishwasher-safe items in boiling water for at least 1 minute (at elevations above 6,500 feet, boil for 3 minutes).
- Dishwasher-safe toys and water and food bowls can be disinfected in a dishwasher that has a dry cycle or a final rinse that exceeds one of the following:
- Washer and Dryer
- Clothing, some pet items (for example, bedding and cloth toys) and linens (sheets and towels) can be washed in the washing machine and then heat-dried on the highest heat setting for 30 minutes.
- If a clothes dryer is not available, allow clothes to thoroughly air dry under direct sunlight
How long to disinfect:
- Clean and disinfect potentially contaminated items (toys, water bowls and food bowls, pet bedding, floors, dog crates, linens, towels, litter box, etc.) regularly for as long as animals are showing clinical signs
- If your pet is taking medication, clean and disinfect frequently (daily if possible) until a few days after the last dose of medication is given.