Expensive detergents necessary?

[freechicken]

I am a new goat owner and am expecting our first kids in a few weeks. As I was shopping online for supplies at Caprine Supply and Hoegger's, I realized that they sell specific detergent for milking equipment. A bottle of each together will cost $55+. Is this really necessary? We do have very hard water here if that makes a difference. Thoughts?

 

[michickenwrangler]

Some milking equipment cleaners are midly acidic to cut "milkstone", the calcium in the milk building up and also minerals from hard water. I have used vinegar with decent results.

I worked at a McDonald's for 6 yrs and I was the main "shake machine tech" and had to clean and santitize the shake/soft serve machine once every 2 weeks. Trust me, milkstone isn't fun to chip off.

As long as you don't let it build up too much and scrub surfaces with vinegar and a stiff brush, you should be OK

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I've only ever used dishsoap, hot water and bleach. I've never had a buildup of anything, but I don't let the milk dry on my equipment either.

 

[kstaven]

If you use vinegar and hot water you will never get milk stone. There are dairies out there that use vinegar in the pipeline systems. You can use food grade hydrogen peroxide as a sanitizing agent rather than bleach also.