Page 21 - Griffin Gazette - March 2026

Indoor edible and medicinal crop production is all
about control. We control light levels, temperature, air
movement, CO , irrigation timing, and nutrition. That
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level of control is what makes CEA so powerful. But it
also means one weak link can show up fast and spread
even faster. That weak link is often sanitation.
For indoor growers, cleanliness is not just about looking
professional. It is about protecting plant health, keeping
crops consistent, and avoiding the kind of problems
that force you to spend extra labor and money later. A
clean facility helps crops start stronger, finish cleaner,
and stay on schedule. One of the biggest reasons
sanitation matters in CEA is because everything is
close together and often connected. Plants sit in
tight spacing, production zones share air and water
systems, and people move between rooms all day
long. In that environment, algae, plant pathogens, and
insects do not have to travel far to become a facility-
wide headache. Moreover, it can be difficult to isolate
or compartmentalize these issues once they appear. Figure 1. Algae and biofilm present in hydroponic
A small issue in a wet corner can turn into a bigger lettuce production.
problem when it spreads through standing water,
clogged drains, dirty tools, or contaminated carts and Once the debris is gone, the next step is true surface
trays. cleaning. This is where many indoor growers see the
biggest improvement, because water alone does not
A lot of growers think sanitation means grabbing a
remove the films that cause long-term issues. Fertilizer
sanitizer and spraying it everywhere. That seems like
salts, hard water mineral scale, grease, algae slime,
the fastest path, but it usually leads to disappointment.
and microbial residue work in tandem to form layers on
Sanitizers are not built to work through grime, slime,
floors, benches, troughs, and walls (Figure 1). Those
and fertilizer residue and effective sanitation is not
layers make your growing space harder to keep stable,
a one-step process. “Sanitizers” work best when
and they reduce the performance of sanitizers applied
surfaces are already clean. If you spray a sanitizer onto
afterward. That is where the use of a “cleaner” matters.
a dirty bench, the product hits the mess first and never
Acid and alkaline based cleaners break down these
makes good contact with the surface underneath. That
residues so they can be rinsed away.
is why the strongest sanitation programs follow the
same basic process: remove debris, clean and rinse, In greenhouse-style production spaces with good
then sanitize. ventilation, an acid cleaner like Strip-It PRO or
GreenClean Acid Cleaner is built for cleaning
It starts with the simplest step, and the step most
hard surfaces like benching, concrete floors, cooling
teams try to rush. Physical cleanup is where real
pads, glazing, and gravel areas. In warehouse-style
sanitation begins. Old leaves, plant scraps, spilled
production and enclosed packing rooms, an alkaline
media, and standing water are not just “dirty”, they are
cleaner like AgH PRO or GreenClean Alkaline
hiding places. They protect pests and create breeding
Cleaner is commonly used for cleaning floors and
zones for algae, shore flies, thrips, fungus gnats, and
other hard surfaces. These products also act as
microbes. Removing that material is the first way you
a degreaser for tools and equipment used during
reduce pressure before you ever mix a product. The
processing where sticky residues are abundant. Both
best facilities treat this like a reset button between
categories of cleaners use the same common-sense
crop turns or between rooms, and they make it part of
approach: apply the cleaner at the proper rate, keep
routine cleanup, not just a big shutdown event.
the surface wet for an adequate contact period, and
rinse thoroughly with clean water. The rinse is a key
step. If cleaning products are allowed to dry on the
GRIFFIN GAZETTE 20 26 | 21