Spray disinfection is the most common method for applying disinfectant to surfaces. It is versatile, gives good coverage and is an economic means of applying disinfectant solution. It can be carried out by using a variety of different applicators. The most common are: small trigger sprayers, pump-up sprayers, compressed air driven sprayers, via a high pressure washdown system using a high pressure injector or via a medium pressure system.
It is important to consider the risk of liquid pooling. Poor equipment hygienic design features such as dead legs in closed processing systems, or undrainable areas of open processing equipment, may cause disinfectant solutions to pool. Such pooling can subject subsequent food products to high volumes of disinfectant which may enhance food adsorption of disinfectants.