Hello everyone! I’m Shohei.
This column is about what I felt and experienced at a plant factory in Japan.
When you’ve been in the field for over 10 years, a lot of things happen. I write freely about what I remember.
Please feel free to read it while thinking, “Wow, that’s how Japanese plant factories work.”
Cleaning work at the plant factory while dripping tears and runny nose
This is a story about a small experimental facility. A number of cultivation experiments were conducted at the facility. I also worked as a member of that facility.
One day, after harvesting all the vegetables, I decided to clean the entire facility.
Because the equipment is often used for experiments, some kind of vegetables are always being grown, so it was rare to have the opportunity to harvest all of them.
This is a good chance to thoroughly clean it. You can remove dirt and debris from the growing bed and also clean the nutrient solution tank.
When I started cleaning it, I realized that it was much dirtier than I had imagined. This must be thoroughly cleaned.
Therefore, we decided to use sodium hypochlorite for disinfection.
However, a problem arose. Due to the design of this equipment, it is difficult to completely drain the nutrient solution in the tank, and even if it is drained, a considerable amount of nutrient solution remains in the tank.
However, at that time, I
“Well, I guess it can’t be helped…”
With this in mind, I added sodium hypochlorite and water, and as they circulated for a while, a strong chlorine odor was emitted.
Thinking about it now, I think that there was too much Nutrient solution left and it was too acidic, or that I added too much sodium hypochlorite.
However, to be honest, I don’t dislike the smell of the pool (in fact, I kind of like it), so I continued cleaning.
However, after a while, tears began to flow from my eyes and a large amount of snot flowed from my nose.
At that point, it was getting really tough.
However, we have to start the next cultivation experiment the next day, so we can’t afford to stop cleaning.
I ventilated the room, but still endured the lingering chlorine smell and cried as I continued cleaning. It was like hell.
I have chronic empyema, and after this incident, I suffered from nasal congestion for a while (though I don’t know if this was the cause).
Don’t put sodium hypochlorite in your nutrient solution. It was an experience that taught me that.
If used for sterilization, the Nutrient solution should be drained and refilled. Be careful as it is dangerous to continue breathing in highly concentrated chlorine gas for a long time.
This column was published in a collection of know-how to improve on-site skills.
This column is included in the Plant Factory Know-How Collection below.
This know-how collection is packed with useful tips to help you increase profitability, regardless of the specifications or equipment on-site.
This is a must-read for those operating plant factories or indoor farms. Implement the know-how to increase profitability.
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