Cleanliness is usually underestimated in terms of its importance concerning postharvest vase life. If we are starting with a dirty and microbe infested bucket, cooler or anything else that might come in contact with the flowers, all other attempts at postharvest care will be less effective (fresh flower food, hydration etc.). So make sure that everything that may come in contact with the flower is cleaned with D.C.D.^® Cleaner, including buckets, cutters, coolers, benches, etc. D.C.D.^® Cleaner is an approved cleaner for the horticulture industry.

Research has shown that buckets left dirty for four days can reduce the vase life of a rose by up to 20%.

Why use D.C.D.^® Cleaner? The product is specifically designed to kill microbes over a long period of time. If you clean your buckets today, tomorrow the buckets will still be protected. Many use a chlorine bleach to clean their buckets. Chlorine is an extremely effective biocide, but does not have any residual effect, leaving no protection much past a day (see chart below).

For every one bacteria found in the bucket cleaned with D.C.D.® Cleaner, there were 389 bacteria found in the bucket cleaned with Clorox^®.