Hosing with water is the most common approach to cleaning in the food industry. Measurements of the removal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm from stainless steel using a high pressure hose showed that, over the range of pressures tested, impact pressure does not significantly affect microbial removal. Nozzle pressures of 2.5 x 10(6) and 9.5 x 10(6) Pa were used, and the distance between the nozzle and target surface was between 20 and 120 cm. When using cold water, microbial removal increased (p < 0.001) from 2.9- to 4.1- to 4.9-log(10) as the time exposed to the water spray increased from 5 to 30 to 60 s. With hot water, microbial removal was 4.9-, 5.1-, and 5.2-log(10) when using the same exposure times. The use of detergent followed by spraying with water increased (p < 0.001) the removal of organisms to 5.6-log(10). (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.