As the winter flu season looms ever closer demand for swine flu hand sanitizers is rocketing but is our faith in these alcohol based solutions misplaced?

It is common knowledge that good hygiene can prevent the transmission of infectious diseases such as swine flu. This is backed up by the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH). Hands play an integral role in transmitting a virus as they regularly come into contact with known portals of entry for pathogens. These include the obvious ones such as the nose and mouth, alongside the less obvious, such as the conjunctiva of the eyes.

It follows on from this that good hand hygiene leads to a reduction in the transmission of viruses. This is where hand sanitizers come in. Even though nothing really beats good old hand washing a hand sanitizer can prove a useful ally in the battle against swine flu. Although no hand sanitizer is proven to prevent swine flu, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) they do undoubtedly help protect you and your family from the H1N1 virus by limiting its potential for transmission.

Research has shown that unlike many methods of combating a virus, alcohol based swine flu hand sanitizers do not lead to viral adaption and the formation of a resistant strain. This is good news for the health conscious among you as it guarantees the effectiveness of swine flu hand sanitizers regardless of the form the virus takes. If the hand gel is used properly and applied to the entire hand for at least 20 seconds it provides a good alternative to hand washing. Swine flu hand sanitizing gel can be especially convenient if you are on the go and hand washing facilities are not readily available.

The high street retailer WH Smith has recently been condemned for their abandonment of professional contract cleaners. The company has disregarded these professional contract cleaners in favour of their own retail staff despite the swine flu pandemic. Smiths have delegated cleaning to every day staff as part of their general duties, a move that has been condemned by the British Cleaning Council (BCC) as well as the Cleaning and Support Services Association (CSSA).

In an attempt to cut costs the high street chain has slashed the use of professional contract cleaners to once a week in some of its stores. This has left staff in the lurch as they are now required to sweep floors and carry out general cleaning in store.

Regardless of opposition from staff and cleaning firms currently under contract with WH Smith, the retailer’s chief executive Kate Swann pressed ahead with the policy. This decision was criticised by Andrew Large when he spoke on behalf of the BCC and CSSA. He described the measures as potentially unlawful before going on to criticise them as damaging to good hygiene at a time when this was increasingly important. Large also promised to investigate if professional contract cleaners were made redundant when they should have remained under the employment of WH Smith.

Mr Large criticised the high street giant’s actions claiming that “WH Smith is depriving itself of skills and expertise of cleaning professionals.” He went on to say that there is “no guarantee that the shop workers will have the necessary skills or training to be able to maintain the stores to a satisfactory standard.”

It is clear that if an organisation wishes to maintain proper infection control practices then the best option is to employ professional contract cleaners with all of the necessary expertise. It is only by doing this that a company can be sure that all the necessary measures are being taken to combat the transmission of the swine flu virus, ideally through the use of  swine flu sanitizer, wipes and hard surface cleaners. With thousands of customers browsing through the retailer’s magazines on a daily basis, it is both irresponsible and potentially dangerous for WH Smith to cut back on professional contract cleaners at this time.

Last year I was sitting in a monthly BDM (Business development meeting) with the rest of our management team discussing replacing one of our Bane-Clene truck mounted carpet cleaning units’ when it struck me that we had been operating the same machine for over twenty years!

Wow! That made me feel my age but it also brought back fond memories of my very first visit to America and Indianapolis, home of the Bane family. Yes these machines and the whole Bane system are the brainchild of a real life family firm who live and breath carpet cleaning and put into practice on a daily basis their principles, which make them the acknowledged leader in the field of carpet and soft furnishing cleaning.

Originally their equipment was distributed in the UK by an American called Bob Kelly who used to flog up and down the country in a big Renault Master van doing demo’s for anyone interested in truck mounts. You have to remember back in the 80’s a truck mount was a really unusual piece of equipment when most operators were still using small portables and Bob found it really hard to make users realise the benefits the Bane system would bring them.

Whenever Bob was passing through the North of England I used to always give him a bed for the night and we would yarn about carpet cleaning and the industry in general over a few beers. In a typical example of ‘what goes around comes around’ when Bob eventually decided he couldn’t afford to continue his one man crusade to turn British carpet cleaners onto the merits of truck mounts, he gave me the opportunity of buying one of his demo models at a discount in return for the support we had given him.

It was all well and good getting the truck mount at a discounted price but at the time we couldn’t afford to buy the van for the gear to go in and there was resistance to investing ten grand in buying one just to have it dedicated solely to carpet cleaning. Just as it does now the market appeared to be dominated by “blow-and-suck” merchants who advertise that they clean a room for a fiver and your whole house for twenty-five quid so the idea of using a twenty thousand pounds set up to clean carpets appeared total madness.

It was then that I visited Bane-Clene’s Indianapolis facility for their annual convention. This was an awe inspiring visit as I saw at first hand the devotion and belief our fellow operators had in Bane-Clene as suppliers and as a force for good in the carpet cleaning industry. Messianic is the only word I could use to describe the atmosphere. Remember this is a bunch of self employed small business owners, the archetypal independent type of person and they were so committed to being the best at what they do that it was, to a Brit, almost embarrassing as was the almost a religious fervour.

Here I heard for the first time that Bane-Clene guaranteed their equipment for 5 years. So what you might think but you have to remember that at that time even when you bought a new car in the U.K. you were lucky to get a one year guarantee never mind 5 years. It was this simple fact – belief in how good their gear was, combined with everything I has seen and heard from the operators at the convention that persuaded me I had to really push the system and prove that it would work in the UK as well as it did in the States.

Returning home, I took the first step towards getting the equipment mobile. Initially using a twin wheeled trailer, aka ‘The Painted Wagon’ as it had a canvas cover, we used to take just the base unit out to do domestics. After months of towing ‘The Painted wagon’ around we realised that there was enough business to warrant a Merc van Our big break through came though when we purchased a small carpet cleaning company called Maple Leaf that had gone into liquidation. They already operated a couple of truck mounts but they were massive, noisy jet engined machines that ran on diesel and operated at far too high a temperature and pressure to clean carpets safely.

We moved them on as fast as we could then installed Bane equipment instead. The effect this had on the Operators who had transferred to us from Maple Leaf was immediate. They realised straight away the benefits of the new equipment far more readily than other Newlife personnel as they had more experience operating truck mounts and couldn’t believe the results being achieved by simply plugging in a three-pin plug. No screaming engines, no smelly dangerous derv, and no high pressure hoses which constantly split spitting out scalding water.

That was twenty years ago and yes we did order a new machine. Infact we went one better and visited Mr and Mrs Bane Snr. both at their Indianapolis offices and at their home. When we told them this story it delighted them so much they offered us distributorship rights for their range in the UK. We haven’t taken them up on their offer yet but who knows what the future holds.

The moral of the tale though is that by setting your stall out as a specialist then setting your standards and aspirations at the highest level possible you can grow a business which is recognised all around the world as the acknowledged leader in it’s field.

www.baneclene.com

In last weeks post we discussed the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and asked the question whether it actually provided a “living wage” for a cleaning operative, especially doing daily cleaning work, given the difficulty of stringing enough part time jobs together to be the equivalent of a normal full time position.

The situation for our lower paid staff is even more dire than I realised at that time. Consider the following facts as reported in The Daily Telegraph.

• A family with two children is just £30 per week better off working for the NMW than not working.
• A single person on the NMW would be £3 per week better off than someone on the higher level of incapacity benefit.
• A single person on the NMW of £193 per week who is aged under 25 would only be £10 per day better off than a non-working person.
• If you have a family and only one of you is the breadwinner on the NMW you would be slightly worse off than the same family if they were receiving the maximum Incapacity Benefit.
• Did you realise a family with one working member and two kids gets £79.50 per week Working Tax Credit. However after means testing they might keep only £6.77?

As part of a company that employs many hundreds of people performing necessary, difficult and often downright unpleasant cleaning duties this situation makes me weep.

I weep for the loss of human potential, weep with anger that this is where 10 years of New Labour has actually taken us to and weep for the frustration that anyone needing an entry level job must feel at trying to better themselves through their own efforts.

I have no answers or suggestions other than you should carefully question everyone who applies for work with your company. A brief look under the surface may show you the true price someone is willing to pay just to get a chance to get a foot on the first rung of the ladder and out of this Groundhog Day of a benefits system.

Would you be willing to do the same? Are you the person to give them that chance?

Columbus Dixon

Can you remember the fear and consternation that the National Minimum Wage created in most contractors’ minds when it was first introduced? It was almost as bad as TUPE as everyone had their own bête-noires ranging from worrying about customer’s willingness to pay above inflation increases or would they cut service levels to balance their books, to wondering whether other contractors would stick to the rules and actually pay the going rate? And then would higher paid workers argue or strike to retain a differential?

In the main all these worries and troubles proved unfounded. Indeed here at Newlife even though we operate nationally, the North east of England and parts of Scotland were the only areas, which didn’t already have base cleaning wages well above the new set level. In fact we have many geographic locations where market forces dictate that wages are 30 – 50% above the NMW. In these areas if you aren’t willing to pay the going rate you may attract a cleaner for a week or two but then they will be off to the better paying site down the road. Gossip about rates travels faster than Concorde!

Why is it though that we and probably many other contractors are almost scared to ask for a proper financial return for our services? How many times have we had to present a case to garner the smallest of increases probably from a client representative who if asked to live on the National Minimum Wage would think that their employer was insulting them? Could you bring your family up on just over £11,000 pa? And that’s if your lucky enough to be able to string enough part time jobs together to give you ‘full time’ employment.

The National Minimum Wage is just that – a minimum. It is not a living wage and a sole provider couldn’t bring a family up on it. So although the NMW has helped raise wage rates within the cleaning industry, somehow, if we are to earn respect for our staff who perform a difficult and unpleasant job and one that so many other people almost look down on, we have to fight for a Living Wage.

How do we do that? Quite simply we have to get away from the notion of charging for so many of our services by time and move to specifications so we are charging the client for outputs, what we have done not the time it took to do it. When we charge this way it then makes sense for the company to invest in more efficient equipment, materials and modern processes. For the actual cleaning operative it now also makes personal sense to be continually updating his or her own practical skills so that they know how to and are able to maximise the benefit (time saved!) that this new equipment and materials brings.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a standard one cleaner DCS job, carpet cleaning or a void clearance. If we specify what the finished job is going to look like and how we are going to do it and the customer is happy enough to give us the order that then puts the onus firmly on us to do the work as quickly and efficiently as possible. As the customer is paying for results not time, they have absolutely no interest in how long the actual work takes to complete (within reason).

The effect on both wages and the company’s financial performance should be immediate and positive. If work is completed more quickly we can do more of it. This means that instead of saving a few pounds from the wages bill it is better for the company to share that extra income then use the time saved to do more chargeable work. For the cleaning Operatives, because they have completed the work in a shorter time they can argue the case for an increase in wages or a bonus based on the labour saved on the job and actually do extra work in the time saved which earns them even more money.

It all sounds so easy so why don’t we do it? Well we do actually but with only a handful of niche services. One of these is carpet cleaning and we had the perfect example, which proves my point this month. Two sales consultants both estimated similar but different jobs. One estimated at a great hourly chargeout rate of £24 / man hour while the other charged out on a unit basis of so much a square foot of carpeting. The profit from the unit-based method of costing was double the £24 man-hour rate!!

The challenge I believe is to introduce this methodology into Daily Cleaning Service, which is the lowest profit generator of all our services and steadily getting tighter and tighter. But if a sales consultants took a ‘brave pill’ and instead of selling the job in terms of cleaning hours actually fully specified what we were going to clean, how often and what it would look like when it was cleaned without any mention of cleaning times. I think they would get a shock at the positive results they achieved not just for the customer, not just in their own commission earnings but on the effect unfettering the cleaner will have on both their earnings potential and the standards achieved on the job.

Are you that DCS sales consultant? Talk to me and I will show you how.

Columbus Dixon.

Yet again it appears health scares are being used to drive the sale of specialist vacuum cleaners and mattress protectors to asthma suffers desperately searching for a “silver-bullet”, magical cure to breathing problems thought to be caused by the common house mites found in their bedding and soft furnishings.

A review by experts concluded that they failed to curb the allergens commonly held to be the trigger to asthma attacks.

Ordinary house dust contains innumerable allergens but the major cause for concern is considered to be the mites and their waste products.

Many asthmatics are allergic to these mites that live in the dust around the house, such as in bedding, carpets and soft furnishings.

Heavily promoted methods of tackling the mites include mattress and pillow protectors, washing soft furnishings at high temperatures (60C+), special cleaning agents, encapsulation in dry-ice baths and high powered vacuum cleaners fitted with very fine exhaust filters.

However a review of over 50 previous studies – including a survey of over 3000 asthmatics has found no evidence that such methods are effective. Even after such esoteric treatments it was found that the level of allergens were still high enough to trigger asthmatic attacks for the 8% of the British population who are sufferers.

The review, published by Cochrane Collaboration, involved analysing 36 trials involving physical interventions such as mattress protectors designed to block mites out to a further 10 studies using chemical methodology and a further 8 trials combining both chemical and physical interventions.

With Acknowledgement to Daily Telegraph

The UK Cochrane Centre was established at the end of 1992, by the National Health Service Research and Development Programme, ‘to facilitate and co-ordinate the preparation and maintenance of systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials of health care’. During its initial period of funding (1992-1995), the Centre’s objectives included a number of activities intended to promote international collaboration in this work. Centre staff worked with others to help establish The Cochrane Collaboration, which was launched at the first Cochrane Colloquium in Oxford in October 1993. The UK Cochrane Centre is now one of twelve Cochrane Centres around the world, which provide the infrastructure for co-ordinating The Cochrane Collaboration. The Centre supports contributors to The Cochrane Collaboration in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Turkey and countries in the Middle East.

In the Contract Cleaning industry many of our Green efforts are focused on using less aggressive chemicals or introducing equipment such as foam generators and low-pressure steamers, which maximise cleaning results while minimising chemical inputs. But we also need to have regard for the impact our processes can have on the environment.

Consider for example the phenomenon that our Bane-Clene Carpet cleaning division call “Uglied Out”

Most carpet specifiers and major users don’t realise that carpets are actually designed to hide dirt. When I was a child in the 50’s, the majority of carpeting in most homes was a square of patterned woollen carpet surrounded by a perimeter of “lino”. Once a year the carpet would be taken outside, hung over the washing line then literally beaten to release the dirt and grit that had been absorbed even though the carpet had been ”Hoovered” regularly. It would then be wet cleaned either by hand scrubbing or if you were high-tech using 1001 carpet cleaning detergent. Forget hot water extraction, I don’t think it existed then and if you were going to scrub a commercial installation it was a case of using a high foaming detergent and a low speed polisher fitted with a scrubbing head and tank.

Now most carpeting is made with new generation fibres and man made backing materials. Whereas dust and grit has always fallen to the base of the pile tufts with this new generation, often triangular shaped fibres, the soil is even more hidden from the naked eye. The result is that instead of doing an annual “Spring Clean” now, carpet cleaning only gets done when the carpet can’t physically absorb any more dirt and it becomes visible to the naked eye.

Unlike the natural fibres of yore the dirt and soil abrades the new generation fibres causing them to lose their lustre and distort. The net result is dirty dingy traffic lanes set into a carpet packed with pounds of dirt and grit to the square metre. This is the point where we say the carpet has “uglied out” not worn out. And it’s all due to the lack of a basic maintenance programme.

What happens next though is the environmental disaster. With the carpet past the point that a restoration clean can save it, the only option is dumping it to waste. But unlike natural fibre carpets whose final journey could often be to the bottom of the garden where it was used as a weed suppressant or compost cover, new generation fibres and backing do not degrade and get absorbed back into the soil. Just like plastic bags it is estimated that they can take up to 50 years to rot and disappear.

How can you help stop this waste of resources and damage to the natural environment? Well if up to 80% of the contaminants in a carpet are dry soil, the simple answer is the use of vacuum cleaner on as regular basis as your premises needs. Pay double attention to entrances and high traffic zones, use dust mats to trap dirt and reduce the amount being tracked into your building in the first place. Above all though implement a proper planned maintenance-cleaning programme. Just because your carpets can look clean doesn’t mean that they are.

Columbus Dixon

Or how to make your life easier and your operative’s safer

The first time you’re asked to produce a Method Statement on the work you are doing you probably took a double take. What’s a Method Statement? What’s it for? Does it have to be complex? Am I giving commercial secrets away? How do I do one?

All a Method Statement does is enable you to help your staff and the main contractor understand and manage the extent of the risks involved in the work you are about to do so that you can ensure the resources necessary to do it safely are to hand and that everyone knows what to do in an emergency situation.

This enables both you and the main contractor to comply with Health and Safety and CDM regulations but more importantly it helps you both run a safer site by ensuring everyone is aware of areas of risk where accidents, if they are going to happen, will happen.

The Ten Point Rule was a simple ‘memory jogger’ that one of our clients, Bovis Lend Lease used with their staff on their BBC Headquarters site at Pacific Quays in Glasgow. I have found that whenever a Method Statement has to be produced this is an excellent tool to ensure I have captured all the relevant information so I can get it right first time. There are no second chances with Health and Safety!

Rule 1. Company, package, title, revision number & date
Rule 2. Description of the works to include

* Time
* Duration
* Sequence
* Location

Rule 3. Resources required

* Personnel
* Supervision
* Plant & equipment
* Materials

Rule 4. Assessment of significant risks for all tasks, including

* Access / egress
* Place of work
* Others at risk (i.e. the public)
* COSHH, noise, manual handling etc

Rule 5. Control measures to be used, including

* Permits
* Security
* Special training

Rule 6. Personal protective equipment requirements
Rule 7. Emergency arrangements, including

* Rescue
* Special First Aid

Rule 8. Temporary amended systems

* Fire / security systems / access

Rule 9. To whom the information has / will be submitted, including

* Checking, review and update provision
* Change requirements
* Confirmation of Operatives briefing

Rule 10. Monitoring and compliance

Please feel free to copy or pass this safety article on to anyone who could find it useful.

Phil Dixon, Managing Director
Newlife Cleaning Systems Ltd

Update: We have now uploaded a wide selection of sample cleaning method statements to our site to download for FREE. Documents are blank formatted so they can be easily tailored to your company and circumstances and are available as pdf or Word document download.

Hope these help.

Phil D

Astute individuals, businesses and government agencies know that clean plus green equals good. More than just a trend, implementing a green cleaning programme is now recognised as a wise business move. The much touted benefits of creating a healthier workplace include increased productivity and reduced costs. Green cleaning has also become a key component in obtaining certification against the environmental standard ISO14001.

If you understand the advantages of green cleaning and have decided to implement a programme, how do you go about choosing the right one? What elements separate superior green cleaning plans from the rest? Below are some features to carefully consider when evaluating a programme prior to implementation.

1. A Holistic Approach

When it comes to maintaining a healthy facility, all areas – from entranceways to toilet areas to HVAC systems – affect the indoor environment. In choosing a green cleaning programme, make sure that the provider looks at your building holistically, considering the building’s purpose and uses.

Because entranceways serve as gateways for pollutants entering the building, a good programme will begin there. While traditional cleaning methods attempt to control this dirt after it enters and spreads throughout the building, effective green cleaning focuses on trapping and removing contaminants at this point of entry. Cleaning chemicals, processes and equipment, ventilation systems, waste removal, and even occupant habits are other areas that a holistic green cleaning programme will address.

2. A Beyond-the-Surface Focus

The primary intent of most cleaning programs is to leave surfaces looking spotless and dirt free. Green cleaning programs should go far beyond this, however. Dirt, bacteria, mould and other pollutants may not be seen, but they can certainly affect the indoor air quality. Green cleaning programmes aim to remove harmful particles from the air, not add to the problem by using harsh chemicals.

Although it may be difficult to judge how well a green cleaning programme has removed unseen particles, you can ask about equipment used to make sure that it is efficient and well maintained. Steps that facility maintenance providers can take to demonstrate a beyond-the-surface focus include emptying vacuum bags when half full and the use of Hepa filters to reduce particulate emissions into the work atmosphere. Even something as simple as a dusting cloth can make a difference: A microfibre cloth captures dust, rather than just moving it around. These small measures ensure that the equipment and processes contribute to, rather than counteract, the effectiveness of your programme.

3. Products and Services Offered

The products used in green cleaning play a vital role in the programme’s success. Products should qualify for third-party certification by organisations such as Green Seal. Unlike traditional cleaning products, these certified chemicals and equipment are designed to work effectively, while minimising environmental impact and decreasing risks to health and safety. Here at Newlife HQ we both minimise water usage and avoid the use of harsh acidic products when cleaning urinals by the use of microbiological toilet blocks. (Refer to earlier Blogs to determine the water and financial savings possible which are most attract to heavy users such as hotels, schools and colleges)

4. Knowledgeable Employees

Employees who will be designing and implementing your green cleaning programme must understand the objectives of green cleaning, as well as their own role in the process. Cleaning staff should know each product’s designated use, green cleaning processes and equipment maintenance procedures. Regular inspections and quality control programs ensure that employees’ work meets high standards. The best facilities maintenance providers also continually train their employees on the best practices in green cleaning.

5. Educational and Communication Programmes

A truly professional green cleaning provider goes beyond the tactical implementation of cleaning strategies to become your partner in creating a healthier environment. Most successful programmes include regular communications so that building occupants and facility stakeholders understand the importance of green cleaning and what they can do to make a difference. For example, improper care of live plants can increase contamination levels and require strong pesticides that counteract the green cleaning programme. When occupants know of such risks, they can become a true part of the green cleaning process.

Small actions, including minimising clutter and eating only in designated areas, can go a long way in ensuring a healthy environment. Facility users and tenants should also know whom to contact and how to react to a spill or contamination. The faster such situations are dealt with, the less harm they do to your facility.

Communicating your green programme to the community and building occupants helps you reap the benefits of being a socially conscience facility or business. You will attract the growing numbers of people who care about protecting the earth’s resources and improving indoor air quality.

These five features of effective green cleaning programs may apply to your facility in different ways. Each facility has unique goals, and each maintenance provider will bring its own set of expertise to a project. The provider you choose should recognise your goals and offer customised services and products that ensure your programme’s success.

By Mark Warner on behalf of ISSA

It seems we can’t go a day without more press coverage of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), or the superbug. Infectious disease control has long been the concern of infection control departments in hospitals and nursing homes but rarely has it been the focus of cleaning staff in schools, colleges, day care centres offices, government buildings or large industrial plants. Now, because of recent deaths, we know that many more pathogenic bacteria have become more deadly than ever – and are cropping up in more places than ever. In fact, beyond MRSA, there are other more horrific diseases on the horizon, things like multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter and others that you may hear about in the future.

The cleaning industry has been fighting the MRSA superbug for years. Stories about MRSA and other “flesh-eating bacteria” appeared in many of the broadsheets 15 years ago. To deal with MRSA and other superbugs, it is extremely important we understand what the threat level is so we can adjust our cleaning programme accordingly. What we need to do and when are totally dependent on the environmental degree of danger and on having a complete understanding of the different types of contagious pathogens that we need to confront.

The Degree of Danger

To assess the environmental degree of danger, we have to understand how to identify the degree of threat levels and adjust the procedures, chemistries and tools to fit the situation. To better explain this philosophy; let’s use the DEFCON ranking system

DEFCON 1: No Threat

Normal, everyday cleaning procedures can best be described as a DEFCON 1 threat level-no threat. Although there are minor adjustments that can be made, most of these adjustments are related to the facility’s appearance. One can assume that the existing cleaning programme is adequate if the facility looks and smells clean. Regular neutral floor cleaners or half ounce per gallon disinfectant cleaners are usually preferred to keep end use costs minimised. The biggest concern is not to allow any used cleaning solution to sit in a mop bucket or the recovery tank of a machine. Bacteria can thrive and multiply around moisture on ex[posed bucket or recovery tank surfaces. If the used solution is a disinfectant solution yet is highly soiled, it’s disinfections capabilities can be severely compromised, allowing a massive explosion of the growth of bacteria in the used solution itself!

• Everyday housekeeping procedures may not need to change, assuming that all the proper procedures are already in place.

DEFCON 2 Threat in the Community

The most important time to ramp up the game is when there is a threat in our community (DEFCON 2). At this point, normal procedures need to be more aggressive. Basic chemical disinfectants need to be replaced with hospital grade disinfectants that are specific to the pathogenic threat. It is generally preferred to use a disinfectant cleaner concentrate with a rich mixture ratio such as 2 ounces per gallon to increase the cleaning efficacy of the disinfectant. Hard floor cleaning procedures need to be exemplary. Traditional mop buckets need to be monitored in regard to frequent and consistent solution changes. Disinfectant solutions lose their killing efficacy, as they are loaded with bacteria and soil picked up from the floors. Even solution that looks clean can be overloaded with bacteria. There are several answers to this dilemma, including the use of auto scrubber driers and pressurised self-contained flat mop systems. Both focus on the use of clean, fresh solution being applied to the floor, without the danger of used solution being introduced to the clean solution.. In addition different chemistries are needed for soft, porous surfaces such as carpeting and upholstery. Because carpets and upholstery are porous they can’t be disinfected like hard non-porous surfaces, but using a carpet sanitiser can help. Try to use low moisture systems. The goal is to have the carpets or fabrics dry within two hours to greatly minimise the chances of the formation of bacteria colonies or mould or mildew.. Tools and equipment may need to be upgraded, but more importantly, all the tools and equipment need to be disinfected on a daily basis. Also supply carts, storage areas and the housekeeping offices need to be completely cleaned and disinfected, since they are at the hub of activities that reach into all areas of the facility.

• Speciality disinfectants, disinfected cleaning equipment, and more aggressive procedures need to be implemented.

DEFCON 3 Threat in The Facility

When there is an outbreak in the facility (DEFCON 3), we need to use the strongest disinfectants possible, preferably a tuberculocidal-rated disinfectant. It is critical to use the appropriate procedure for different types of contamination. We may be facing contaminated blood or body fluids, as well as contaminated surfaces and substrate.

Since few people are trained to properly identify body fluids, cleaning personnel should assume that all fluids are potentially infectious and treat them accordingly. To clean up blood or bodily fluid it is recommended that the fluid be saturated with disinfectant cleaner to re-emulsify any dried material and to reduce the viscosity of any thickened fluid. This procedure creates a safer environment for the cleaning person, as well as reducing the possibility of surface-to-surface cross contamination on the soles of the cleaner’s shoes. After absorbing the material, and putting it into a yellow biohazard bag disinfect the surface and allow the disinfectant 10 minutes dwell time.

For general surface disinfection, it is critically important to focus on all the largest environmental reservoirs of bacteria. Obviously, most people are preoccupied with touch points. Although they are important to disinfect, the largest reservoirs of bacteria tend to be the largest horizontal surfaces in a facility: floors, desks and countertops.

In addition, the use of bio-remediation technology can eliminate disease causing bacteria or viruses in the air and inside floor grout lines, concrete and wood floors, under carpeting or vinyl tile or inside the walls. These bacteriological and bio-enzymatic products consume the food sources that the pathogenic bacteria need to survive. In this way, the pathogenic bacteria are displaced with safe, non-pathogenic bacteria that die when the food source is completely gone.

For the air in contaminated buildings, a popular and effective tool is the use of wall mounted or floor standing lamp units that produce UVA or UVC light in a protected vent chamber or tube. These units will sterilise all the air passing through them. Over time they will greatly reduce the airborne bacteria counts to levels less likely to cause infection, literally sanitising the air. Ozone is an effective way to treat the air during times when a room isn’t occupied. It oxidises organic molecules and bacteria in the air by corroding them.

• A three-dimensional approach needs to be used so that the surface, sub-surface and air borne bacteria are addressed effectively, as well as strict adherence to proper procedures for blood and body fluid cleanup.

DEFCON 4: Weapons grade Pathogens in a Facility

The most extreme level is DEFCON 4. There may be a time when we need to completely decontaminate a facility exposed to bio-terrorism or weapons grade pathogens. Keep in mind, any contagious pathogen that has been determined to be lethal to 85% or more of its hosts needs to be handled at this level and there have been naturally occurring diseases that meet this criterion. A good example of this was the Ebola outbreak in Zaire in 1998, with a 90% kill rate.

This decontamination operation is performed on an unoccupied (or evacuated) building. The most common approach for this operation is the use of radiation with Alpha or Beta particle sources or the use of gases and free-radical technology. These technologies are very dangerous and some are explosive, so knowledge and experience are critical.

• This level of decontamination requires special protective equipment, tools and training. It should only be performed by professionals who are experienced in this kind of procedure.

In summary, the most important message is that we need the proper chemistries, the proper tools and the procedural knowledge to have any chance of being successful. Also, we need to have some way to verify or validate that we have accomplished what we wanted to accomplish – the elimination of the disease-causing bacteria or viruses. Equipment like ATP- hygiene monitoring devices and swab cultures may be necessary.

Keep in mind, when the threat is high and the cost of failure is high, we need to clean everything! The enemy in this case is invisible, so we need to assume that what looks clean may not be actually clean. In this day and age, we really can’t be too vigilant. Fore-warned is forearmed.

This article, re-produced with kind permission, is written by Max Warner, international director of disinfection and decontamination certification for Airx Laboratories and appeared in www.ISSA.com