Dirty toilets and slapdash cleaning standards are responsible for the rapid spread of novovirus on cruise ships – and the hand sanitisers designed to reduce germs are powerless to prevent contamination, says US medical researchers.

In an attempt to stem the rise in outbreaks, cruise lines now routinely station hand sanitiser gels at restaurant entrances, but this simply does not work says a new study.

“It’s a tough virus,” said lead researcher Dr Philip Carling, pointing out that the pathogen can live on surfaces at room temperature for weeks “ It isn’t killed by alcohol hand rubs. Chlorine bleach is the only thing that works.”

For the study, the researchers tested public lavatories on 56 of the world’s largest cruise ships. Using a solution visible only under ultraviolet light, they marked the doors, toilet seats, flush buttons, hand holds and baby-changing tables in 273 facilities, then monitored them for five to seven days to see if the solution got cleared off.

The results were alarming, showing that only 37% of the public toilets tested were thoroughly cleaned every day, and in 18% of cases they remained uncleaned for more than 24 hours. On three of the ships, the baby changing tables were not cleaned at all during the monitoring period.

Leading cruise line Royal Caribbean International said it takes “numerous proactive steps to prevent, control and eradicate novovirus”, including “special cleaning of all ‘high-touch’ areas on the ship”.

“Those affected by the short lived illness generally respond well to treatment provided on board, and the illness itself usually resolves itself in 24 – 48 hours” said the cruise line.

Fred Olsen, which operates the twice-stricken Balmoral, said its public toilets were cleaned with chlorine based disinfectant on an hourly basis. In addition, it said, “every passenger must use the antimicrobial and cleansing foam sanitiser on entry to any restaurant or eating area”

Chris Haslam Times 22nd November 2009

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.

In our earlier posts we discussed how even in this day and age of high tech cleanliness it was possible for men to give an instant judgement on the cleanliness or not of urinals simply by their smell.

We suggested the benefits of a microbiological led approach to dealing with the bacteria that are the source of urinal smells.

Since then we have carried out the first of a number of trials using these products on our own facilities. This three-month trial will be repeated over the coming months using a variety of competing though similar biologically based cleaning and maintenance products.

Our first test product was Eco-Cubes available from www.eco-works.co.uk and was tested 25/02/09 – 25/05/09

For a charge of £60+vat for a trial pack we received 50 Eco-cubes, 1 litre of biological cleaner, a normal trigger spray and clear, simply understood laminated instructions for use by our cleaner.

The facilities being cleaned consisted of two urinals currently being used 50+ times per day with 70% of users favouring one particular urinal. We had only occupied the premises for a short period of 5 months and previously the facilities were subject to two or three times this level of usage by the original workforce.

Prior to the trial the urinal bottle traps were removed and thoroughly cleaned to remove scale build up. The waste pipes leading to the drainage system were not de-scaled immediately as this involved removing pipework that had been hidden behind fitted sinks. The water supply to the header tank was turned off.

Following the easy to use instructions 1 cube was placed in each urinal and the diluted washroom cleaner was used to clean the urinal, wall and floor surfaces around the immediate area. The urinal was then flushed with 3 litres of water.

Within days a noticeable difference to the smell of the whole facility was apparent. In addition the cleaner sprayed on the wall and floor surfaces thoroughly cleaned the area and lightened the grouting (especially the horizontal areas due to the longer dwell time) and also an area of Altro flooring underneath the more heavily used urinal which previously was stained / burnt by urine.

Normal daily cleaning took place till 17/04/09 when it became apparent that the urinals were not draining properly. On removing the traps and pipework it became apparent that there was a massive build up of loose scale within the drainage pipework. This was manually cleaned away and the water flow returned to normal and remained so throughout the balance of the trial period.

We believe that we may have compromised the trial by not descaling all the drainage pipework from the start as it was apparent that the blockage was caused by scale being sloughed off the inside of the pipework in large pieces as the biological cleaner attacked this build-up daily.

On completion of the trial we had 20 cubes remaining and 250mm of Washroom Cleaner.

SUMMARY

The product was clearly capable of performing the cleaning task and produced a pleasant fragrance. By not adequately descaling the complete length of the drainage pipework we compromised the initial trail. It is intended to maintain the test programme till the end of August 2009 at which point all the pipework will be opened up to see if the build up has returned. No water was added to the urinals other than the 3 litres used daily in the cleaning programme.

The only negative observation made was that the appearance of the cubes in the urinal soon changed from a dark green/blue cube to a washed out irregular shape as it broke down in the urinal which was not aesthetically attractive.

The trial will continue till all the product is used at which point it will be possible to give an exact idea of the cost per urinal per day.

Columbus Dixon