WASHROOM HYGIENE
LOSE YOUR RAG
In a washroom environment, it is essential that all dangers of infection or cross-contamination are eliminated while cleaning. Because of this, traditional cleaning rags can pose a particularly high risk. Robert Kravitz, a former building service contractor in the U.S. and writer for the professional cleaning industry, explains.
A major professional cleaning- related organisation conducted a study recently looking into the types of comments that people leave on social media sites concerning the appearance of washrooms in facilities such as restaurants, retail stores, and public facilities. The study revealed that building users pay surprisingly close attention to how well maintained washrooms are and, in at least one case, the manner in which they are cleaned.
For instance, here are some excerpts from one comment: “People [referring to a cleaning worker] use the same mops and wipes all over the building,” reported an online reviewer, writing about a fitness centre in Chicago. The writer went on to say that the cleaning worker used ‘the same rag, starting with the toilet,’ that was used on counters, sinks, and likely faucet handles and other fixtures as well.
www.tomorrowscleaning.com
It is unfortunate to see that this incorrect cleaning procedure still occurs, because there is a considerable body of evidence indicating that using the same soiled cleaning tools, such as mops or ‘rags’, can spread contaminants from one surface to another. But in fact it is still happening — and frequently, as noted in other posts. The person who must lead the way in correcting this, and in promoting proper hygienic cleaning, is the person most cleaning professionals turn to when it comes to cleaning: their jansan distributor.
GETTING KNOWLEDGE
UNDER YOUR BELT Before providing any instruction, cleaning professionals should become aware of some of the studies available, published by some of the most credible of organisations, on how the tools we use to clean
surfaces — specifically, cleaning cloths and mops — are sometimes the very culprits that spread disease and cause cross-contamination.
For instance, a study published in 2004, ‘Household Cleaning and Surface Disinfection: New Insights and Strategies’ in the Journal of Hospital Infection, found that in situations where the cleaning procedure fails to thoroughly eliminate contamination from one surface and then the same cloth is used to wipe another surface, ‘the contamination is transferred to that [new] surface.’
Tomorrow’s Cleaning December 2015 | 39
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88