INFECTION PREVENTION


How clean are the door handles you touch?


Is it correct to assume that manual daily cleaning provides the best protection for people who use high- touch surfaces like door handles? In this article, Ian Graham, founder of Glana, and developer of the Axiene Clean Touch antimicrobial door handle system (HEJ – November 2021), describes the findings from hygiene performance trials comparing standard cleaning procedures with new Axiene technology.


The COVID pandemic has raised awareness that hygiene is critical, and has highlighted the risk of infection spread when touch surface cleanliness is overlooked. However, manual cleaning is not always consistent, and surfaces assumed to be safe may actually be contaminated. It is well documented that only 5 per cent of people wash their hands correctly after using the toilet, so are you confident that the door handle is safe to use? To investigate this further, Glana


undertook a series of trials at the University of Strathclyde comparing normal daily cleaning procedures with the new Axiene hygiene innovation, to understand the influencing factors in cleaning, and to assess the level of protection that can be achieved.


Pandemic increased focus on good hygiene Manual intermittent cleaning is universally regarded as the standard procedure to ensure that facilities and touch surfaces


remain hygienic and safe for people to use in institutional, commercial, and domestic buildings. However, the emergence of the COVID pandemic resulted in an ever stronger focus on improving hygiene standards and ensuring a higher level of safety for all users – nowhere more so than in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. During the initial response to COVID, the increased hygiene requirements on high-touch surfaces, such as door handles, generally demanded a greater frequency of manual cleaning, and a greater demand for antibacterial disinfectants. As the pandemic crisis evolves, and cleaning and maintenance staff become more accustomed to new hygiene procedures, it is relevant to review the efficacy of the revised cleaning processes, and to assess if these are truly appropriate to the increased hygiene levels needed for protection of the general population.


Studies under controlled conditions Studies have assessed the effectiveness of cleaning high-touch surfaces under


controlled conditions, and while the findings are clearly interesting, they may be considered indicative only. In reality, the cleanliness of high-touch surfaces is subject to practicalities such as errors in cleaning procedures, dirty/re-used cleaning equipment, poor cleaning fluids, the behaviour of users, the frequency of use, and the location. These practicalities mean that simply increasing the frequency of cleaning will not always provide the desired increase in hygiene and safety. This has been recognised across multiple industries – for example within the hospitality sector, some cruise ships now advise guests to use paper wipes when touching washroom door handles, even though cleaning of handles is part of the regular hygiene procedure. In addition to enhanced cleaning


practices, a number of alternative innovations have evolved to improve high-touch surface safety. These include new chemical and natural cleaning fluids, fogging spray systems, handle materials, gel dispensing handles, and UV lighting systems. While each of these options has unique benefits, they may not provide the consistent or continuous surface protection required, and there remains a need to evaluate the ongoing cleanliness of the high-touch surface with respect to the cleaning procedure and the continuous protection offered.


With the Axiene VH01, the antibacterial gel covers the door handle itself. Each dispense uses only a very small quantity of liquid, so in normal use a reservoir should last up to a week.


68 Health Estate Journal November 2022


Tests at Strathclyde University To understand the efficacy of the cleaning procedures, it was decided to complete a series of tests in a typical commercial/ educational facility. The Estates office and facility at the University of Strathclyde kindly agreed to allow this assessment as a case study. The Estates office has high occupancy numbers, with office, workshop, university maintenance, and cleaning staff, all working in the building, resulting in high frequency use of the access ways and handle touch surfaces. High-touch surfaces throughout the university are subject to a strict cleaning regime on a once per day basis. This facility, location, and usage,


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