Cover story
Howozonewashingwill revolutioniseinfectioncontrol
Jackie Hook, chemist from JLA, the UK’s leading partner for all critical equipment and servicing needs, reveals how its patented ozone laundry system is helping to stop the spread of coronavirus
Care homes have been among the sectors hardest-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. With close contact often necessary in care homes, residents and, by extension, staff are extremely vulnerable to infection, meaning it is crucially important for staff to ensure that they and those they care for are protected.
Amid a second wave of infection, making all the necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection in care homes has never been more critical. The Care Quality Commission has also outlined its plans to monitor infection prevention and control in care settings over winter months, with a number of inspections, to support providers to protect against the spread of Covid in care homes. In particular, laundry hygiene in care homes is fundamental, given that incorrect handling, processing and storage of linen all present a preventable and, in the current climate, potentially high risk. Clear segregation of infected linen from clean laundry is paramount. Understanding how best to prevent contamination of coronavirus can be hard. However, thanks to a new academic study, there is now proof that the JLA OTEX ozone laundry system is able to stop the coronavirus spread when it comes to textiles. Therefore, use of ozone, along with good laundry practices to prevent the spread of infection, can be an effective weapon in this battle.
Let us take a closer look at ozone washing, its applications, and its role as an invaluable tool for care homes in stopping the spread of infection and ensuring the continued wellbeing of staff and residents alike.
What is ozone washing, and why is it important? Ozone washing is, essentially, an effective alternative to the ‘traditional’ thermal disinfection cycle, which relies primarily upon higher temperatures. Ozone disinfection follows a different process, injecting ozone – a natural gas derived from oxygen – directly into the water during the wash cycle. This is effective because ozone is soluble in cold water and is a powerful disinfectant attacking the cell membranes of bacteria, spores and viruses present on the textiles in the laundry load. Through this, micro-organisms are destroyed, disinfecting the load entirely – crucially, even with Covid-infected laundry. Ozone washing – specifically, JLA’s own patented OTEX ozone laundry system - comes with a number of benefits over thermal disinfection cycles. For example, because fibres in linens are gently opened during the ozone laundry process, washing with ozone facilitates deeper cleaning, reduced drying times and longer-lasting fabric, in addition to the core disinfection process. When compared to thermal
disinfection, extensive testing has shown that ozone washing is more effective than thermal washing processes – which is naturally crucial in the current climate. For example, independent laboratory tests have found that OTEX shows a significantly better end wash for C.difficile compared to thermal with complete elimination, together with successful elimination of MRSA. Importantly, ozone is also far more
6
environmentally friendly than thermal, which translates into operational cost savings for the business. Not only does ozone use both less water and electricity per cycle – reducing utility bills – its effectiveness at lower temperatures in turn means there is a lesser requirement for heating, further saving energy and reducing a care home’s carbon footprint. Ozone’s natural fragrance also leaves users with fresher-smelling laundry, with the added bonus that items such as towels for residents’ use will come out fluffier and visually cleaner than they would in traditional high temperature wash cycles, when washed with OTEX.
Innovating OTEX
JLA’s proprietary ozone disinfection system, OTEX, is the original, market- leading commercial ozone laundry system. OTEX was originally pioneered in 2004 in response to the need amongst care homes, hospitals and clinics for reassurance that their laundry could be kept hygienic amidst the rise of healthcare-associated infections (HCAI’s) such as C.diificile and MRSA. OTEX was rapidly adopted by the healthcare and other industries and, by 2008, there were 1,200 OTEX systems in operation across the UK. The technology was also published in peer-reviewed international reports, as well as
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • November 2020
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
