INFECTION PREVENTION CONTROL
Bio-Shine Inc. takes preventing and controlling the spread of contagious diseases seriously. We strive to be #HerosofHygiene by providing education, innovative products and equipment not only to prevent and control the spread of infectious disease but to do so with the health of the users, staff, visitors, and others in mind. It is easy to kill diseases with harsh chemicals exposing users, staff, visitors and others to health issues down the line. Through education, you can learn ways to prevent and control infectious diseases while keeping everyone safe.
Prevention should always be first and foremost. Only when an outbreak or pandemic occurs should we move into critical control mode. With enough focus on prevention, the goal is to never reach a critical issue.
Education and Information
One of the most basic and cost efficient things you can do is to educate your staff. The janitorial industry usually has high turn over, leading to improper cleaning techniques and misinformation. Keeping consistent quarterly training sessions could mean the difference between proper prevention and needing to move to critical control. Preparing staff for certain germier seasons, re-educating proper cleaning/disinfection procedures, installing information sheets in janitorial closets as reminders, putting up proper hand washing techniques at all sinks, etc. If you are educating your staff regularly, your critical control will diminish.
Hand Washing/Sanitizing
Washing your hands for the proper 20 seconds, removes debris, bacteria and viruses and washes them down the drain. When washing your hands, you need not be focused on killing because you are removing germs. Ensure you are using a sealed soap dispenser. Refillable dispensers harbor/grow germs and can leave more germs on your hands then you started with. Frequent hand washing helps to reduce your exposure to germs.
When washing is not available, using sanitizer is the next best thing. Sanitizers with 70% alcohol are most effective in killing germs. If alcohol is an issue, there are non-alcohol based products as well. Keeping sanitizer in cafeterias, patient rooms, auditoriums, museums, aquariums, zoos, amusement parks, and anywhere there would be high foot traffic without use of a washing station is best for keeping your facility safe. There are wall mount units and standing dispensers available to help place your sanitizer anywhere you need it.
Microfiber
Cleaning with microfiber gives you the added benefit of lifting and removing bacteria, viruses and debris. Microfiber is specifically designed with microscopic fingers and pockets to grab organisms. Cloths and Wet Floor Pads come in different colors to avoid cross contamination. Microfiber is washable for hundreds to thousands of cycles which also makes it a more sustainable option. Microfiber is so widely used, now it comes in many tools. For More Information on Microfiber CLICK HERE.
Disinfection
When disinfecting you should always make sure you know exactly what your products and equipment are able to kill and how long it takes to kill the organisms. Dwell time and efficacy are your two most important pieces of information along with how safe your product is. All hospitals, long term care facilities, and any other health organizations should be using products with the ability to kill CDiff. Educational Facilities, Contract Cleaners, and other non-health facilities should be using products with the ability to kill Norovirus. If you hired a contract cleaner responsible for cleaning/disinfecting your facility, you should be clear on what products they are using and how often they are disinfecting. Always make sure you clean BEFORE disinfecting.
NEW DEVELOPMENT** When you disinfect, the surface is only completely disinfected at that moment. The minute someone touches the surface it has germs again. Using new products with long term residual kills is highly effective in reducing the spread of diseases. Having an instant kill on a surface when someone touches it, leaves the surfaces disinfected for the period of time specified by the product.
Create a disinfection schedule based on your facility needs. Make sure your staff is allowing for proper dwell time. Spraying and wiping only cleans, it does NOT disinfect.
Specialized Equipment
NEW DEVELOPMENT** Our industry has come along way in technology over the past 10 years. Two more recent pieces of equipment specifically designed to aid in prevention of the spread of germs are Electrostatic Sprayers and Active Air Purification.
Electrostatic Sprayers give you the ability to cover hard surfaces more effectively and more efficiently with your disinfectants and sanitizers. With a double charge of positive ions, the product in your sprayer can cling to negatively charged germs. The attraction is so great the mist can defy gravity to cling to negative particles, going behind handles and under the lip of desks. Just spray your product and walk way to allow for proper dwell time. Check out our blog on Electrostatic Sprayers for more detailed information.
Active Air Purification sends oxidants out into the air to kill germs, remove odors and decontaminate VOCs very quickly. Small units can be worn around the neck for personal clean zones, medium size units can be fixed to buses for clean air during travel, and larger units can be used in rooms, lockers, gyms, warehouses and more. Oxidants, like hydroxyls and low level ozone, seek and destroy contaminants in the air and on surfaces including air pollutants like Carbon Monoxide, germs like COVID-19 and Norovirus, and even Mold. Since, you breathe hydroxyls and low level ozone every day outdoors, they are safe and can be run in occupied spaces. When ions are generated for a personal clean zone, they repel germs, odors, and VOCs to make your N95 mask 3000 times more effective. Air Purification Products and Information
Air scrubbers are portable filtration systems that remove particles, gasses, and/or chemicals from the air. These machines draw air in from the surrounding environment and pass it through a series of filters to remove contaminants. Special filters allow air scrubbers to remove bacteria and viruses from the air passing through the machine. When you apply long term residual kill products to your filters, they will kill germs as they pass through. There are ratings on how long it takes an air scrubber to filter all the air in the room and consider the room “clean”. Make sure you know the ratings on your machines so you can ensure a clean room atmosphere takes place.
There are unavoidable times when outbreaks or pandemics happen. In these instances, we need to be more diligent and make sure we are adhering to proper disinfection standards and going the extra mile. Each facility will need to make the call on whether to shutdown for full disinfection or remain open while trying to control the situation. Communication, Planning, Education and Monitoring Results are your four key factors in a successful critical control situation.
Staff should be communicating with the Facilities or Environmental Services Directors about increased absenteeism or reports of any highly contagious diseases. Upon receiving such communications, a well thought out plan should be underway detailing how to attack and what products and equipment are needed. Once your plan in worked out and products and equipment are obtained, round the team up for education and direction in how to attack your specific situation. Monitoring results is key to making sure your plan is working as designed. You are #HerosofHygiene as front line workers to protect your facility, staff, visitors, etc.
If you need assistance in training your staff, organizing/executing a critical plan, or just need further information, Bio-Shine Inc. is here to assist you at no additional cost. We have staff trained by the Global Bio-Risk Advisory Counsil to help discuss the best practices for keeping your facility safe. We strive to ensure facilities are safe for visitors, staff, and clients. We can be reached at 732-251-9506 or info@Bio-Shine.com.