ELECTROSTATIC APPLICATION OF DISINFECTANTS vs. "SPRAY AND PRAY'

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The world became hyper-aware of the importance of maintaining a clean and hygienic environment when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. You recall how interest surged in cleaning for health. But that “hygiene theater” overshadowed, and often replaced, good cleaning practices during the pandemic.??

The world watched as cleaning crews donned head-to-toe personal protective equipment (PPE) to disinfect streets and playgrounds. The public was inundated with advice to stay indoors, keep children away from playgrounds, and meticulously wipe down groceries to battle a virus that turned out to have a relatively short lifespan on surfaces.?

Now, as public safety starts to normalize, there is a concern that cleaning teams are going back to business as usual, and facilities aren’t ready for future threats. The lessons learned during this outbreak should not be forgotten. A brief spike in cleaning consciousness must evolve into a sustained commitment to public health.

Soil Removal is Essential?

Washing or scrubbing a surface physically removes soil and organic material such as blood and body fluids and takes with it many germs.

The guiding principle is always to remove germs if possible, rather than kill them, and then, when necessary disinfect the surface.

Cleaning is removing. We don’t hide or brush aside dust and wastes and say we are cleaning. We must remove and dispose of them, too. The CDC’s definition for cleaning refers to the removal of dirt and impurities, including germs, from surfaces. Cleaning alone does not kill germs. But by removing the germs cleaning decreases their number and therefore any risk of spreading infection.

Most disinfectants only work if the surface has less than 5 percent soil on it. Surfaces that look dirty might have a more than a 20 percent soil level. In these situations, the disinfectant won’t work because it’s challenged by the soil load on the surface. Educating end users that cleaning these surfaces first will pave the way for more effective disinfection.

Efficient and Effective Disinfection of Precleaned Surfaces?

CDC’s definition for disinfecting works by using chemicals to kill germs left behind after the surface has been cleaned. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs. But killing germs remaining on a surface after cleaning further reduces any risk of spreading infection.

Electrostatically misting chemical disinfectants remains the most efficient and effective way to apply disinfectants to clean surfaces. Simply stated, electrostatic machines impart a positive electrical charge to the chemical droplets as they exit the spray nozzle. These charged droplets then seek out and adhere to the negatively charged surfaces they are aimed at, while creating a more consistent disinfectant coverage.

Electrostatic Spraying vs. Traditional Disinfecting Techniques

Electrostatic technology provides many advantages during the disinfection process. To properly disinfect a surface, it must be precleaned, as mentioned before.

Traditional methods of disinfecting, such as “spray and wipe, mopping, and cloth applications are not only time consuming, but they also lend themselves to human error. No cross-contamination occurs with ESS.?

Traditional disinfection requires spraying a surface with a solution and then wiping it down. Because most people usually spray and immediately wipe the area, the solution doesn’t have enough time to disinfect the surface - thereby causing?cross contamination. The wipe-down process coats the cleaning cloth in bacteria and germs, and when the person moves to the next area to clean with the same cloth, they inadvertently spread germs around the facility rather than wiping them away. With electrostatic disinfection, this hazard is removed because no wiping or drying is required.

?In the relentless pursuit of cleanliness, let's remember that while UV lights and automated devices have their place, there's no substitute for the dedication and "elbow grease" of our professional cleaning workforce. The EVS tech cleaning a patient’s room or a healthcare worker cleaning an IV pump must apply the right disinfectant while using friction to remove dirt, food, blood, biofilm, or whatever is there on the surface. But that does not happen 50% of the time.

Electrostatic sprayers (ESS) eliminate these barriers to effective disinfection. Surfaces that are hard to reach by the human hand will be reached by the mist from an ESS. This enables cleaning professionals to disinfect every surface in a room rather than just “High Touch” areas. Traditional disinfection “spray and pray” applications require the cleaning person to wipe each surface that is wet right away. After applying disinfectant in a mist with an ESS the surface does not need to be wiped down.

Labor Savings Ahead!

Tricia Holderman, President of Elite Facility Systems, Dallas states, “We need to help people understand that while the pandemic stage of things is over, this kind of disinfection (ESS) is still very effective—and even more so in the non-healthcare sector. Most of these clients have fallen off the wagon as far as the detailed cleaning they were doing is concerned. So, disinfecting with electrostatic equipment is an effective way to enhance disinfection of areas that they’re not getting to every day.”

Holderman recounts how electrostatic technology enabled her company to reduce the number of staff hours spent manually wiping down equipment for the Washington Commanders NFL team.

“When we started servicing the account, we spent 24 staff hours wiping down every ball, every bench, every weight and every physical therapy stretch board—every single night.’

“It was incredibly time consuming. Once we started using the electrostatic sprayer, we cut our labor hours down to eight, and the machine paid for itself very quickly!”

CALL TO ACTION

At a minimum, cleaning must always achieve a state of “sanitation.” An unsanitary condition poses a likely health risk. The purpose of cleaning is to correct the risky condition. Therefore, if a risk has not been improved to a level we call sanitary, cleaning has not been accomplished.

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