© Copyright 2008 Grand View Media Group. Reprinted with permission from CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® magazine.For free subscription to CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® magazine call (800) 390-2946 / www.cmmonline.com

Know what you are putting into the environment.

By: Nicole Kenny

Nicole Kenny holds anAssociate Chemist

designation from theAssociation of CharteredChemists of Ontario. In

March 2003, Kenny joinedVirox Technologies Inc., acompany with a patentedtechnology in cleaning,

disinfection, and sterilization. As the

director of professional andtechnical services, Kennyis responsible for infection

control education,technical support, and

clinical studies. For moreinformation, please visit

www.virox.com.

AIgnorance about harmful contaminants is anything but bliss.

An article published in 1998 by the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention (CDC) statedthat in 1995, 88,000 deaths — one death every sixminutes — could be attributed to hospital-acquired infections.

Today, news of cross-contamination and out-breaks is everywhere.

Furthermore, there is a daily list of toxic chem-icals that should be avoided, such as bisphenol Ain plastic bottles or the linings inside of tin cansor butyl cellosolve, a solvent commonly used incommercial and industrial cleaning and disinfect-ing products.

The following list of myths and facts will high-light why the cleaning industry needs to spendmore time focusing on infection control and dis-infectant product selection.

MythOnly nurses, doctors, microbiologists, or other

science-minded individuals can be infection con-trol experts.

FactAnyone with the ability to wash his/her hands

and cover his/her mouth should be consideredan expert in the field of infection control.

Infection control is everyone’s business andwashing our hands is one of the single mostimportant things we can do; and, best of all, itdoesn’t cost us a thing.

After restroom use, hands should be cleanedwith soap and water or alcohol-based handsanitizers.

Wash your hands after you sneeze or cough.Lastly, and most importantly for your own

health, wash your hands before you eat.Surfaces that look clean can in fact be harbor-

ing millions of germs.By teaching the importance of hand hygiene

to our children, friends, colleagues and employ-ees, we can all be successful infection controlprofessionals.

MythBasic microbiology or disease transmission

training is only needed for nursing orpublic health specialists.

FactEveryone can benefit from a

basic understanding of whatbacteria are, what a virus is,how they may be transmitted,and what you can do to protectyourself.

The media, while a wonderfultool for education, can frighten mil-

lions of people with misleading headlines andreporting.

for more info

Visit www.cmmonline.comand type in search keyword: Disinfectant.

For more information onrelated products, visitwww.cmmonline.com,select SUPPLIER SEARCHfrom the main navigationbar, and enter keyword:Disinfectant.

infection control

© Copyright 2008 Grand View Media Group. Reprinted with permission from CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® magazine.For free subscription to CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® magazine call (800) 390-2946 / www.cmmonline.com

The truth is that while MRSA, norovirus,avian influenza, and Clostridium difficile canbe deadly to those with weak immune sys-tems, the majority of the public — if wewash our hands when we should — haveminimal risk of getting sick.

A recent study compared the cleaningeffectiveness in a hospital between a regularpatient room and an isolation patient room.

The results were staggering.Housekeeping staff cleaning the stan-

dard patient room effectively removed theinvisible UV markers by 80 to 90 percent,while staff responsible for cleaning isola-tion rooms removed only up to 20 percentof the markers, and in many cases neglect-ed to clean certain areas entirely.

What can we learn from this?Regardless of the market segment, we

need to educate our employees aboutgerms, such as MRSA, norovirus orClostridium difficile.

MythAll disinfectants are created equal.

FactThere are currently more than 8,000 reg-

istered disinfectant products for sale inCanada and the United States.

Fifty percent are used for infection con-trol products in health care, schools andother institutions, and these products maybe formulated using 300 different types ofchemistries.

Five of those chemistries have historical-ly been the most commonly used:Quaternary ammonium compounds, phe-nols, alcohols, chlorine-based chemicals,and aldehydes.

Today, non-halogen-based oxidizers,such as hydrogen peroxide, are emergingas the sixth chemistry.

There are numerous publications thatprovide information on the advantages anddisadvantages of the different chemistries.

But remember, knowledge equalspower, and as a decision-maker, it is up toyou to choose the best products for yourfacility.

Look at the product effectiveness; whatdoes it kill?

However, the product with the longest listshould not be used as the decision criteria.

Look at what germs are relevant to your

Many of the products on the markettoday are comprised of one or a combina-tion of the above listed categories.

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)need to be reviewed scrupulously, andthere is nothing wrong with listing thechemicals or attributes that are unaccept-able in the products you choose to use.

MythEPA-registered disinfectants can be

green-certified.

FactFor general purpose or multi-purpose

cleaning products, this is reasonably easy.We can look for products that have been

certified by third-party organizations.However, when choosing disinfectants,

this can become more problematic.The division of the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) that is responsiblefor registering disinfectants will not allowEPA-registered products to carry green cer-tifications.

You can, however, make informed deci-sions by doing a bit of research.

First, look at the Green Seal environmentalstandards for general-purpose, bathroom,glass, and carpet cleaners used for industrialand institutional purposes (GS-37).

This guideline provides a detailed list ofproduct-specific and environmentalrequirements that can be used to help selectproducts.

Determine which of these are of primaryimportance to you and review each disinfec-tant product against the criteria to help nar-row down the products you decide to use.

An alternative method is using theEnvironmental Choice Program’s EcoLogocertification for disinfectants and disinfec-tant cleaners (CCD-166).

Unlike the EPA, Health Canada, which isresponsible for registering disinfectants inCanada, will allow for third-party certifica-tion, and the CCD-166 criteria can be used tohelp review products for their green profile.

A basic understanding of infection con-trol and the areas to consider when choos-ing disinfectants doesn’t require a stetho-scope, coke-bottle glasses, or even the abil-ity to squint.

All anyone needs is a mixture of knowl-edge, imagination and responsibility. CM

facility and what germs can actually betransmitted from touching surfaces.

Next, you should consider the method oftesting the disinfectant used to obtain reg-istration.

Truly understand how the product mustbe used in order to be effective; make sureyour staff understands how to use them.

If you are using a product that has notbeen tested in the presence of soil chal-lenges, then you need to understand theseproducts need to be used in a true two-stepprocess.

First, clean using a detergent, and sec-ond, apply the disinfectant.

If you are using a product that has beentested in the presence of a soil challenge,and has been approved as a one-step prod-uct, the process may be simplified.

But, you must still take into considera-tion the contact time.

A one-step cleaner-disinfectant productwith a 10-minute contact time means youcan use one product for cleaning and disin-fecting, but you still need to adhere to thecontact time to achieve disinfection.

In general, most products that are prima-rily water-based and free of alcohols or sol-vents will dry within three to four minutes.

This will require multiple applications inorder to achieve disinfection, and remem-ber, products with alcohol or solvents dryeven faster.

Contact time is mandatory to achievedisinfection, and contact time implies thatthe surface must be kept wet for the dura-tion listed on the labels.

MythIf a product kills most germs, it has to be

toxic.

FactHistorically, this was a true statement,

and certainly the occupational health pro-file of the product needs to be thoroughlyreviewed.

Products that contain chemicals that areknown carcinogens, known respiratoryirritants or skin sensitizers, known volatileorganic compound releasing chemicals(chemicals that lead to poor air quality), orchemicals that contain nonylphenolethoxylates (hormone-mimicking agents),should be avoided.

infection control