Mop Bucket Liquid - Cleaning or Polluting?
"Bucket solutions become contaminated almost immediately during cleaning, and continued use of the solution transfers increasing numbers of microorganisms to each subsequent surface to be cleaned."
Source: Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) "Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities."
By American Journal of Infection Control
Abstract
Background
A survey of cleaning effectiveness was conducted in two wards in four acute hospitals in England and Wales. Surfaces were monitored immediately before and after cleaning on three separate occasions using visual assessment, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence, expressed in relative light units (RLUs), and microbiological methods (aerobic colony counts [ACC]), expressed in colony forming units (cfu) per cm2.
Methods
Comparison of data from a total of over 3000 assessments showed highly significant differences in failure rates [areas considered to be unclean] between visual assessment and either ATP or microbiological counts. There was no significant difference in failure rates between ATP and microbiological counts. Using visual assessment, failure rates were significantly lower after cleaning than before. Using ATP or microbiological methods, failure rates were not significantly different after cleaning.
Results
Data obtained using both ATP and ACC, indicated considerable variability after cleaning and that failed surfaces were often well in excess of benchmark values.
Conclusions
Cumulatively, the results indicate that visual assessment is not a reliable indicator of surface cleanliness or of cleaning efficacy. Concerns also arise about the standards of surface cleanliness achieved after cleaning in the hospitals.
Address correspondence to Rose A. Cooper, School of Health Sciences, University of Wales Institute, Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue, Cardiff CF5 2YB Wales, United Kingdom.
American Journal of Infection Control
Volume 35, Issue 5, June 2007, Pages 338-341
Rose A. Cooper PhD, Chris J. Griffith PhD, Rifhat E. Malik BSc, Peter Obee MSc and Nick Looker PhD, MSc, FRCPath
Copyright © 2007 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.
American Journal of Infection Control covers key topics and issues in infection control and epidemiology. Infection control professionals, including physicians, nurses, and epidemiologists, rely on AJIC for peer-reviewed articles covering clinical topics as well as original research. As the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (APIC), the journal is the foremost resource on infection control, epidemiology, infectious diseases, quality management, occupational health, and disease prevention.
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