Cleaning professionals know properly caring for their vacuums and other cleaning tools helps them work more efficiently. Proper care involves following manufacturer’s guidelines so as not to damage equipment during the cleaning. Cleaning experts along with vacuum manufacturer Dyson Ltd. have been warning people not to follow a recent online cleaning hack that involves submerging vacuum parts in a bathtub overnight, Ideal Home reports. After several people admitted to following this tip, Dyson, warned against submerging vacuum components in water, as once moisture is absorbed into the machine, a variety of components, from motors to hoses, can be harmed. The only part of the vacuum that should be washed with water is the filter. For other parts, wiping it with a cloth is sufficient. Learn how to properly care for vacuums and other cleaning equipment.
As the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread across the world, the U.S. government has taken steps to prevent it from sickening more Americans. In a letter dated Monday to Congress from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the government requested a funding commitment of at least US$2.5 billion to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Axios reports. The request for a lump sum account from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) includes $1.25 billion in new funds to fight COVID-19 and $535 million from untouched funds for the Ebola virus. The funding would support all aspects of the U.S. response including public health preparedness and response efforts, public health surveillance, epidemiology, lab testing, quarantine costs, and research and development of new vaccines and therapies. This request comes as Wall Street had its worst day in two years after a spike in coronavirus cases in South Korea and Italy. COVID-19 has killed at least 2,699 people and infected more than 80,000 others, mostly in mainland China. But more countries are reporting infections. In the United State, there are at least 35 confirmed cases— 18 from the quarantined cruise ship, three evacuated from China, 12 travel-related, and two person-to-person infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). U.S. President Donald Trump has created a task force led by the HHS and made up of infectious disease experts to direct the U.S response. In the meantime, the government has been evacuating American citizens from Wuhan, China—where the virus originated—and has been isolating and screening all citizens coming from Central China as well as those who were on a Japanese cruise ship that was quarantined for coronavirus.
Hospitals and other health care facilities are dependent on environmental services (EVS) staff to effectively clean and disinfect facility surfaces to protect patients from the pathogens that cause health care-acquired infections. However, EVS staff should not be expected to take on the burden alone. A partnership between EVS staff and infection preventionists (IPs) assures the best cleaning and disinfection processes will become protocol in your health care facility, according to Infection Control Today. In order to form a successful partnership, IPs need to understand the competencies and training of the EVS staff. IPs can accomplish this by meeting regularly with EVS leadership to review best practices for cleaning specific areas such as operating rooms, cardiac catherization labs, and radiology suites. They also can review the specific types of cleaning such as daily cleaning of occupied patient rooms, terminal cleanings that occur before a new patient enters a room, as well as specialized procedures for isolation rooms containing patients with highly contagious illnesses such as C. difficile or norovirus. IPs can also be instrumental in helping EVS staff evaluate and approve the best cleaners and disinfectants for the facility, considering factors such as kill claims, dwell time, ease of application, and required personal protective equipment (PPE). Any time cleaning product changes are proposed, IPs can help review and approve the new products. Quality assurance metrics are critical to determine if EVS staff are cleaning thoroughly enough to prevent HAIs. IPs can work with EVS leadership to develop metrics that can be measured and reported regularly. Possible metrics include audits of high-touch surfaces using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) monitoring systems to detect living cells on a surface.
With the news that 11 of the 13 Americans evacuated from a quarantined cruise ship to the University of Nebraska Medical Center tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, infection control specialists are no doubt wondering about disinfection protocols for the ship. The Diamond Princess has been quarantined in Yokohama Bay near Tokyo since February 5 after more than 600 passengers were found to have COVID-19. However, Princess Cruises officials say the ship will be ready to carry a new set of passengers by April 29, the Daily Mail reports. The ship will be fully sanitized and then taken into dry dock for a period of time. Cruise line officials made the decision to reuse the boat instead of destroying it as it is only halfway through its lifespan and they would like to protect their investment. Airlines, including Singapore Airlines (SIA), are among the other modes of transportation stepping up on cleaning and disinfection efforts since the emergence of the coronavirus, Channel News Asia reports. In addition to their existing protocols, which include the cleaning of restrooms, vacuuming of carpets and cleaning of high-touch surfaces such as try tables, SIA teams are using disinfectants on in-flight entertainment screens and windows. For flights from mainland China, SIA takes the added step of fogging the cabin with a disinfecting chemical approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Prior to the fogging, cleaning crews remove all blankets and linens for disinfection and a high-temperature washing. Workers then begin another round of cleaning, using disinfectant wipes on restroom and cabin surfaces. For the latest information on preventing the spread of COVID-19, visit www.issa.com/coronavirus.
Spring cleaning season is coming up, and so is a time dedicated to professional cleaners—National Cleaning Week on March 22-28. As the worldwide cleaning association, ISSA is calling upon those in the cleaning industry to not only take the week to celebrate the value of clean, but also to bring its importance to the public’s eye. As critical as cleaning is to public health, the environment, and the economy, many people tend to take cleaning for granted to the point it’s almost invisible. At a webinar this week promoting National Cleaning Week, John Nothdurft, director of government affairs for ISSA, suggested ways cleaning professionals can elevate the profession which does so much to keep people healthy in schools, hospitals, and other public buildings as well as in homes. “A lot of people assume cleanliness rather than demand it,” Nothdurft said. “We want the public to demand it.” Nothdurft suggested that cleaning professionals use the week to draw attention to their own businesses by running special sales and promotions. They also can use the week to spread the importance of cleaning by getting involved in advocacy efforts that support the industry; promote cleaning week by using ISSA’s graphics (available at www.ISSA.com/NCW) on their social media, websites, and promotional materials; and sharing their cleaning impact stories with ISSA. “Words matter, but stories persuade,” Nothdurft said. Whatever your strategy this cleaning week, getting the word out will not only help your business and spread the message on the value of clean, it also will bring positive attention to those working in the industry. “National Cleaning Week is as a good time to thank custodians and cleaners working on the front line,” said Nothdurft.
Facility managers and professional cleaners are instrumental in protecting people in their buildings from biological threats. This week’s news highlighted some of the threats—viruses and fungus—cleaning industry professionals battle daily. Problems continue for Seattle Children’s Hospital, which is accused of covering up a mold infestation in the air handling units of its operating rooms since at least 2005. Hospital officials admit 14 patients have contracted infections from the Aspergillus mold, with half dying as a result. Hospital maintenance crews are installing HEPA filters in all the operating rooms. But families of the affected patients say the hospital was not timely in solving its mold problem and have filed a class-action lawsuit. You can protect your facility from a lawsuit and ensure the health of your building’s patrons by learning more about indoor air quality at the upcoming Clean Buildings Expo next month in Baltimore. COVID-19 continues to be a threat monitored in the news. CMM has shared best practices to protect your facility from this new virus, such as this tip sheet on disinfectant use from the Global BioRisk Advisory Council® (GBAC), a Division of ISSA. This tip sheet is the latest in a series from GBAC on the current coronavirus outbreak. The council has issued tip sheets on personal protective equipment and risk assessment procedures. Learn more about protecting your facility from COVID-19 at an upcoming GBAC workshop. Probably the biggest threat your facility faces the rest of winter is flu germs. Despite all the attention on COVID-19, your building patrons are much more likely to come down with influenza, especially since this flu season has been a bad one, affecting 26 million people in the United States so far. Flu has caused the death of at least 14,000 people, and the hospitalization of at least 250,000 individuals. How well did your facility survive the cold and flu season? Attend this Cleaning Buildings Expo session to learn cleaning process improvements that custodial teams can make to reduce the spread of the flu. Protect yourself from germs and other threats this weekend and CMM will be back with more news on Monday.
A new study released in China this week found that the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is more contagious than the related viruses which cause SARS and MERS, CNN reports. The new study examined data from 72,314 patients, 44,672 of which were confirmed cases of the virus. Of the confirmed cases, there were 1,023 deaths, a mortality rate of 2.3%. By comparison, SARS had a mortality rate of 9.6% during the 2003 outbreak, while MERS has a case fatality of 35%. While the disease resulting from the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 is not as fatal on a case-by-case basis, its greater spread has already led to more deaths than its related coronaviruses. However, if you are in the United States there is one disease that has COVID-19 beat in terms of contagiousness and severity—the flu. The 2019-2020 flu season began early, in late September, and has affected 26 million people in the United States. It is projected to be one of the worst flu seasons in a decade and has so far resulted in the death of at least 14,000 people, and the hospitalization of at least 250,000 individuals, CNN reports. Even in mild flu seasons, at least 12,000 die from influenza in the United States each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The flu becomes dangerous when secondary infections emerge as the result of an already weakened immune system. These complications include pneumonia, inflammation in the heart and brain, and organ failure. Influenza is a tricky disease as the virus changes every year. Most of these changes are small and insignificant, but occasionally the flu undergoes a shift which results in a new strain that people have not been exposed to before. Fortunately, there was no shift this year, unlike in 2009 when the H1N1 flu strain became a pandemic because people had no immunity against it. Help protect your building patrons from the flu. Learn some cleaning tips to beat this year’s flu season.
Combatting biohazards such as the virus that causes COVID-19 requires hands-on situational response training. Gain the knowledge and competence to identify, evaluate, reduce, and eliminate biological threats at the GBAC® Bio-Remediation and Response Fundamentals workshop on Thursday, March 19, following the Clean Buildings Expo in Baltimore. This course demonstrates hands-on situational response training and covers the fundamentals of biohazardous material clean up and waste management. Attendees will learn infection control and contamination control measures with a special emphasis on COVID-19. They will review the basics of personal protective equipment (PPE), including proper donning and doffing procedures, as well as build skills in bio-response and biohazard remediation. Upon course completion, participants are eligible to obtain the status of Forensic Restoration Technician™ through the Global BioRisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of ISSA. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to become a microbial warrior. Register for this workshop and others at the CBE today.
As a cleaning industry professional, chances are good you’ve cleaned and disinfected various high-touch objects, from doorknobs and light switches to furniture and perhaps even mobile phones and other electronic devices. But have you cleaned money? China is taking no chances with the ongoing coronavirus. The country’s central bank is deep cleaning or destroying potentially infected cash, CNN reports. As of last weekend, all Chinese banks must disinfect their cash with ultraviolet light and high temperatures. Then they are required to store it for seven to 14 days before releasing it to customers. Cash that comes from high-risk infection areas, like hospitals and markets, will be sent back to the central bank, where it may be destroyed instead of being recirculated. To make up for any cash shortfalls, the bank will issue large amounts of new, uninfected cash. Infection control specialists are uncertain as to whether people can actually become sick from handling money. However, previous studies have found that money can be very germy. A study that looked at dollar bills circulating in New York City found they carried over a hundred different strains of bacteria. Bacteria that cause food-borne illness—including Salmonella and E. coli—can survive on coins, while other bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has been found on bank notes.
The Global BioRisk Advisory Council® (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, has published a third tip sheet for cleaning and restoration professionals addressing the recent outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (Wuhan Coronavirus). In the release, which can be downloaded here, GBAC details recommendations for the proper use of disinfectants to prevent the spread of virus. This tip sheet is the latest in a series from GBAC on the current coronavirus outbreak. The council has issued tip sheets on personal protective equipment and risk assessment procedures. ISSA and GBAC continue to monitor the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the cleaning industry. For the latest updates, visit ISSA.com/coronavirus.
A six-month old infant who developed surgical site infections from Aspergillus mold at Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle died last week, becoming the seventh child to die among twice as many who were affected by the mold, KOMO News reports. Hospital officials revealed in November that 14 patients had contracted infections from Aspergillus which was found in the air-handling units of the operating rooms. In December, parents of these patients filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that that hospital covered up the mold infestation. The lawsuit claims hospital officials knew about the mold since at least 2005, when a family sued the hospital after their child developed an Aspergillus infection. The hospital confidentially settled the lawsuit in 2008. Aspergillus is commonly found in the environment. Although the mold does not affect most people, those with weakened immune systems, damaged lungs, or asthma are more likely to get sick after breathing it in. Seattle Children’s Hospital closed its operating rooms twice last year after air tests detected the mold. As of February 5, the hospital has reopened three operating rooms after installing HEPA filtration. Hospital maintenance crews are currently installing HEPA filters in the remaining 11 operating rooms that are currently closed, according to the Washington state Department of Health. In addition to HVAC systems, learn other facility areas where mold is commonly found.
Facilities that host crowds, such as entertainment and sports venues, face challenges moving a large amount of people through their public restrooms. A new toilet design may speed up restroom patrons, European Cleaning Journal reports. The toilet, created in the United Kingdom, slopes forward at 13 degrees, so users need to brace their legs to avoid sliding off. As this stance causes discomfort in the leg muscles after several minutes, restroom patrons are motivated to spend less time in the restroom stall. The toilet’s creator said he was motivated after noticing that restroom stalls often become a private texting and social media space for people seeking a break from work. He also believes the slanting toilet may have a health advantage over traditional toilets, which can contribute to weakened pelvis muscles caused by restroom users sitting too long.
In this issue: A wave of change in floor care, measuring your marketing ROI, cleaning ceramic tile and grout and more!
