Products for surface cleaning and disinfection in hospitals and similar settings are available in a variety of traditional and innovative formulations. Infection prevention and housekeeping teams have more choice than ever but they increasingly need to consider the sustainability of their products in response to demands from regulators, patients, and other stakeholders. Whatever products are chosen, the way they are manufactured and used can have a significant impact on sustainability.
Many infection prevention teams continue to use traditional surface disinfectants containing chlorine as the active ingredient for critical areas such as wards to comply with established procedures and NHS Guidelines. Disinfectant solutions are typically prepared by adding these products as powders, tablets, or bulk liquids to water in dilution bottles or buckets. While sachets and tablets use relatively small amounts of packaging, they offer few other sustainability benefits. Products supplied as bulk liquids can generate a lot of single-use plastics waste.
Away from critical areas, however, there are many applications where housekeeping teams face fewer restrictions and therefore have greater flexibility to choose disinfectants and general cleaning products which offer sustainability enhancements. One of the simplest and most effective ways to do this is to switch to concentrated products where water is added at the point of use. This offers potential sustainability gains because fewer containers are needed to support any given cleaning operation.
The old-fashioned way to use concentrates was to buy products in bulk containers and then dilute them by pouring some into a bucket or spray bottle filled with water. However, this is not very efficient because it is difficult to manage and control the amount of product being used.
Studies show that when left to add product by hand, many people will add too much, which is very wasteful. It is possible that some of this overdosing is ?encouraged? by rules and regulations. Disinfectants, for example, are tested to meet infection prevention standards at specific concentrations, often defined as a minimum ?parts per million? of the active ingredient. Some NHS guidelines specify that disinfectants must exceed these minimums. Used properly and at the correct dilution these products will be effective. But is entirely possible that people will add a bit more product just to be sure the dilution rate is always above the required level.
Sometimes of course people will add too little product. Either way, the resulting solution is inconsistent and unlikely to offer the best results. If products are over-concentrated, they might cause damage to surfaces, or need additional rinsing to remove them but with no additional disinfection or cleaning benefit. Solutions that are too weak might not work properly which can lead to poor disinfection and the need for reapplication or recleaning, ultimately leading to even more product consumption, let alone the additional energy, water, and time involved in preparing extra solutions.
The modern approach is to use concentrated surface disinfectants and cleaning products as part of an integrated dosing or dilution control system or format. Products are supplied in self-contained pouches or packs and are tested to meet the relevant cleaning and infection prevention ?EN? standards when used at the correct dilution.
With these systems, users prepare diluted solutions by adding product and water to fill a reusable spray bottle or bucket. They are designed to deliver an accurate and consistent amount of product each time they are used and take any guesswork out of the process. Many achieve this by measuring and dispensing the dose of product added to the water. Some systems go even further by automatically controlling the precise amount of product and water while dispensing the resulting solution directly into a bucket or bottle.
Resulting solutions are always at the correct concentration, or dilution, to achieve effective cleaning or disinfection and comply with guidelines and regulations. Solutions are prepared quickly with little or no wastage, leading to optimum cleaning results and reduced need for recleaning. With labour costs far outweighing product costs this saving alone can quickly justify the investment in equipment.
The self-contained nature of these formats reduces, or eliminates, the risk of users coming into contact with neat product which helps make them safer. Products for dosing and dilution control are typically manufactured at extremely high concentrations and supplied in lightweight packs or pouches that utilise minimal amounts of raw materials. That can lead to a number of additional sustainability benefits.
Infection prevention and housekeeping teams have tried and tested regimes that are designed to deliver the highest standards of efficiency and patient safety. There are relatively few options in critical areas but elsewhere in the hospital switching formats can, with suitable support from manufacturers including appropriate training, be a relatively simple process.
Suppliers should be able to demonstrate the sustainability benefits of their products and systems with modelling tools and calculators using real-world metrics and evidence. Those with proven products and track records in healthcare and related fields can draw on their experience and expertise to work with in-house teams to ensure they meet their sustainability, general cleaning, and infection prevention objectives.