I am considering making use of a steam / vapor system in the hospital that I clean, but the science behind it is something that information is kind of scarce on.
does anyone have personal experience using technology like this? Is it cost effective from a labor and productivity standpoint? what sorts of bacteria does it kill? Why does it work?
if anyone has information about this I would love to learn it.
Are industrial quaility steam cleaners quiet enough to use in a hospital? I've cleaned a 16 room patient unit for years and we have to be quiet as possible when doing floors, upholstry, dusting. If they're quiet it would be great for disinfection control and less chemicals used.
Yes; Steam and vapour cleaning in general has many advantages. Dry saturated steam has proven very effective in killing bacteria without the use of harsh chemical cleaners.Steam also has the ability to drive dirt (which is a food source for bacteria) out of cracks and crevices which is very difficult to do using traditional cleaning methods.If you are interested I can provide more information on this subject.
Is Vapor steam cleaning as effective on grout lines as a truckmount spinner attachment.?
We are doing a demo on 6000 sqaure foot grocery facility on tuesday and any advice would be great.
we are using a high alkaline base cleaner for the grout with a nylo grit cylinder pad and a truck mount spinner attachment.
for the last year the current service company has been sealing dirt into the grout lines with a penetrating sealer?
what is the most effective way to clean this. alkaline than acid?
any help would be grout.
Chris,
Scientific validation of steam vapor's potency as a disinfectant for environmental surfaces in a hospital is available.
The February 2009 issue of the peer-reviewed American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) published a study demonstrating that a proprietary steam vapor system destroyed tested bacteria in 5 seconds.
The saturated steam vapor disinfection system utilizing a proprietary water treatment module was shown to destroy within 5 seconds a diverse assortment of pathogenic organisms, including vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and C. Diff. This is dramatically faster than typical disinfection methods.
The study, “Reduction in Infection Risk Through Treatment of Microbially Contaminated Surfaces With a Novel, Portable, Saturated Steam Vapor Disinfection System,” was conducted by Dr. Benjamin Tanner, president and scientific director of Antimicrobial Test Laboratories. It demonstrated the capability of a steam vapor disinfection system to kill microorganisms, reduce surface-mediated infection risks and serve as an alternative to chemical disinfectants. The AJIC abstract is found here.According to Dr. Tanner:
"Commercial steam vapor systems are designed to produce a targeted amount of high-quality, 'saturated' steam. Saturated steam has relatively low moisture content, high temperature, and low particle size relative to steam produced by ordinary steam cleaners. The heat delivered to surfaces by the steam is extraordinarily germicidal. In fact, doctors and laboratories have relied on steam to disinfect critical equipment for decades. A unique and very attractive attribute of steam as a germicide is that it is chemical-free.
"All commercial steam vapor systems remove soil well, but some deliver heat more effectively to environmental surfaces, and therefore do a better job of killing pathogens that may reside there. Well-designed systems deliver saturated steam through a cleaning head affixed with a textile component that traps the steam for maximum heat. Once the steam has left a cleaning head, it expands and cools rapidly. Therefore, the best tools for thermal disinfection hold the steam at the steam-surface interface."
Tests conducted at the University of Washington show that restroom cleaning productivity when using steam vapor is comparable to conventional methods.
Steam vapor's ability to penetrate surfaces enables sanitizing grout and other porous materials - as well as killing embedded mold - with the added benefit of being environmentally benign. The systems are quiet (there is a low-level hissing when the steam vapor is delivered), unobtrusive and can be safely used around patients and building occupants.