Keeping mop heads tip top
December 1st 2008 Chemaide in partnership with its sister company has launched a new product for
cleaning and sanitising conventional mops and mop heads
The only down side with the increased cleaning performance of
the latest chemicals is that the more dirt that is lifted off a
surface – especially from floors – the more mop heads become
contaminated. Similarly, cross contamination occurs when infected
cleaning tools such as mops come in contact with floor surfaces,
causing bad odours, spreading germs and even illnesses.
The degree of contamination in the cleaning process can be
determined by identifying low and high-risk areas of a building, (highrisk
includes toilet, food service and changing room areas).These
areas are most susceptible to rapid bacteria growth and can
contaminate mops almost instantly.
It is advised by many organisations, that for cleanliness and to
prevent mops causing cross contamination, mop heads should be
removed and laundered, preferably daily, and stored to dry.Mop
buckets should be emptied,washed and dried after each use.Good
solid advice, but in practice how many cleaners actually carry it out,
and have the facilities to do so? The result of not having all the
facilities means poorly maintained mops and premature disposal
costing hundreds of pounds.
Another problem on many sites is a lack of daily laundering
facilities to ensure mop heads are clean and bacteria free. It is well
documented that chlorine-releasing agents e.g. hypochlorite/bleach
are rapidly effective against bacteria, viruses
and spores.However, performance is very
limited with the presence of dirt or organic
material, so it is important to clean equipment
thoroughly before using the agents.To
achieve a satisfactory result requires a two
part process, proving time consuming with a
possible health and safety risk.
Chemaide says it has resolved the problem
of mop head sanitising with the new
Chemtab-Plus.Chemtab-Plus is a fast
dissolving 3.25g tablet which combines the
sanitising power of chlorine NaDCC
disinfectant with detergent builders and low
foaming surfactants.Depending on the degree of
soiling, one to four tablets are placed into a bucket of
clean water and mop heads are simply left to soak in the solution,
rinsed and then left to dry.The company believes that Chemtab-Plus
is simple, safe and more effective than a two part method. It says the
tablet has a greater biological effect due to a near neutral PH of 6.5,
and is less corrosive to metals than
liquid bleach. More articles from Chemaide Ltd: | 
