Regaining the dry ground
February 1st 2009

British winter weather is usually wet, but it is not just rainfall that causes flooding.

When burst pipes caused a flash flood at Northwick Park Hospital, it turned to Johnson Diversey's new TASKI swingo scrubber dryer to contain leakage

The GSL contract cleaning team at Northwick Park Hospital recently used its new TASKI swingo scrubber dryers from JohnsonDiversey to cope with a flash flood caused by a leaking water pipe close to a busy reception area.The scrubber dryers removed the water from the affected area and left the floor clean and dry within a few minutes to avoid the need to close the hospital entrance or reception.

"We couldn't have done this with the old equipment because they didn't dry the floor like the new swingo machines," says Marion Bragg, GSL's mobilisation manager for cleaning services."It could have been a lot more serious but we didn't need to close the flooded area or reception.The team was very impressed with the machines and the support we received from JohnsonDiversey."

Hospital drip The problem arose just a few days after GSL, part of G4S from January 2009, had started its contract at the hospital and taken delivery of their new TASKI swingo scrubber dryers for cleaning floors.A clean water pipe in the ceiling began to leak into the washroom and cause flooding that started to spread.Cleaners tried using basic wet pick up tools but these did not dry the floor completely. Instead the TASKI swingo XP scrubber dryer with its efficient water pick up and drying capabilities allowed staff to clear the water and clean the floor to leave it dry.

Unfortunately the leak occurred again later in the day but this time the team was able to remove the water more quickly with the help of the scrubber dryers alone.The flood was contained to an area within just two metres of the washroom and removed in around 15 minutes.Again there was no need to close the reception area which avoided large scale inconvenience and disruption to patients, visitors and staff.

The secret to the floor drying power of the TASKI swingo XP is the 'W'-shaped squeegee's and three castor wheel design.This allows the squeegee to follow the floor profile perfectly for total dryness, even at high working speeds, on all types of surface including structured, tiled and grouted floors.

Automatic adjustment for different floor types eliminates the need for manual setting while direct suction enables the easy pick up of smaller debris. By leaving the floor clean and dry the TASKI swingo XP helps to reduce the potential risk of slip fall accidents, one of the biggest causes of injuries in public spaces.

The TASKI swingo XP is one of the latest generation scrubber dryers from JohnsonDiversey. It claims to increase productivity by up to 30% with reduced energy and water requirements for lower overall cleaning costs and environmental impact. Ride-on operation, compact size and ease of use combine with patented scrubbing heads and squeegee attachments to create a highly efficient tool which is suitable for daytime cleaning in busy areas. JohnsonDiversey believes it has the smallest footprint of all medium to large scrubber dryers on the market. Stand-on operation combines the speed of a ride-on scrubber dryer with the manoeuvrability of a walk-behind for faster cleaning.

Although the leak was from a fresh water pipe the GSL team took the sensible precaution of carrying out a deep clean of the flooded areas.They also completed a thorough sanitising flush-through of the scrubber dryers, following guidance provided by JohnsonDiversey, to eliminate the small potential risk of cross-contamination.

"The Trust's health and safety manager was with us throughout and very comfortable with what we did," says Marion Bragg."We have invested heavily in JohnsonDiversey equipment and have a large range of scrubber dryers in use in various parts of the hospital."

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