A change for the good
October 1st 2008

The Rubbermaid Commercial Products Microfibre Cleaning System,implemented by Initial Hospital Services at Mayday Hospital in South London, has improved on mops and buckets.Changeable chlorine-resistant microfibre pads prevent crosscontamination and make savings in water, chemicals and workers' time

Initial Hospital Services is a Rentokil Initial subdivision. It provides non-clinical support services to public and private hospitals.At the Mayday NHS Hospital in Croydon, South London, Initial Hospital Services has been providing cleaning and portering services since 1991.As NHS standards require each clinical room be cleaned at least three times per day, with 670 beds and average occupancy rates close to 99%, this represents a significant challenge for the cleaning team.

The method formerly being used at Mayday Hospital was not effective enough.The process involved using cotton mops and changing the water and detergent at least once after cleaning each room.The mops were colour-coded according to the NHS 4-area system (blue for general areas, red for sanitary areas, yellow for infectious areas, and green for kitchen areas).However, throughout the day the same mop would be used in a large number of rooms within its colour area. It would only be changed at the start of the evening shift, and sent to be laundered.

Cleaning staff were instructed to change the water after cleaning each room, but within a room itself, it was left up to the individual to make the decision as to when the water needed to be changed.

Large amounts of cleaning chemicals were needed to properly disinfect. It also placed a strain on staff as each time they changed the water, they had to walk down the hallway to the water source, then carry the buckets back to the room.

Changeable microfibre pads In April 2008 Initial Hospital Services implemented the Rubbermaid Commercial Products Microfibre Cleaning System.The solution consists of a cart with a laundry bag, a charging bucket, and a mop head fitted with changeable Microfibre cleaning pads.The pads are Microfibre material, which is more effective than cotton.The cleaning worker can 'pre-impregnate' the cleaning pads with the proper dosage of water and detergent, and store them in the charging bucket on the cart, which hold ups to 20 pads.The cleaner then attaches a pre-impregnated cleaning pad to the top of the mop, and proceeds to clean the floor of a room.When he is finished, he removes the dirty cleaning pad and places it in the cart's laundry bag for washing.A new pad is used for cleaning each room.Assuming one pad used per room (more may be required for larger rooms), one cart can clean 20 single-bedded rooms.

Initial Hospital Services has also implemented a similar Rubbermaid system for the cleaning of bathrooms.These carts are coloured red to clearly indicate that they are only for sanitary areas.

"You really need a trolley like the one provided by Rubbermaid in order to clean effectively," explains Les McKain, contract general manager, Initial Hospital Services at Mayday Hospital.

Chlorine-resistant The Rubbermaid solution has chlorine-resistant Microfibre technology.Microfibre is thinner than a human hair and contains a large number of split ends so that there is a greater amount of surface area to collect the dirt. In several independent laboratory tests (including those conducted by the NOVA laboratory in the United States and the Institut Hohensteiner in Germany),Microfibre mops have been shown to remove 99.5% of MRSA-causing staphylococcus aureus bacteria using water alone.

Microfibre technology is not normally resistant to chlorine, which severely damages the microfibers.Yet hospital policies require that chlorine-based detergents be used in order to combat c.difficile.

Rubbermaid's chlorine-resistant pads are highly durable, guaranteed for up to 200 washes at 95°C and 200 drying cycles at 60°C."In comparison, pads which are not chlorine resistant deteriorate rapidly when exposed to the chemical. At most they might last for a third as long," says McKain.

The company says use of a new pad for each room cleaned, completely eliminates the risk of cross-contamination.The pads are soaked in the right dosage of water and chlorine, without the need to add additional water or chemicals to the floor.As the old system relied heavily on changing the water frequently and using high levels of chemicals, the reduction gives significant cost savings.The reduction in water also gives safety benefits as floors will not be so wet as to cause slips. "It has really made it easier for us to clean," says Katarzyna Karna, a member of the cleaning team at Mayday Hospital.

"Rubbermaid provided excellent follow-up support," continues McKain,"even coming on-site to assemble the equipment for us, unlike other vendors who frequently only deliver the parts and leave it up to us to put them together. They were also very careful to check that all of the components ordered had been properly delivered."

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