Article By Mark Warner - Enviro

Surface
Scrutiny
Consistent
Cleaning
Schedule
Required for
High-Touch
Items
By Mark Warner
BACILLOPHOBIA or bacteriaphobia
are terms to describe an abnormal and
persistent fear of germs and bacteria that
can be found on a wide variety of surfaces
encountered daily. Beyond outright
phobias, many people are concerned
about possible exposure to disease
from w h a t ' s unseen i n t h e i r
environment, even though they likely
come in contact with bacteria quite
regularly and it isn't necessarily a
threat.
"Just because there is bacteria on a
surface does not mean it w i l l harm
your health, but you have to protect
yourself by washing your hands
frequently, especially before you eat
or handle food," advises Hugh
Pennington, a microbiologist and
Professor at Aberdeen University in
the United Kingdom.
Vigilance is important because
commonly touched surfaces tend to
harbour a volume and variety of germs
and bacteria. In 2010, Forensic Science
Technician, an organization that
44 Who's Who 2011 I Canadian Property Management
ECO-LABELLING MORE PREVALENT
IN CLEANING PRODUCTS
TerraChoice's 2010 Sins of Greenwashing
r e p o r t f o u n d e v i d e n c e of ttie g r o w i n g
i m p o r t a n c e of e c o - l a b e l l i n g in t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l janitorial/sanitation industry. The
study e x a m i n e d 6 0 5 c l e a n i n g c h e m i s t r y p r o d u c t s a n d 120 t i s s u e p r o d u c t s that
collectively m a d e 2,001 g r e e n claims a n d f o u n d that 3 2 % of t h e c l e a n i n g p r o d u c t s
d i s p l a y e d certification by a legitimate e c o - l a b e l s u c h as E c o - L o g o ™ or Green
Seal"". In c o n t r a s t , a c r o s s t h e entire s t u d y s a m p l e - r e p r e s e n t i n g nearly 5,300
p r o d u c t s - only a b o u t 2 0 % of p r o d u c t s were c e r t i f i e d .
" P r o c u r e m e n t d e m a n d for greener a n d healthier p r o d u c t s has b e e n
a c c o m p a n i e d by a d e m a n d for certification to just a few r e c o g n i z e d s t a n d a r d s . Just
as the f o r m u l a t i o n e x p e r i e n c e a n d e c o n o m i e s of scale have spilled over f r o m
p r o f e s s i o n a l to c o n s u m e r m a r k e t s , s o has t h e i m p o r t a n c e a n d u s e of legitimate
certifications," t h e report states.
Still, t h e "sin of v a g u e n e s s " w a s prevalent, i n c l u d i n g u n e l a b o r a t e d w o r d i n g such
as: e c o - f r i e n d l y ; e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y friendly; e a r t h - f r i e n d l y ; e n v i r o n m e n t safe;
h a r n e s s i n g nature; a n d e c o - c h e m i s t r y . This w a s f o u n d in 7 7 % of p r o d u c t s
reviewed.
TerraChoice urges c o n s u m e r s t o q u e s t i o n c l a i m s that aren't s u b s t a n t i a t e d , a n d /
or are v a g u e or simply irrelevant. "Since n o p r o d u c t is actually (yet) friendly to t h e
e n v i r o n m e n t a n d since r e c y c l e d fibre or s u s t a i n a b l e harvesting or low toxicity isn't
the only i m p a c t of a p r o d u c t , l o o s e l a n g u a g e like " g r e e n , " " e c o " or " e a r t h " can only
m i s l e a d , " t h e report w a r n s .
For m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , see w w w . s i n s o f g r e e n w a s h i n g . o r g .
maintenance&housekeeping
promotes the teaching of forensic sciences,
compiled a list of the 50 'germiest' places
in the world, including: toilets; kitchen
sinks; door handles; automated bank
machines; computer keyboards; and
communal office equipment.
Property and facilities managers should
note three other items on the list: elevator
buttons, water fountains and faucet
handles. Dr. N i c h o l a s M o o n , a
microbiologist working with the University
of Arizona, reiterates that a typical
elevator button is much more contaminated
than a public washroom. "In a busy office
building, elevator buttons can be touched
by scores of people who will come into
contact with all kinds of bacteria," he
observes.
Another University of Arizona study
found Influenza A virus on 50% of
surveyed water fountains and faucet
handles, while norovirus was found on
about one quarter of the same surfaces.
Nevertheless, it's important to use cleaning
agents and/or disinfectants that strike a
balance with the environment.
During last decade's SARS outbreak,
for example, bleach was widely used to
clean virtually all surfaces - floors walls,
high-touch areas - in some major hotels
and office complexes. Bleach is an
excellent disinfectant, but it should always
be used selectively and diluted with water
as per the manufacturer's instructions.
Indiscriminant application during the
SARS scare left some Hong Kong office
buildings reeking of bleach for up to a year
after the treatments, harming indoor air
quality. Perhaps more alarmingly, large
amounts of the bleach ended up in the bays
surrounding the city, harming vegetation
and aquatic life.
A regular cleaning regime for hightouch areas should be adequate to control
bacterial build-up and help protect the
health of building users. To begin,
property/facilities managers and their
cleaning staff should specifically identify
high-touch areas and create a cleaning
schedule that ideally ensures they are
cleaned at least twice a day. This would
likely include door handles, faucets and
other frequently touched features in
washrooms, railings, elevator buttons,
light switches and common work area
surfaces and equipment.
Cleaning and disinfecting is not the
same thing. High-touch areas should be
cleaned first with a quality all-purpose
cleaner and then disinfected - preferably
with a green-certified disinfectant, which
has been independently tested and
proven to have a reduced impact on the
environment, as well as safer properties
for users and building occupants.
In choosing a disinfectant, take
note of its dwell or contact time - i.e.
the amount of time required before it
has killed germs and bacteria on a
surface. Typically, that will be about
ten minutes before the surface can be
wiped dry.
B u i l d i n g o c c u p a n t s ' hygiene
habits are also important. Providing
hand sanitizer stations and posting
signs reminding patrons to wash
their hands can help to protect
everybody's health. I I
Mark Warner is the Director of Training and
the Product IVIanager for Disinfectants for
Enviro-Solutions Ltd,, based in
Peterborough, Ontario. For more
information, see the web site at www.
enviro-solution.com.
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