New Active Ion Cleaning Technology
Chemistry For Cleaning
Last week we posted an article on steam cleaning that also made mention of new electrolyzed water treatment technology. That technology is better known as “active ion” cleaning, and as mentioned last week, it turns water into a cleaning solution.
The creators of the first handheld active ion cleaner can be found at www.activeion.com. They’re calling their product the “ActiveIon Pro”, and so far it’s very popular. It hasn’t hurt that ActiveIon has spent a lot of time in the spotlight this past year, with press coverage ranging from Forbes.com to an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. In a recent interview with Jean Hanson of TheJanitorialStore.com, ActiveIon CEO Jim Wiese spoke candidly about what his product can and can’t do. He answered questions about durability, replacement parts, quality of water required, and where the product should be applied.
It’s this last category, application, that interests many in the cleaning industry. It turns out that the current product has domestic origins: in the interview with Jean Hanson, CEO Jim Wiese says that ActiveIon came about as the result of a dog owner who wanted to safely clean his pet’s living quarters. Apparently, the dog was extremely sensitive to chemicals, and its owner needed a safe but reliable method. ActiveIon does not claim to have invented the technology—in fact, it’s existed for years in the food industry—but merely to have made it accessible to the rest of the cleaning industry.
Of course, one has to wonder how well ActiveIon will be able to make the transition from a more domestic marketplace to the cleaning industry at large. The two products currently available from ActiveIon, the ActiveIon Pro and the Ionator (a sanitizer/disinfectant), are available for 300$ and 329$, respectively. ActiveIon claims that cost savings on chemicals pay for their products within months, but even so it’s likely that many BSCs will find it a difficult choice to make.
For more information check out this video series for the ActiveIon technology:
Disinfectants in the Cleaning Industry
Defining a Disinfectant
There’s a lot of confusion about the role that disinfectants play in the cleaning industry. On the internet right now are a slew of articles addressing the differences between cleaning and disinfecting. This is as good a place as any to start defining what disinfectants are and how they’re being used (and mis-used). Kelly Patterson wrote an excellent piece for Housekeeping Solutions magazine that tackles the “pluses and minuses” directly. In it, she concludes that disinfectants and cleaning should be two arms of a unified attack. As most experts are quick to point out, cleaning means removing soil or contaminants, while disinfecting means killing germs and microbes. Disinfecting should not replace cleaning, and in fact in many instances it cannot replace cleaning because often the germs’ source of nourishment is in the soil or contaminants left on the “disinfected” surface. Similarly, what most of us know is still true—a surface that appears clean may in fact be teeming with bacteria.
Some solutions do combine cleaning with disinfecting, but the labels on these products should be read carefully. In general, it’s wise to familiarize yourself with disinfectant-related terms in order to understand what the product is capable of doing. This is especially important with disinfectants because they work at the microbial level. Disinfectants are required to list on their labels which pathogens they kill. One should never assume a disinfectant will kill pathogens not listed on the label. In addition, a variety of other factors such as contact time required, concentration, cleaning efficacy, and cost in use should be considered. A good article on these terms was posted recently at Cleaning & Maintenance Management’s website.
Finally, what about green disinfectants? There’s been a lot of buzz over the EPA’s resistance to Green labeling for disinfectants. Some in the industry believe there is sufficient evidence that “green” disinfectants perform as well as traditional disinfectants but with fewer hazards to human and environmental health. An article in favor of green disinfectants can be found here. For the most part, the debate continues to center on the problem of making an intrinsically “un-green” product, a disinfectant, into something relatively harmless to humans and the environment. Most chemical distributors are working along these lines, trying to find the right balance between effectively killing bacteria and leaving as little a footprint behind as possible.
Swine Flu: In lieu of more information, promote preparedness
Preparing for the Second Round of Swine Flu
As mentioned in an earlier post, the second wave of Swine Flu is on its way. In fact, in many places throughout the U.S. it has already arrived. The government has been keeping the newest information available at www.flu.gov, but the simple fact of the matter is that much is still unknown. In an interview today, Dr. Julie Gerberding, the former director of the CDC, pointed out how mixed and complicated messages about swine flu make planning difficult. According to an article posted today on the website for the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (www.cidrap.umn.edu), Gerberding said: “When I oversaw the nation’s strategic national stockpile, one of the most needed items that we didn’t stock was a crystal ball.”
Now more than ever the emphasis is on preparation. Without knowing the specifics of the upcoming disease, much can still be accomplished by way of preparation. In the past few weeks the CDC has released a great deal of information to help businesses prepare for flu season. Much of this information addresses how to deal with absenteeism and workplace etiquette during a flu pandemic. The more that the cleaning industry can team with employers to help prevent the spread of inspection, the better for everyone. Continue to review strategies for flu season. A few good sources of information:
A good article for specific cleaning tips that might be useful to distribute.
Smart Inspect Blog
Stay tuned to the Smart Inspect Blog for articles containing valuable information related to the cleaning industry.
