Germs live on surfaces
If surfaces are not cleaned correctly, harmful germs can live on the surface for a long time. Poorly cleaned surfaces can put clients, staff and visitors at risk of infection. Cleaning and disinfecting the healthcare environment effectively has been proven to reduce the risk of infection (NHMRC, 2019).
Following our who, what, when, how and why of effective medical cleaning fact sheet, we now introduce five cleaning concepts that will improve your technique and help you to achieve a more effective level of cleaning in a variety of settings.
Always follow your healthcare facility’s local requirements, including using specific wipes and personal protective equipment (PPE) for specific surfaces or scenarios.
What are the five key cleaning concepts?
1. Wipe from cleanest to dirtiest
Working from cleanest to dirtiest simply means you clean a site from the least visually dirty to the dirtiest. This will ensure the dirty areas are cleaned last and do not transfer or cross-contaminate the cleaner surfaces.
If a surface has visible soiling, it should be removed before cleaning otherwise it will be smeared across the surface and increase the risk of cross-contamination.
2. Work from the highest point to the lowest
Cleaning this way allows you to work systematically over the surface, environment or equipment. Because lower surfaces are generally more contaminated than surfaces that are higher up, working from top to bottom leaves the dirtiest area to be cleaned last (just like in concept 1 above).
This will also cause you to reduce your chance of cross-contaminating a surface that has already been cleaned, as any drips or dust will fall down onto the surface you have not yet covered.
3. Clean in an s-shaped pattern
When a single wipe is used for a prolonged period, or when multiple wipes are used scrunched up, the chance of transferring germs increases (Dancer 2009).When wiping a surface using an s-shaped pattern, you capture dirt or debris
better. It also encourages you to move the wipe following a systematic pathway, reducing the possibility of cross-contaminating an area that has just been cleaned.
4. Contact time matters
Disinfectants do not kill everything instantly. A disinfectant must remain in contact with germs long enough to kill them. Disinfectants need to remain wet on the surface to achieve contact times for various microorganisms and depending on the manufacturer’s recommendations. Different organisms require different contact times.
CleanLIFE Medical wipes have been tested to kill a wide range of organisms to 99.99% effectiveness after 1-2 minutes of contact time depending on the organism as per TGA testing requirements.
(CLM can provide data on request).
5. Change wipes between surfaces
CleanLIFE medical wipe are designed to be used flat, following the S-shaped pattern. This ensures the whole surface has contact with the wipe, removing the germs while maximizing wipe coverage. If a wipe becomes dry, the disinfectant is no longer killing the germs on the surface. This can increase the risk of transferring the germs from one surface to another. It is important to replace the wipe regularly to ensure that a suitable amount of cleaning solution is being applied to the surface you are cleaning. When your wipe becomes dry or soiled, immediately dispose of it and get a fresh wipe. The best practice is to use one wipe per surface.
