CLARIFYING CLEANING
Cleaning is about removing all the signs of visual dirt or organic loading. It is easily controlled because it is visually indicated. When something looks dirty—one knows that it requires a good clean. By same, the task is only complete when everything looks clean again.
Cleaning products are aids to cleaning—they often work best with some agitation as well. Often—just plain water is insufficient at removing dirt and other organic loading—this is where cleaning products / agents come into play. Cleaning products / agents usually contain detergent or soap ingredients which are generally hydrophilic, acting as emulsifiers and lifting fat and other sticky masses off the surfaces. The rinsing phase then washes this soapy emulsion, complete with organic residue and dirt, away and down the drain—leaving a surface which looks clean to the eye.
Cleaning is vitally important as a prerequisite to rinsing and then disinfection or sterilization. By removing all dirt and organic matter—you are optimizing both the efficacy and the residual activity of the disinfectant / sterilant. This translates into a number of benefits apart from enhanced infection control: reduced product consumption; less frequent maintenance applications; and reduced product expenditure; to name a few.
To explain this: if a disinfectant is sprayed over a ‘blob’ of dirt and organic matter, the active ingredients will work on the surface on which it was sprayed, and begin slowly penetrating the ‘blob’. This ‘blob’ eventually uses all the active ingredient up, leaving untouched organic matter and possibly microbes behind in its depth. This defeats the object of a disinfectant—it is meant to be applied and left, working against the arrival of new microbes as they circulate within in your environment.
Disinfection is protection!
REITERATING RINSING
When washing or cleaning a surface, the contaminant is often removed via the introduction of a cleaning chemical and a mechanical force. Rinsing involves the final removal of any residual soil and chemical that might remain after washing or cleaning. In performing this task, it is important not to introduce any more contaminants or dust by way of your water.
As with washing or cleaning, rinsing is measurable and controllable, and it directly contributes to the effectiveness of any cleaning protocol.
How does rinsing improve disinfection? The concept is simple yet often overlooked: detergents or soaps are only good for cleaning, but nothing much else. If a disinfectant is applied to an organically and chemically clean surface, there will be more active ingredient available for new microbes landing on the surface: i.e. spare bullets, so to speak! For certain products, the active ingredients remain bound to the surface after evaporation because of the adhesive properties of some ingredients which exist in the formulation. This benefit will, however, be compromised, should any detergent or soap be left behind to lift it!
Remember the three steps to infection control success:
1. CLEAN
2. RINSE
3. DISINFECT
DESCRIBING DISINFECTION
Cleaning is a general activity shared by people, households and other entities globally—its value remains categorical. Disinfection, on the other hand, is not indicated in ‘normal’ environments, or germ milieus, given that, between nature’s constant juggling for ecological balance, and our impeccably designed immune systems, illness and disease is suitably kept in check. However, in a healthcare facility, we find a central point where disease collects—and people working in these environments are often immersed in what is referred to as an occupational hazard. In most cases—people working in the same environment become invulnerable towards the potential pathogens which commonly circulate because their systems are constantly exposed to them. However—their extensions outside their workplace are not protected.
Disinfection reduces the risk of infection from microbiological contamination. While cleaning removes that which we can see, disinfection removes that which we cannot see! Disinfection is done to reduce the chance of infecting and cross-infecting patients. Disinfection is necessary for surfaces or equipment that will possibly make contact with broken skin or mucous membranes. High level disinfection is required from semi-invasive medical procedures such as endoscopy. Lower levels of disinfection are implemented on surfaces in intensive care or surgery wards.
Disinfection is best done on clean surfaces, and not rinsed off, so as to provide a barrier of protection.
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