By sharing the feedback of professional users on practical issues related to surface disinfection, we seek to assist the work of dedicated experts working to curb the COVID-19 epidemic.
Personal hygiene
The importance of personal hygiene must be emphasized in all cases as it plays a crucial role in prevention. By personal hygiene we mean all the personal and material conditions and activities that are intended to prevent contaminants (both physical, chemical and microbiological) from causing further contamination of workers’ hands, body surfaces and clothing.
Contamination can also occur in reverse when contaminants that endanger the health of workers enter the human body from objects. One element of ensuring personal hygiene is surface disinfection.
The purpose of surface disinfection
Surface disinfection procedures serve a double purpose:
- prevention, risk reduction
- acute emergency response
In general, it can be stated that when using our products, the instructions set out in the safety data sheets must be followed, and the described occupational safety regulations must be kept.
The excellence of our products is due to the particularly effective, complementary operation of two active ingredients: hydrogen peroxide and silver colloid. Hydrogen peroxide is responsible for the immediate disinfecting effect, while the silver particles adhere to the surfaces and are able to ensure their long-term hygiene by preventing the settlement of microorganisms on the surface and reducing their viability.
The frequency of surface disinfection
The frequency of maintenance of a room can be determined by several factors. On the one hand, it depends on the number of visitors to the room between two disinfections. On the other hand, it depends on the microbiological load brought in by visitors with different personal hygiene.
In terms of risk, we differentiate between rooms and within a room, too, so depending on the load, it may be necessary to disinfect several times a week, daily or even several times a day, in addition to the fact that rooms with high risk factors (handles, furniture, mobile electronics, elevator buttons, dialers, restrooms, etc.) must be disinfected continuously. It is important to always choose a disinfectant that does not damage the surfaces and is ’compatible’ with them.
The method of disinfection
Several disinfection methods are possible depending on the capabilities of the users. However, it is very important that the disinfectant of choice is used properly.
Traditional washing, rinsing, wiping with disinfectant
Traditionally, by applying the disinfectant to the surface in its diluted or undiluted state (kept in a moist medium), it can exert the effect of the disinfectant by providing it with a suitable exposure time.
Traditionally, disinfection can also be done with a clean, absorbent cloth, sponge, cleaning cloth (complying with the appropriate work rules), making sure that the material does not react with the surface (see safety data sheet).
Spray disinfection
Disinfection can also be done by spraying: the disinfectant is sprayed on the surface in a diluted or undiluted state (kept in a moist medium), it has a disinfecting effect with a suitable exposure time. This can be done with a spray bottle, hand or back spray.
Cold mist disinfection
The essence of the cold mist process is to produce 10-230 micron droplets of the disinfectant solution from the disinfectant by means of a so-called mist generator. Disinfectant particles below 50 microns are able to float permanently, thus ensuring that objects and surfaces in the enclosure are covered evenly in a thin layer.
The process of cold mist disinfection is aided by the manufacturers of the fog machines with precise descriptions. In general, the characteristics of fog machines are specified by the manufacturers for each type of machine:
- with what ml/min speed
- with how much solution
- with what drop size
- how much volume (air cubic metres) can be disinfected.
However, a number of other factors can affect the specific design, e.g. pre-cleaning of surfaces, their load, humidity, temperature, room saturation, etc.
It is important that you start from the inside of the room when disinfecting with cold mist, and then move towards the exit so that the disinfected area remains intact.
It is also important to ensure enough exposure time, so the room should remain closed until ‘drying’, ie. until the droplets have completely evaporated.
With ventilation (door and window opening), floating particles can escape from the room, thus reducing the efficiency of disinfection.
Cold misting with NANOSEPT AQUA disinfection solution
The process consists of two main steps:
During diffusion the content of hydrogen peroxide and silver particles in Nanosept Aqua turns into a mist. The mist spreads in the enclosed? space and begins to exert its effect on the microorganisms on the surfaces.
During the exposure time, the mist reacts with the microorganisms on the surfaces, causing the pathogens to die. Thanks to the silver particles, the spectrum of antimicrobial activity is wider ad more durable that if only the hydrogen peroxide were present alone.
The main advantages of disinfection with Nanosept disinfectant, cold mist formation:
- The fogging machine provides a strong air flow in the room, sprays the disinfectant into small droplets and keeps the formed droplets in a floating state. All this allows the disinfectant drops to reach practically everywhere and to cover the surface perfectly, ensuring the best possible coverage on the surfaces to be treated.
- The spray produced is distributed by the machine in an even, thin layer through a plastic nozzle. Tiny drops thus reach difficult-to-reach gaps and corners, providing a more thorough and effective result than any conventional disinfection procedure.
- The purchase of fogging machines requires much less material expenditure than the purchase of equipment for ozone or UV light processes and is also more economical in terms of efficiency.
- The silver coating formed on the surfaces provides extended protection over time, so the surfaces can be protected more lastingly from the pathogens that come on them.
- It is an important aspect for work safety that the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide does not produce substances harmful to human health.
- It does not destroy the various surfaces, unlike chlorine-containing materials.
