mize the possibility of getting sick due to cross contamination. 2 So who is really at risk of getting sick due to pathogens on toilet seats? None other than the cleaning profession-als who must touch, clean and maintain re-strooms on a regular basis. Doesn’t Wearing Gloves Protect Cleaning Professionals? According to Bob Merkt, a building service contractor (BSC), cleaning instructor and consultant, while restrooms typically ac-count for only about 5 percent of a build-ing’s total space, they are responsible for nearly 40 percent of a facility’s total soil load. But, unlike soils that simply mar a facility’s appearance that can typically be removed with little concern for health or safety, rest-room soils often contain germs and bacteria such as those mentioned earlier, which can cause illness or infection. Typically, maintenance workers clean toilet seats and other restroom fixtures by hand using conventional cleaning tools such as sprayers, cleaning cloths, buckets and mops. This is why most cleaning workers typi-cally wear gloves when cleaning restrooms. However, while gloves can offer a high de-gree of protection from harmful pathogens, cleaning workers need to know that this pro-tection is not 100 percent. In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention (CDC) reports that clean-ing workers are at risk for exposure to patho-gens if gloves have unapparent defects or are torn during use. And since hands often become warm and moist, they are a perfect breeding ground for rapidly multiplying bacteria. Further, many cleaning workers do not properly remove gloves after working. We also know that many conventional cleaning tools, such as those mentioned earlier, can also spread germs. In fact, the longer they are used, the great-er the soil load, the greater the contamina-How To Remove Gloves Safely ■ Grasp the outside edge of the left-hand glove at the highest point near the wrist. ■ Peel the glove off the hand, essentially turning the glove inside out. ■ Keeping the removed glove in the gloved right hand, discard the used glove. ■ For the right-hand glove, slide the index finger under the glove at the highest point near the wrist. ■ Peel the glove off from the inside and then discard. ■ Wash hands using soap and water. ® Specialty Cleaning Products Pre-moistened Wipes Disinfectants and Degreasers Disposable Wipers Industrial Marking Products ISSA Booth Industrial • Institutional • Food Service 800.443.9536 | 913.397.9889 | itwprofessionalbrands.com 2846 www.cmmonline.com FREE INFO: Reader Service 201 or CMMOnline.com/freeinfo 17
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