Disinfection A bridge from science and technology to improve the cleaning industry’s knowledge and practices. By: Aaron Baunee, managing editor The Fantasy Of O Aaron Baunee is the managing editor of Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine. He can be reached at ABaunee@NTPMedia. com. In his years with the publica-tion, Baunee has amassed numerous articles, columns and commentaries pertaining to commercial cleaning and maintenance. Baunee encourag-es readers to communicate editorial ideas to him and welcomes discus-sions on pertinent industry happen-ings. Connect through social media: LinkedIn.com/in/AaronBaunee, Facebook.com/CMMOnline and Twitter.com/CMeNewsDaily. Over the past several years, cleaning for health has been a primary focus — as it should have been all along. No longer is it acceptable to have a surface simply look clean; with the rising costs of health care and the increased emphasis of healthy built environments, surfaces must be hygienically clean and free of all unwanted matter — not just innate soils. Short of sterilization — a non-realistic and almost unattainable goal — disinfection is the greatest tool we have to ensure the health and well-being of those working, living and otherwise existing in commercial facilities. However, according to Dr. Steven Spivak, professor emeritus of the University of Maryland and chairman of the Cleaning Industry Research Institute International’s (CIRI) Science Advisory Council, efficacy in principle is rarely reached when disinfecting in practice. Because of this failure and the time demands of cleaning services, some in the industry have dubbed the practice of attempting to remove harmful pathogens from surfaces “the fantasy of disinfection.” “It is not only building occupants at risk; end users’ well-being can be on the line by fail-ing to regularly and effectively clean and, when needed, properly disinfect,” notes Spivak. Making Fantasy A Reality The issue of disinfection — or the gross lack thereof — boils down to two concepts: A lack of cleaning science and deficient training. “Custodians are not chemists; they need to be better educated and better appreciated,” proclaims Jim Harris, Sr., chairman of CIRI. Harris opines that a substantial portion of the cleaning industry, without sufficient scientific foundation, is too casual. 14 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • October 2011
CMM – Archives Oct 2011: 14
