What is the difference: Sanitising And Disinfecting?
Let’s explore why the Duplex steam range is so impressive when it comes to cleaning and infection control, and why it might just be the perfect choice for your cleaning needs within medical and care facilities.
Sanitising vs. Disinfecting
The terms of sanitising and disinfecting are often used interchangeably, yet they mean subtly different things. It’s important to understand the difference between sanitising and disinfecting:
- Sanitising: This process reduces the number of germs on a surface to a level considered safe. It does not necessarily kill all germs but lowers their numbers to prevent the spread of disease. Sanitising is generally sufficient for everyday cleaning tasks.
- Disinfecting: This process involves using chemicals or high heat to kill a higher percentage of germs on a surface. Disinfecting is more thorough than sanitising and is recommended for areas that need to be free from pathogens, such as in healthcare settings or during an outbreak of illness.
Steam cleaners combine both sanitising and disinfecting through its steam technology. The high temperature of the steam effectively kills many types of bacteria and viruses, making them extremely powerful tools for deep cleaning.
The Benefits Of Steam Cleaning In A Medical Or Care Setting
Steam cleaning is a highly effective method for cleaning and sanitising hospitals, medical and care home environments due to a variety of key advantages it holds over other methods of cleaning. These include:
Deep Cleaning and Infection Control:
- High Temperatures: Steam can reach temperatures of up to 175°C (347°F), which is sufficient to kill bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.
- Penetration: Steam can penetrate into crevices and pores, effectively removing dirt, grime, and contaminants that traditional cleaning methods may miss, even with longer periods of intense cleaning.
Chemical-Free Cleaning:
- Environmental Friendliness: Steam cleaning primarily uses water, making it a more environmentally friendly option compared to chemical-based cleaners, but some machines also offer the opportunity to add in solutions if necessary for situations that call for it.
- Reduced Health Risks: Minimising the use of chemicals can reduce the risk of exposure to harmful substances for healthcare workers and patients, both immediately and from long term exposure.
High Versatility:
- Various Surfaces: Steam can be used to clean and sanitise a wide range of surfaces, including floors, walls, furniture, and medical equipment.
- Efficiency: Steam cleaning can be a time-efficient process, especially in high-traffic areas.
Cost-Effective Solution:
- Reduced Labour: Steam cleaning can reduce the amount of labour required for cleaning tasks, both in terms of time and the effort required to get top quality results.
- Long-Term Savings: By preventing the spread of infections and reducing the need for costly repairs, steam cleaning can lead to long-term cost savings.
Safety:
- Reduced Slip and Fall Risks: Steam cleaning can help to remove moisture from surfaces, reducing the risk of slip and fall accidents, something which is hugely beneficial in places where there is frequent traffic, access needed at all times and a higher risk of spills that need clearing up.
To put it simply: steam cleaning offers a comprehensive and effective solution for maintaining a clean and sanitised hospital environment, with a manageable amount of effort. Steams ability to kill pathogens, reduce chemical exposure, and improve efficiency makes it a valuable tool for healthcare facilities.
Duplex are known across the world for their high performing steam cleaners, which means they use steam to clean. This method is particularly effective in the fight against viruses and bacteria for infection control. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people turned to steam cleaners like the Duplex because they are great at eliminating envelope viruses that can linger on surfaces.
Steam cleaning is not just about killing germs. It can also be used to clean floors very well. With a Duplex Floor Steam Cleaner, you can clean and disinfect your floors at the same time. The steam helps to lift dirt and grime, making it easier to get your floors spotless.
Duplex Helps Hospitals Clean & Sanitise In One Go
In hospital and care home establishments the knowledge that cleaning can be combined with a proven infection control programme is a vitally important factor to be taken into account when considering a machine purchase for use in a clinical environment.
To demonstrate the efficacy of the products from the Duplex range most used in the healthcare sector we commissioned independent tests by the Hospital Infection Research Laboratory, Birmingham which proved exceptional kill rates of bacteria found in the hospital environment.
The test protocol covered the following organisms: Staphylococcus aureus (NCTC 10788), a gram positive bacterium that survives well in the environment. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (NCTC 6749) A gram negative bacterium that may be representative of faecal contamination and Bacillus subtilis (NCTC 10073), a sporing organism that will not be killed by the recommended cleaning methods so physical removal can be assessed. This spore may be representative of contamination with Clostridium difficile. Our equipment demonstrated exceptional kill rates, especially when compared to traditional mopping methods used as a benchmark. Quite simply, results achieved by cleaning mechanically are superior to mopping alone and by cleaning mechanically with steam, significantly so.
We hope that we have answered the question of what is the difference between sanitising and disinfecting, and would love to chat if you have any questions about our machines.
If you’re on the lookout for a steam cleaner, floor steam cleaner, or any other Duplex cleaning machine, why not book in a demonstration so that you can see their performance for yourself?