Patient safety is a critical, year-round concern. Part of that concern includes considering the important role cleaning and disinfecting plays in your infection control strategy and discerning which products make the most sense.
One important choice that faces environmental services (EVS) management lies between the use of dilutable disinfectant products versus ready-to-use (RTU) versions. On the surface, RTU disinfectants can seem more expensive, but the true cost and impact to you, your team, and your vulnerable patients should be evaluated when deciding which disinfectants your team will use.
Challenges with dilutable disinfectants
While they might appear to be a cost-effective choice, dilutable disinfectants introduce several challenges to EVS staff and the health of your patients:
- Efficacy: As a result of having to properly mix solutions to create the correct disinfectant concentration, human and dilution machine errors are an inherent risk with any dilutable products. If the in-use concentration of a dilutable disinfectant falls below the recommended dilution, the disinfectant being applied to the surface might not be truly disinfecting. This could result in potentially leaving dangerous pathogens behind when cleaning and putting vulnerable patients at risk.
- Contamination: Even if the dilution liquid is at the right in-use concentration, the microfiber cloths used with dilutable products pose an additional risk. A 2013 study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that after laundering, 93% of reusable microfiber towels still contained harmful bacteria, resulting in an increased risk of cross contamination on surfaces.
- Hidden Costs: Dilutable disinfectants require additional labor and resources. Labor costs increase due to the time it takes to prepare solutions and the additional training needed to learn dilution ratios and properly maintain dispensing machines. Training is also required to ensure EVS employees are squeezing microfiber cloths out properly to avoid ergonomic issues and maintain cloth saturation. The use of microfiber cloths also increases laundering costs; adds time to handle, store, and prep the cloths; and requires proper microfiber degradation monitoring for cloth replacement throughout the laundering lifecycle.
How RTU products can help
RTU disinfectants can relieve many of the problems encountered with dilution products:
- Assurance and confidence: With RTU disinfection products, like pre-moistened wipes, healthcare facilities can have confidence that the EVS team is applying the right amount of disinfectant, for the right contact time, every time. Additionally, when using RTU products according to directions, the risks of variation in concentration and cross-contamination are eliminated since there is no need for mixing, dilution machines, or laundering.
- Efficiency and compliance: In today’s resource-constrained healthcare environment, EVS efficiency and efficacy are critical in enabling quick and safe environmental disinfection. When using RTU disinfectants, no mixing and dilution training is required, helping staff save time and effort. Further, with the ability to use RTU products in an instant, staff can efficiently and effectively work through compliant room turnover, so patients get the critical care they need as soon as possible.
