A sanitary environment is not only aesthetically pleasing, it’s also healthier for its inhabitants. This fact is even more apparent during the winter months, otherwise known as the cold and flu season.
Crowded facilities that don’t have much down time, such as college campuses, can be among the most vulnerable environments. Cold and flu viruses can spread quickly on college campuses and affect the health and attendance of students and staff alike. Research published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases indicates that flu attack rates among subgroups of college students can reach as high as 73% of the student population. Another study published in the journal PharmacoEconomics in 2023 found that 75% of employees will miss time at work because of the flu.
Surfaces ripe for cross contamination
Cold and flu viruses are transmitted through cross contamination. Infected individuals release droplets that contain contagious viruses when they sneeze, cough, and speak. A sneeze can result in droplets that travel up to 6 feet, according to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The viruses in these droplets can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours.
Cross contamination occurs when people touch an infected surface with their hands and then touch another surface. Just think of how many individuals encounter the following high-touch surfaces on a busy campus:
- Doors and door handles
- Light and elevator switches
- Railings
- Chairs, benches, desks, and tables
The importance of handwashing
The first step in reducing cross contamination and illness is to practice good hand hygiene. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following handwashing process:
- Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
- Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
- Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds.
- Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
- Dry your hands using a clean towel or an air dryer.
If soap and water are not available, a good alternative is an alcohol-based hand sanitizer or an alcohol-based hand wipe that contains at least 60% alcohol. A study conducted at Hill Top
Research Laboratory in Miami, Ohio, found that hand wipes physically remove the dirt and germs from hands. Creating hand-hygiene stations throughout campus will make it easier and more
convenient for students, staff, and visitors to sanitize their hands and help stop the spread of cold and flu viruses.
Imperfect disinfecting techniques
Although your campus cleaning staff can’t force everyone to wash their hands thoroughly, they do have more control over the second step in reducing cross contamination—frequent and
proper cleaning of high-touch surfaces.
However, even after treatment with a disinfectant, high-touch surfaces can quickly become recontaminated on a campus bustling with activity 24 hours a day. Additionally, if cleaning
crews don’t prepare or use the disinfectant correctly, it may not kill the virus in the first place, enabling crews to transfer the virus from one surface to another via their cleaning tools.
To ensure effectiveness, cleaning staff must properly measure disinfection solutions. Researchers quoted in the journal Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control found that “inappropriate over-dilution of disinfectant solutions by custodial staff or by malfunctioning automated solution systems may result in applying disinfectants using inappropriately low
concentrations.”
In addition, treated surfaces may not remain wet with disinfectant long enough for proper disinfection to occur due to staff members rigorously wringing too much solution from a cleaning cloth. Problems can also arise from the reuse of a microfiber cloth on multiple surfaces, spreading bacteria through cross contamination during subsequent cleaning, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection.
Benefits of disposable wipes
Disposable, ready-to-use (RTU) wipes can be an effective tool in helping to reduce the spread of cold and flu viruses. RTU wipes are:
- Convenient: They are portable and don’t require extra tools like buckets and cloths.
- Effective at reducing human and situational errors: They don’t require mixing or measuring as each wipe contains and releases an effective amount of cleaning/ disinfecting solution. Users are not reliant on water temperature or hardness, or on the cleanliness of a bucket, spray bottle, or cloth.
- Less reliant on staff training: Cleaning crews using RTU wipes have fewer steps to learn and remember due to the wipes’ intuitive design.
- Effective at reducing cross contamination: Users can clean one surface, then dispose the wipe and use a fresh one on the next surface.
The use of RTU wipes can also help staff complete cleaning tasks quicker. Research published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that it takes 30% less time to complete a disinfection task using RTU wipes versus using traditional cloths and buckets.
When choosing the best RTU wipe for your needs, consider the following factors:
- Product availability: Ensure you can access a reliable supply of your chosen wipes.
- Product efficacy: Read the product label or technical data bulletin to make sure the wipes are effective against the microorganisms you are targeting and if the kill times meet your needs.
- Compliancy: Check that the brand of disinfecting wipes is marked compliant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and that the hand wipes brand is marked compliant by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in all 50 states or where applicable.
- Product safety: Ensure that the wipe is certified by NSF, a public health organization that tests and certifies foods, water, and consumer products.
- Product compatibility: Determine if the wipe is abrasive to surfaces and if it is safe to use on electronic devices. Ensure the wipe leaves surfaces clean and free of chemical residue and unsightly streaks.
- Packaging and accessories: Determine if the product is easy to store, dispense, and incorporate into your environment. Check that its packaging protects the wetness/ integrity of the wipes.
- Safety requirements: Read the label to learn if safe handling of the wipes requires gloves. Check for a strong odor that would negatively affect indoor air quality.
- Availability of bilingual training materials: Make sure the product instructions are in a language your cleaning crew understands.
Straight As in germ control
Give your cleaning staff a fighting chance to meet the cold and flu season head-on by incorporating the proper cleaning and hygiene supplies into the disinfecting protocol on your campus. Whether you choose traditional cloth and bucket solutions or RTU wipes, make sure you have an adequate supply and staff are properly trained in their use.