Electrostatic disinfection technology is the future of cleaning--able to disinfect complex three-dimensional surfaces in a fraction of the time required by conventional cleaning methods--resulting in decreased costs, illnesses, and absences.
The Rise of Electrostatic Disinfection Technology
Electrostatic surface spraying has been in use in the United States for more than 50 years in the farming and industrial arenas--providing complete surface coverage for crops and painted or coated materials.
For decades, electrostatic machines have been used to spray industrial parts with paint and agricultural crops with pesticides.
Before the advent of electrostatic technology, traditional sprays had problems with transfer efficiency: The measure of how much products makes it onto the surface being coated versus the percentage lost to the floor and surrounding environment.
[In painting applications], that was typically close to 25 percent paint adhering to the surface and 75 percent that was lost.
Outcomes were similarly dismal in the agricultural industry, with approximately 50 percent of pesticide wasted and/or posing a threat to the environment.
Only recently has the tried and tested technology seen slow but increasing adoption in the cleaning services sector--with schools, universities, and daycare facilities seeing the highest adoption rates, slowly followed by the healthcare industry and general business offices.
A driving force behind the recent adoption of electrostatic technologies in the cleaning industry are the increasing demands by occupants for healthy facilities, backed by increasing regulations requiring safer use chemicals, a reduction in natural resource use, as well as increased levels of cleanliness and hygiene--all in the face of rising operational costs and decreasing budgets.
How Electrostatic Cleaning Works
Electrostatically charged particles of disinfectant are sprayed onto a neutral surface.
For the sake of discussion, we'll call this surface your keyboard and desktop workspace--two areas documented to consistently harbor extremely high levels of illness-causing germs.
The particles, being similarly charged, repel one another and seek out a neutral or alternately charged surface.
This forces the disinfectant to spread across and cover an entire surface, including spaces conventional cleaning methods would struggle to reach, let alone consistently, including:
- Inbetween keys on keyboards.
- Around and under desks where cleaning is typically ignored, and germs can fester, as well as;
- Around computer mice and telephones--two other extremely commonly touched surfaces with documented high contamination levels.
In other words,
As the chemical exits the electrostatic sprayer, it is atomized and given an electrical charge.
The charged droplets then travel toward the targeted surface and become attracted to it.
The spray will seek out a neutral surface to cover, and the droplets will repel each other because the charge on each droplet is the same.
What this means is, if you have a droplet that has landed on the surface and a second droplet follows behind it, it will recognize that it doesn’t want to be close to the first droplet, and it will seek out surface that hasn’t been covered yet.
In so doing, the chemical not only reaches visible areas but also reaches beyond the front surface to coat the underside and backside of objects.
Why Electrostatic Disinfection is Right for Your Business
It has been estimated that productivity losses due to absences and illness cost U.S. businesses $225.8 Billion annually.
Of the most commonly transmitted diseases, more than 80% are acquired through contact with a contaminated surface.
Humans spend more than 90% of their day indoors.
An analysis of the average person's day will conclude that we are acquiring these germs at school, at work, or one of the service facilities we enter throughout the day.
The reason for this is simple--the facilities are not cleaned and disinfected correctly.
- Cleaning and disinfection of complex three-dimensional objects, such as desks and computer equipment are complicated, time-consuming, and expensive.
- Many organizations have yet to implement cross-contamination controls, even within the healthcare industry.
- A failure to adhere to accurate dilution volumes and product laytimes--a byproduct of little to no employee training combined with high turnover numbers--renders the process ineffective, at best, and;
- The unfortunate truth that a lack of training, benefits, and supervision leads to cutting corners, resulting in insufficiently cleaned rooms.
References & Resources
- Facilities That Can Benefit From Electrostatic Disinfection
- Case Study: Electrostatic Sprayer Provides Complete Surface Disinfection
- Electrostatic Technology Will Be The Disinfectant Of The Future
- Revolutionary Disinfection Technologies
Takeaway
Electrostatic disinfection technology bridges the gap between too difficult or costly to clean correctly and the need to provide safe and healthy working and learning environments for building occupants and guests.
Additionally, the technology eliminates two costly challenges which have plagued the cleaning industry since its inception--chemical dilution and product laytime.
In the hands of a trained and dedicated service provider, electrostatic technologies will be a game changer for schools, businesses, and healthcare facilities seeking increases in productivity while eliminating unnecessary expenses.
Vanguard Cleaning Systems® of the Ozarks has trained professionals standing by to help you take your organization to the next level with the latest advancements in cleaning for health and disinfection technologies.
Contact us today and discover why Vanguard Cleaning Systems® is the Standard of Clean® for businesses throughout Northwest Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
In Oklahoma, dial 918-960-4450
In Arkansas, dial 479-717-2410
In Missouri, dial 417-812-9777
