ARE YOU CLEANING YOUR CLEANING EQUIPMENT? The fight against pathogens doesn’t end when the mopping does by Drew Bunn
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o protect the health of patients, housekeepers in most North American hospitals and healthcare facilities have been taught to change the mop heads used to clean and disinfect patient rooms frequently, typically as often as every three or four rooms. Due to COVID-19, this has sometimes been increased to changing mop heads after each use, and during the pandemic, these practices may even be applied to hospitality cleaning protocols. There are several reasons for this. For one, as the mop is used, the disinfectant in the mop bucket begins to lose its efficacy. With use, the disinfectant degrades and in time becomes ineffective.
Thanks to a study published in Applied Microbiology in the early 1970s, we know that mops collect pathogens which are then redeposited on f loors as the mops are used. We also know, based on similar studies, this can happen with cleaning cloths. This hospital’s housekeepers follow these instructions accordingly. They likely believe, as do the hospital’s administrators, that these extra steps will help protect the health of patients and hospital staff, as well as housekeepers. But do they? Let’s take a closer look at what’s happening to see if these healthprotecting steps may be causing more problems than they realize.
26 / FACILITY CLEANING & MAINTENANCE / SUMMER 2020
The following scenario may put this into perspective: Wearing gloves, as well as a mask due to COVID-19, a housekeeper is cleaning all patient rooms on one floor of a hospital. Upon cleaning the first room, she removes the flat mop head that has just been used. Any pathogens on the mop head may now be transferred to her gloves. In the process of removing the mop head, she needs to touch various points on the mop pole, again using her potentially contaminated gloves. With her gloves on, she grabs the handle on her cleaning cart to dispose of the mop head. While there, she also pulls a
