Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are a serious problem in the U.S. It is estimated that there are about 2 million HAIs in this country every year with about 100,000 people dying of these diseases. However, “human” patients are not the only victims of HAI. Cats and dogs and other household pets, get them too, but in this case, they acquire them in veterinary hospitals.
We do not know exactly how many pets contract HAIs or die from the disease each year. No studies are taken, and it can be tough to gather this data.
But the problem exists and has been well-documented in various veterinary publications. According to a leading organization that provides continuing education programs for veterinarians, “noncritical surfaces such as floors, walls, and countertops in veterinary facilities are more likely to be contaminated by pathogens than those in human facilities.”
Mainly this is because the high degree of infection control protocols followed in human hospitals are not necessarily followed in veterinary hospitals. Sometimes exam tables are not properly cleaned and disinfected after each use or not cleaned at all. Further, a pet may have an “accident” on an exam table, wall, or floor that is not properly cleaned up.
But it appears that floors tend to be the biggest culprit. The pet walks on a contaminated floor and may come in contact with pathogens directly by doing so. Veterinarians and staff pick up the animal and in the process may enter into contact with germs and bacteria that the pet has gathered from the floor.
To help prevent the spread of pathogens from the floor, the continuing education organization suggests the following:
• Mop heads and cleaning solution be changed at least twice per day
• Mop heads and cleaning solution be changed whenever visibly soiled
• In 24-hour facilities, the mop head and solution should be changed after each shift (about three times per day)
• At least once per day, the mop bucket should be emptied, cleaned, disinfected, and allowed to air dry
• The cleaning solution should contain an appropriate disinfectant “as simple detergents are frequently contaminated with pathogens that are then spread throughout the hospital.”
While this advice is fairly good, it probably is not enough to stop the spread of HAIs in veterinary hospitals. For instance, in a human hospital, it is recommended that mop heads and cleaning solution be changed after every room is cleaned, not twice per day and certainly not once they are “visibly soiled.”
If the mop head or cleaning solution is visibly soiled, that’s too late. This means soils and pathogens have had ample time to build up on the mop head and in the cleaning solution allowing them to be spread on the floor as it is mopped.
As far as recommending that the cleaning solution contains a disinfectant to help stop the spread of pathogens in the mopping process, what was not mentioned is that as the cleaning solution becomes soiled, the efficacy of the disinfectant is weakened. The disinfectant is strongest when fresh and appropriately diluted. But with each use, it becomes weaker, and its ability to kill germs and bacteria begins to falter.
The answer to this problem is to find ways to avoid mops entirely. Instead, let’s consider doing the following:
• Use a trolley bucket that dispenses fresh cleaning solution and a disinfectant directly to the floor as it is rolled over the floor.
• Now, use a deck brush to spread the solution over the floor. This provides the necessary agitation to loosen soils and pathogens.
• Finally, use a wet/vac vacuuming system to vacuum up the moisture, cleaning solution, and pathogens.
This is essentially how Kaivac’s Dispense-and-Vac cleaning system works. With it, we don’t have to be concerned about changing mop heads and cleaning solution once per day, twice per day, or at all. Mops are out of the picture entirely, helping us take a big step in preventing HAIs in veterinary hospitals.
Robert Kravitz
Robert Kravitz is a former building service contractor, having owned, operated, and then sold three contract cleaning companies in Northern California.
He is the author of two books about the industry and continues to be a frequent writer for the industry.
Robert is now president of AlturaSolutions Communications, which provides communications and marketing services for organizations in the professional cleaning and building industries.
Related Topics
Related Products
KaiVac 1750 No-Touch Cleaning® SystemWhen it comes to restrooms and other heavily soiled areas, nothing beats Spray-and-Vac cleaning. Kaivac’s No-Touch Cleaning systems are built for extreme soil removal, empowering workers to clean hygienically without touching contaminated surfaces. Plus, it cuts labor, chemical and equipment costs. Achieving great, consistent results is easy with these patented systems. Simply apply automatically diluted cleaning solution to fixtures and floors in a low pressure fan spray, and then rinse surfaces and floors with always-fresh, clean water. The built-in power of the indoor pressure washer flushes soils out of grout lines and tight places that mops can’t reach. Finally, just vacuum the floor dry -- completely removing soils, moisture and contaminants from all surfaces, grout lines and crevices, leaving the floor virtually dry and soil free.The Kaivac 1750 is perfect for areas large and small. It boasts a 17 gallon fresh water and a 17 gallon recovery tank. The system is powered by a 500 p.s.i. pump and a powerful 3-stage wet/dry vacuum.
OmniFlex™ Dispense-and-VacThe OmniFlex Dispense-and-Vac system offers a simple, fast approach to cleaner, safer floors. Its extreme cleaning capabilities achieve hygienic results in even the heaviest soil and grease conditions. In fact, like most Kaivac systems, it's up to 60 times better at removing soil and contaminants than mopping. That makes the Dispense-and-Vac is perfect for food service establishments, industrial facilities, light duty public restrooms and much more.Just apply fresh cleaning solution to the floor, spread and lightly brush into grout lines, and then completely vacuum away all soils and liquid, leaving floors really clean and bone dry. It's perfect for daily cleaning and degreasing of commercial floors. It's also great for applying and removing stripper on finished floors. The process is radically better, faster and safer than cleaning with a mop.
Click here to see the compact Space Saver Dispense-and-Vac model
OmniFlex™ Spray-and-SqueegeeOmniFlex™ can be easily transformed into a Spray-and-Squeegee or Mop system, providing a superior yet cost-effective alternative to traditional mopping in restrooms and more. Simply add the optional OmniFlex™ “Black Box” Pump System and heavy duty storage handle to the trolley-bucket and you’re ready to go. Flush surfaces and fixtures clean with the indoor pressure washer and then mop or squeegee the soil and water to the drain, without having to touch contaminated surfaces. The OmniFlex Spray-and-Squeegee process yields better results in less time than traditional mopping.
OmniFlex™ AutoVac™ BatteryThe OmniFlex AutoVac is an automated high performance floor cleaning machine that's three-four times faster than a mop, but instead of spreading soils, it actually removes them completely from the floor surface. Even more impressive, it cleans as well and as fast as a traditional walk-behind or ride-on auto scrubber at a fraction of the cost!A really simple approach to cleaner, safer floors, this system is perfect for high speed cleaning of hard surface areas, such as entranceways, hallways, cafeterias, lobbies, warehouses, fitness areas and more. It rivals the performance of an auto scrubber without the added cost or complexity, making it perfect for building service contractors and facility managers alike.
KaiBosh™ Disinfectant PacketKaiBosh is a concentrated no-rinse Hospital Use disinfectant cleaner for Norovirus, Bird & Swine Flu and more, that disinfects and cleans in one labor saving step.Like all Kaivac chemicals, KaiBosh is perfect for use with our wet vacuum systems. In fact, we are so confident in the performance and suitability of our chemicals that we offer a lifetime warranty on our OmniFlex vacuum motor to customers who use them exclusively.
