ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Healthcare cleaning professionals are under increased pressure to keep down operating costs and are most focused on products that are efficient, according to a new survey.

Around a quarter of the respondents in the 2015 Cleaning Industry Insights Survey by by P&G Professional, said their top priority were products that act quickly.

But what many professionals in long-term care are missing, the company says, is the difference between a cleaning product and a disinfectant.

Mike Weber, former principal scientist and technical and science liaison with Procter & Gamble Professional commented: "People tend to be blissfully ignorant about how well they are cleaning with their current disinfecting products. There's a big disconnect.

"There are a lot of the hydrogen peroxide or bleach products that kill germs, but not on a dirty surface. If you have a surface with soil and you use a product without a cleaning capability, there's a safe haven for germs."

Clostridium difficile is particularly difficult Weber explained. "C. diff spores are hard to kill and are normally associated with faecal-containing soil," he said. "Clean the soil first, then disinfect."

The survey of 400 cleaning industry professionals also found retaining staff and reducing turnover was the way 50 per cent of respondents said they were most efficient in 2015, up 18 per cent from the previous year.