Highlights
- •Automated floor machine cleaning and disinfection were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus.
- •Disinfection efficacy was concentration and disinfectant chemistry dependent.
- •Disinfectants reduced the risk of cross-contamination compared to a cleaner.
- •Machine components and wastewater could serve as pathogen reservoirs.
Background
Optimization of automated floor disinfection practices using different application
methods and product types is important to ensure that pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus do not transfer from contaminated floors to other high contact areas resulting in
healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). We hypothesized that there would be significant
differences among the disinfectants and a cleaner under different application methods.
Also, performance of application methods would be dependent upon type of product used.
Methods
We tested and compared efficacies of 5 EPA registered disinfectants and one cleaner
using an automated Taski 455B floor cleaner against S aureus ATCC 6538 on 2 meters of contaminated vinyl flooring using 3 application methods.
Results
Hydrogen peroxide and quaternary ammonium compounds were more efficacious against
S aureus than the neutral cleaner. There were no significant differences among the sampling
areas tested and application methods regardless of product type. Mean log10 densities recovered from different machine parts and wastewater collected were statistically
higher for the cleaner than disinfectants.
Conclusions
All disinfectants had more bactericidal efficacy than the cleaner for all sampling
zones on the tested floor. Overall, performance of the floor machine is dependent
upon the type of product used.
Key Words
Abbreviations:
ATCC (American type Culture collection), CDC (Center for Disease Control), HAIs (Healthcare-associated infections), HP (Hydrogen peroxide), QA (Quaternary Ammonium), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), MSA (Mannitol Salt Agar)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: July 19, 2022
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© 2022 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
