Hospital and Healthcare Cleaning Equipment

Ensuring the correct level of cleanliness and hygiene in a healthcare environments (including hospitals, doctors surgeries, ambulances and dental practices) has always been critically important, and never more so than now, following the COVID-19 pandemic. All types of healthcare environments have been required to put new and detailed operational procedures in place to cover all aspects of their work and cleaning/disinfection is a critical component. Comprehensive guidance from the NHS can be found here.

The big difficulty is that bacteria and germs are invisible so healthcare cleaning regimes must be consistent and to a high standard, to ensure that the possibility of contamination is eliminated, or at least greatly reduced.

Hospitals, GP surgeries and walk-in clinics delivering both NHS and private medical care are just a few of the medical institutions that must make cleaning a priority – the NHS, for example, has its National Specification of Cleanliness that it, and its contractors, must adhere to.

Sterilisation using steam cleaning

Although COVID-19 is uppermost in people’s minds, healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) such as MRSA have been in the news for some time. Steam cleaners have been shown to remove 99% of germs and bacteria, so are an effective way to minimise the spread of infection and make surfaces and equipment safe to use.

See our April 2020 blog for more information about steam cleaning for virus and infection control.

Dry steam cleaners apply super-heated steam to a surface, which breaks down micro-organisms and prevents replication. This type of cleaner is particularly useful in hospital cleaning as it can be used to clean floors, surfaces and equipment, getting into the nooks and crannies of a surface rather than merely dealing with the superficial. Some steam cleaners, like the Matrix OMEGA 4 which has been designed for healthcare cleaning, also have an integral vacuum, so surfaces are left clean and dry straight away – ready to use again.

Steam cleaners are available in various sizes and formats to suit the cleaning job to be tackled.
See our range of dry steam cleaners.

Using foggers for infection control

Fogging machines are a quick and relatively simple way to treat surfaces and complete rooms. Foggers produce micro droplets of disinfectant that float in the air for a few minutes and reach into awkward areas. Many foggers are small and lightweight, making it easy to take them from room to room, and whilst care is needed whilst the fogger does its job, the room will be ready for use again just a few minutes after application.

We supply a wide range of chemical fogging equipment and can offer advice on the most suitable type for your needs.

Cleaning floors in hospitals

This has always been a critical issue for healthcare environments – considering not only the general dirt that tends to end up on the floor, but also the risk of infection from bodily fluids etc.
For hard floor areas, scrubber driers are available to wash and scrub the floor using rotating brushes, then dry it using a system of squeegees and sometimes vacuums to suck up any residue. A machine such as the EDGE Lindhaus with its multilevel filtration controls to deal with particulate biological contamination could be used. An additional feature of this machine is its low noise level making its operation less disruptive to the surrounding environment. For carpeted areas vacuums can be used along with carpet extraction machines when a deeper clean is required.

For sensitive areas, steam cleaners are a vital tool, e.g. the Matrix Omega 8, designed for healthcare use, which uses steam with detergent and has an integral vacuum system to leave surfaces clean and dry.

Hospital cleaning: specialist advice and guidance

When you are developing cleaning programmes and processes you will want to take into account advice from appropriate third parties to ensure the schedules you put in place, the equipment you choose and the products you use will be the most fit-for-purpose available enabling you to deliver a high quality, safe result in this sensitive and specialised area of the cleaning sector.

Here are some useful resources:

NHS: At the time of writing (March 2022) this website is updated regularly and has a wealth of guidance for healthcare providers. NHS England Coronavirus guidance.

Department of Health: Core information that’s not to be missed, including a variety of publications available to download. This website outlines best practice and cleaning standards, as well as the inspections that are likely to be carried out on your cleaning work. Visit 
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care

Care Quality Commission: This independent regulator of health and social care in England offers some excellent advice in its ‘Guidance for Healthcare Professionals’ section. https://www.cqc.org.uk/

Need help? Give us a call for advice and information. We supply cleaning equipment to a wide range of healthcare customers, so understand their cleaning equipment needs. 

Article updated by Ian Hodkinson 10th March 2022