During the COVID-19 pandemic, more BSC’s and internal cleaning operations are adopting electrostatic disinfection as part of their ongoing maintenance routines. When properly deployed, an electrostatic disinfection process has several advantages. Speed and efficiency of application and better penetration and bond of disinfectant are just a couple of the tangible benefits of this methodology. However, fully capitalizing on these advantages requires proper use of the equipment and adherence to procedural best-practices.
Electrostatic Disinfection – Common Mistakes
As with most technologies, electrostatic disinfection is only as effective as its application. Avoiding these common mistakes will help ensure that you are fully maximizing your disinfection efforts.
Using the Wrong Disinfectant
There are a lot of disinfectants on the market. Not all of those are appropriate for use within electrostatic spray equipment. For example, chemicals with a chlorine bleach base can post health risks when dispensed through an electrostatic sprayer. When selecting a disinfectant, make sure that it has been approved for use within an electrostatic disinfecting system.
In addition---when disinfecting for COVID-19---make sure that the disinfectant has been validated as a COVID-19 killer. You can quickly verify your disinfectant by referring to the EPA's List N. Only use products that appear on List N when treating for COVID-19.
Not Applying Enough Disinfectant
Even though most electrostatic spray systems come with explicit instructions regarding appropriate disinfectant volume, many users will fail to apply enough disinfectant. This can lead to an ineffectual treatment---especially when it comes to COVID-19.
Rapid spray application will generally result in too little disinfectant being released onto the area being treated. For most applications, it can take ~ 20 seconds of a continuous spray to apply the amount of disinfectant required to achieve the desired efficacy. Make sure that all your operators have been thoroughly trained on proper application techniques. Follow-up on that training to ensure ongoing compliance.
Disinfecting Too Infrequently
One common misconception is that if you use an electrostatic disinfection system you can disinfect much less frequently. This is not the case---especially during a pandemic. Disinfection frequency can have several variables (facility type, traffic levels, occupancy rates, etc.) but, in general, the use of electrostatic disinfection does not eliminate the need to disinfect on a frequent---and regular---basis.
The use of electrostatic disinfection systems is on the rise both here in the US and around the globe. Their increased use can be seen within professional cleaning service providers as well as within internal cleaning operations. Avoiding the mistakes discussed above will help ensure that we are getting the maximum health benefit from this technology.