Thanks to a vast array of sanitation equipment used in, virtually, every industry to promote optimum hygiene, the removal or destruction of microbiological organisms is an integral part of an on-going, pathogen-fighting agenda. Sanitation equipment ensures that employees are safe-guarded, as much as possible, against disease. As families, we take serious measures, too, to prevent illness.
The flu epidemic that spread into 2018, has been a serious one with school closings and many deaths associated with the virus. The CDC states that the 2017/2018 flu season is the worst it has been in nearly a decade, with one of the most-lethal of the flu strains.
With all that being said, here are five types of sanitation equipment that do their job to make sure people stay healthier and less vulnerable to infection and illness, day in and day out.
Mobile Shower Trailers
Mobile shower trailers are indispensable in a variety of situations, with military training outposts, disaster relief efforts, and outreach programs being only a few of them. Typically, mobile shower units offer multiple shower stalls; and some have sinks, mirrors, and cabinetry.
An interesting use for mobile shower trailers involves programs that bring showers to the homeless who have an opportunity to enjoy a private place to get clean. Water is tapped from fire hydrants and an external generator provides needed power. In St. Louis, alone, 60 homeless people a day feel better about themselves due to being able to shower, thanks to mobile shower trailers!
High-Tech Hand Sanitizers
On board one of the Disney Cruise Lines ? the Disney Dream ? you will find very interesting, floor-mounted hand-sanitizing units. These units are designed with two, large open holes to accommodate a person's hands. Once both hands are inserted into the openings, powerful jets of water, mixed with antiseptic soap, spin at a high speed to disinfect. Even though hands remain in the openings for only 12 seconds, 99.98% of germs are eradicated in that short amount of time.
This type of automated hand-washing is utilized in hospitals where high-volume hand-washing is prevalent and precision cleaning is of the, utmost, importance. Also, a number of industries offer this type of cleaning and sanitation as a first-line of defense against bacteria, viruses and other dangerous pathogens. These automatic hand-washers are, especially, convenient in industrial environments where continuous compliance is strictly regulated. Larger models of automatic hand-sanitizing units can, easily, accommodate 5 people/minute with ease.
It is expected that automatic hand-washers will become increasingly prevalent at theme parks, stadiums, schools and other public venues as an aggressive method of preventing the spread of disease. According to the CDC, hand hygiene is the #1 way to combat the proliferation of disease-causing pathogens.
Automated Boot/Shoe Washers
Automated boot and shoe washing systems have become a permanent component in environments where footwear must be as sanitary, as possible. Single-use equipment as well as walk-through washing systems are available to fit the specific needs of a variety of market applications. The walk-through version, also known as continuous-passage boot washers, are designed so the user can walk across the equipment, with his or her boots or shoes cleaned by horizontally-mounted brushes that clean the soles. Vertically-inclined brushes clean the sides of the boots; and a chemical detergent is released through an injector system to sanitize every square inch of surface area.
The walk-through automated boot/shoe washers are becoming very popular in plants where one finds a vast number of employees as well as high-traffic areas where shoes and boots must be sanitized, for example, before employees enter a food-production or processing area.
UV Sanitizers for Shoes
UV ? ultraviolet light ? sanitizers for shoes are quite impressive! These devices are inserted into shoes and are designed to remove micro-organisms ? including bacteria and fungus ? that proliferate in a moist shoe environment. These sterilization units will eliminate a plethora of microbial, pathogenic and viral organisms that are, known, to contribute to a multitude of illnesses. The process of pathogen elimination deals with germicidal rays from the UV unit that destroy nucleic acids and disrupt the DNA of the majority of microorganisms. In turn, microorganisms are unable to function. UV sanitizers are known to get rid of 99.9% of fungus in shoes, and are an effective tool in battling fungus re-infections.
UV Light for Hospitals
Using UV light to kill bacteria is a technology that hospitals have used for years to keep medical equipment and hospital rooms, more sterile. It has been found that Black lights, have the capacity to battle certain drug-resistant bacteria, commonly associated with hospital-acquired infections. The utilization of UV lights in hospitals has been proven to be more effective than the more-traditional methods of sanitation, such as manual cleaning and vaporizing or diffusing hydrogen peroxide.
The UV-C is a short-wave ultraviolet radiation which kills bacteria found on door-handles, bedside tables, toilets and a multitude of other surfaces in hospital environments. So how does the UV-C combat pathogens? Again, it has to do with DNA modification: the UV-C breaks through the outer membrane of the microbes and reaches the microbes' DNA. As a result, lethal changes in the DNA occur and the death of the microbe is the end result. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the University of North Carolina Hospital System used UV-C to effectively eliminate pathogens in more than 50 patient rooms!