by Brianna Crandall — November 18, 2020 — Clorox Healthcare, part of CloroxPro, just announced its first sporicidal solution available through the Clorox Total 360 System, an electrostatic sprayer that combines proven electrostatic technology with trusted Clorox solutions to easily provide coverage in even hard-to-reach places. The new Clorox Healthcare Spore Defense Cleaner Disinfectant is a low-fragrance bleach formulated to kill C. diff in five minutes, in addition to 42 other pathogens, and can be used in sensitive patient settings.
In turn, this new product provides healthcare professionals a facility-wide solution by ensuring C. diff spores, among other pathogens, are killed on hard, nonporous surfaces in patient rooms, in operating rooms and on transport equipment often missed during manual cleaning.
Clorox Healthcare Spore Defense Cleaner Disinfectant, available through the Clorox Total 360 System, is delivered via electrostatic sprayer for optimal coverage. Image courtesy Clorox
Disinfecting surfaces in hospitals is challenging and time-consuming work, points out the company. Research cited by Clorox suggests only 50 percent of surfaces in patient rooms and operating rooms are effectively disinfected. (See announcement for references cited.) Proper disinfection of portable and shared medical equipment is also an important component of infection prevention, as this equipment frequently becomes contaminated with healthcare-associated pathogens, notes the company. In addition, such equipment often has irregular and difficult-to-clean surfaces, resulting in suboptimal manual cleaning and disinfection.
In fact, a study cited by Clorox that was conducted by Curtis Donskey, MD, infectious disease specialist, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, found medical equipment was not disinfected after use 90 percent of the time. Sampling also showed that 27.5 percent of mobile equipment had one or more pathogens on them. These results demonstrate that mobile equipment is frequently used, infrequently cleaned, and can serve as a vector for dissemination of pathogens.
Lynda Lurie, director of marketing, Clorox Professional Products Company, stated:
Through this study, it became abundantly clear that healthcare facilities needed an efficient solution to help prevent the transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens from portable medical equipment. Clorox Healthcare Spore Defense Cleaner Disinfectant through the Clorox Total 360 System makes a challenging but imperative task easier for end-users while also providing complete coverage. Healthcare facilities can finally rest assured knowing they covered the germ hot spots often missed through manual cleaning.
The Clorox Total 360 electrostatic sprayer works by charging and atomizing Clorox Healthcare Spore Defense Cleaner Disinfectant, delivering a powerful flow of charged particles that are attracted to surfaces with a force stronger than gravity, according to the company. This allows the product to reach and uniformly coat hard, nonporous surfaces including hard-to-reach areas that manual cleaning can often miss.
Clorox Healthcare Spore Defense Cleaner Disinfectant has been extensively tested for efficacy, residue and worker protection, adds the company. This solution was developed to be safe to use through the Clorox Total 360 System and to ensure the combined products effectively enhance surface coverage while reducing the time it takes to treat healthcare surfaces.
Proven efficacy against healthcare facilities’ toughest challenges
Dr. Donskey examined the efficiency of the sporicidal solution against C. diff reduction on healthcare surfaces in the real world including wheelchairs, portable equipment and waiting rooms. Findings showed the Clorox Total 360 System with Spore Defense was just as effective as bleach wipes in reducing C. diff spores inoculated on wheelchairs, but could be applied in one-fourth of the time, providing healthcare facilities with a rapid and effective means to reduce spore contamination on surfaces previously unavailable.
Dr. Donskey remarked:
When it comes to the cleaning and disinfection of shared and portable medical equipment such as wheelchairs and gurneys, thoroughness of cleaning is often suboptimal and application can be challenging and time-consuming, especially when surfaces are irregular. This is what makes the development of this sporicidal solution and its ability to be used with electrostatic technology a substantial innovation — it provides a solution for healthcare facilities that wasn’t previously possible.
With broad surface compatibility, low residue profile, 43 pathogen kill claims and low odor, Clorox Healthcare Spore Defense Cleaner Disinfectant is easily implementable for facility-wide use, says the company. Spore Defense also meets the EPA Emerging Viral Pathogen designation for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
To learn more about the Donskey studies, view the white paper / case study online.
To learn more about Clorox Healthcare Spore Defense Cleaner Disinfectant and the Clorox Total 360 System, visit the Clorox Healthcare website.
