Now more than ever, it’s important to address head-on, the misconception that healthcare facility carpets lead to infection control problems. Before the COVID-19 pandemic led to a dramatic spike in questions around how long the coronavirus can live on surfaces, people already harbored suspicions around the role of carpets in spreading disease — despite a lack of evidence that carpet is any more problematic than other healthcare facility’s flooring options.
For healthcare facility managers, dispelling this misconception is particularly critical because carpet has a lot to offer, including comfort and some significant cost savings over comparable materials. There are ample reasons to keep using carpet in your waiting areas — and plenty of proactive maintenance tools and strategies available to keep it healthy and clean.
Before committing to carpet cleaning, let’s review a few of the reasons this healthcare flooring option achieves its ROI, making it worth the time staff spends on proactive maintenance:
The best way to get the above-mentioned benefits, and to maximize the ROI on your carpet investment, is to have a proactive and solid maintenance plan in place. Proper carpet cleaning is necessary to protect patient health and maintain high air quality throughout your healthcare facility. The following steps can help.
Vacuuming systems should already be using a HEPA filter to capture airborne contaminants smaller than 0.3 microns traveling along your healthcare flooring. EPA reports that HEPA filters can trap up to 99.97% of airborne particles. What’s more important to consider is your filter’s MERV rating. The MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) rating determines how small a particle your filter is able to effectively capture. Higher MERV-rated HEPA filters can capture smaller contaminants. Because these highly rated filters are able to capture more particulates than lower rated systems, it’s important to either clean or replace these filters more often to keep them working effectively.
For facilities teams already stretched thin, increasing carpet cleaning frequency may not seem feasible. However, many facilities departments are turning to automated carpet sweepers that can be deployed to follow pre-programmed cleaning patterns and move automatically around obstacles such as people. Tools like Whiz, the autonomous vacuum sweeper from Softbank Robotics, also gather data on the cleaning performed that provides proof of its effectiveness.
Automation tools like these, allow janitorial staff to focus on more high-level cleaning and proactive maintenance activities, adding greater value to the facilities department.
Source:The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification’s IICRC S100
3. Make deep cleaning a regular part of your care plan
Depending on the level of foot traffic your carpet sees, you’ll likely want to plan for deep cleaning somewhere between one to six months. Dry or hot water extraction can help remove any stuck contaminants and restore carpet to like new performance. Implement your specific carpeting manufacturer’s recommendations on suitable cleaning procedures before building this process into your proactive maintenance plan.
With appropriate care, your healthcare flooring investment can provide a solid return by minimizing your replacement costs and potentially improving your patient satisfaction scores. Those cleaning costs don’t need to come with an enormous upfront investment either. Some autonomous cleaning solutions like Whiz, the commercial robot vacuum from Softbank Robotics, developed in partnership with Brain OS and ICE Robotics, are available with a subscription model, allowing facility managers to cost-effectively pilot the solution in their buildings.
Discover how Whiz can impact your bottom line.
To learn more about how humans and robots are working together, register for the webinar, 5 Ways Humans and Robots Can Collaborate During Times of Crisis, taking place May 14.