Cleaning Equipment: Buying Group Tests Look at Cleaning Ability

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The results of an independent study comparing the cleaning effectiveness of a string mop, polyester microfiber flat mop, and the Transport Cleaning System (TCS) marketed by Pro-Link, Inc., have just recently been released.
 
Tests were conducted on an 18-inch-by-18-inch tiled restroom floor. No cleaning chemicals were used for the test. Instead, the researchers wanted to know how well the machines could clean the floor surface and remove microbial residue purely on their own merit.
 
Before testing began, researchers analyzed the floor and grout to determine the number of microbial and biochemical soils on the floor. This served as a benchmark for all future tests and evaluations.
 
According to Diane Mahana, marketing manager for Pro-Link, a jansan buying and marketing group, the researchers reported that approximately 81 percent of microbial residue was removed from the tile floor surface when cleaned with either a string mop or microfiber mop.
 
However, cleaning effectiveness dropped significantly when the grout areas were analyzed. Mahana says that only about 25 percent of the microbial residue was removed from grout areas after using either a string or flat mop system.
 
The Transport Cleaning System (TCS) was then tested on the restroom floor.
 
“We found that 98 percent of the microbial residue on both the tile and the grout had been removed,” says Mahana. “This shows the system is not only more effective at removing contaminants [when compared to string and microfiber mops] but essentially removes all soils from the floor’s surface.”
 
Effectively removing contaminants from floors is increasingly important.  Recent studies indicate that we have more direct and indirect contact with floors than many people realized. More thorough and effective floor cleaning is one way cleaning professionals can stop the spread of disease, adds Mahana.