Table 1. A summary of the advantage and considerations of a range of environmental decontamination
technologies, with manual disinfectant cleaning included for comparison
Disinfection Technology Operational Advantages Operational Considerations
Traditional manual cleaning
and disinfection
Required as integral part of hospital hygiene strategy for the
removal of soil and for clean appearance of surfaces.
Wide antimicrobial efficacy
Ease of use
Standard accepted method of cleaning
Labour intensive with compliance issues.
Application is intermittent with variable frequency.
Only suitable and accessible surfaces are treated.
Air not treated; Fabrics and electronic equipment often not treated
Detergents can have limited antimicrobial effectiveness.
Disinfectants may be toxic and require special safety precautions.
Gaseous disinfection /
chemical fogging
Includes:
Chlorine dioxide (ClO2)
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)
Ozone (O3)
Wide antimicrobial efficacy
Rapid decontamination effect
The whole room (surfaces and air) is treated
Good for terminal/deep cleaning
Safety considerations require experienced operator supervision and training.
Involves use of toxic chemicals.
Patients and staff cannot be exposed.
Rooms require sealing and are out of commission during treatment.
Short term effect as high contamination levels return after several days.
Some materials can be damaged
Steam cleaning Wide antimicrobial efficacy
Rapid decontamination effect
Good for terminal/deep cleaning
Because the steam cleaning machines incorporate vacuum
extraction, dirt, water and contaminants are removed from the
area being cleaned.
Safety considerations require experienced operator supervision.
Not usable in presence of patients.
Disruptive to normal hospital routine.
Short term effect as high contamination levels return after several days.
Only suitable and accessible surfaces are treated.
Air is not treated and fabrics are not effectively treated.
Not compatible with sensitive electronic equipment.
UV-light technology Wide antimicrobial efficacy
Rapid decontamination effect
The whole room (surfaces and air) can be treated
Good for terminal/deep cleaning
Uses dangerous radiation and patients/staff cannot be exposed.
Room is out of commission during UV treatment.
Some materials can be damaged by photosensitive degradation.
If used intermittently, the decontamination effective is short term.
Microbial resistance to UV can develop.
405nm HINS-light EDS Safe for use in presence of patients and staff, and non-disruptive
Wide antimicrobial efficacy
Provides continuous disinfection of the environment (air,
exposed surfaces, fabrics, electronic equipment.)
Continuous use provides decontamination during periods of
heavy microbial dispersal (e.g. bed-making, bandage changing)
Automated system with no compliance/training problems.
Environmentally and material friendly / no chemicals involved.
Uses energy efficient LED technology with low maintenance
Decontamination effect is slower than with chemical/UV-based systems
Spores require high doses for inactivations
Full virucidal efficacy has not yet been established
Most effectively used for continuous disinfection rather than for rapid
terminal/deep cleaning applications