With coronavirus cases surging again across the country, AffinEco is stepping up its deployment of new technologies designed to enhance current cleaning protocols and keep clients healthy. AffinEco is testing and implementing a variety of new tools including ATP meters, PreventX 24/7, and NanoSeptic.
ATP monitoring is a rapid testing method to assess the cleanliness of a surface by measuring traces of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), which is present on all organic material. AffinEco has begun using these meters to gauge cleanliness and determine the level to which their cleaning protocols are effective.
“These meters test how much living material is on any given surface,” said AffinEco’s Building Services Director of Operations Brian Collins. “While the meters can’t tell us what kind of microbes they find, they will show the total amount of virus, fungus, or bacteria.”
This monitoring technology isn’t new; it’s been used in food service and medical industries for quite some time. But, for AffinEco it’s a new method for determining to what degree the company’s surface disinfection protocols are working. The process is simple. After a surface has been disinfected and dried, a small cotton swab is applied to the area and then onto the ATP meter. There are standard values calibrated into the device depending on the surface being measured. For example, a floor will be held to a different level of clean than a countertop. The meter returns a value from which the user can determine the effectiveness of the disinfecting process.
“It doesn’t directly measure viral load. You don’t know the composition of living material; you know the percentage,” Collins explained. “That provides a baseline understanding of the percentage reduction overall.”
At present, AffinEco is using the meters in a testing environment, having just a handful of meters for the major regional areas and high-level account executives. The testing is primarily being done at in-house satellite offices and a handful of client locations, but only those with no active employees present.
“Our goal is to test both the efficacy of current and new cleaning procedures,” Collins said. “There is an upfront cost for the device itself, but after that, it is a low-cost way to understand the level of cleanliness we’ve achieved.”
While the meters can accurately determine the state of a surface after it’s been disinfected, PreventX 24/7 is a spray-on treatment designed to keep hard surfaces free from contaminants. It forms a very thin antimicrobial film on the surface, which has been proven effective against viral and bacterial threats, including COVID-19.
“Once on the surface, it basically prevents any microorganism from surviving there,” explained Collins.
PreventX is best applied on hard surfaces after a deep clean. The spray-on film provides protection for a considerable amount of time, based on how frequently the surface is touched. According Collins, AffinEco’s testing shows, even in high-use areas like a receptionist desk, the antimicrobial film can last at least a month. In lesser-used areas, the microbial protection can extend beyond 100 days.
AffinEco has also begun trial use of a product called NanoSeptic, which is similar to PreventX in that it prevents microbes from adhering to hard surfaces. But unlike the PreventX spray, NanoSeptic is an adhesive “skin” that can be applied to high-traffic touchpoints like door handles or countertops in common-use public spaces. Collins said AffinEco’s NanoSeptic trials are still in the early stages, but the initial results are promising.
“In the cases of both PreventX and NanoSeptic, we continue to clean the areas where these are applied as we normally would,” Collins said. “But these new products appear to provide a great deal more protection against the COVID threat when properly utilized.”