Taking a Look at Products Designed To Meet Cleaning Requirements for Industry
by Manfred Dederl

Like any other sector of the business world, the industrial workplace has a very specific need for cleanliness. Between the rest rooms and the tools and equipment that many others touch, industrial employees come into contact with a number of areas in which bacteria thrives.

Cleanliness in the workplace is important for two reasons. Apart from the threat to the health of a company's workers, hand-borne spread of germs and bacteria also can affect the company's bottom line, as having workers out sick can lead to productivity losses. In addition to hygiene concerns relating to bacteria, however, the industrial workplace has other requirements for cleanliness. Polishing, degreasing, cleaning up spills of oil and solvents - these tasks, common in the industrial workplace, are just some of the many jobs that require very specialized cleaning products in order to be done properly.

The following are tips that industrial-based businesses can implement in an effort not only to reduce the spread of illness-causing bacteria in the workplace, but also to address the needs of cleanliness within their day-to-day operations.

Promote proper hand-washing techniques. It may sound like common sense, but it bears repeating: Thorough hand-washing is one of the best ways to curtail the spread of germs and bacteria in the workplace. As simple a step as washing hands more carefully and more often - even when dirt is not visible - can mean the difference between spreading germs and staying healthy.

If there is a cold or stomach flu going around the workplace, employees should be encouraged to wash their hands carefully and often. This is particularly critical in an industrial work environment, where employees share equipment, work within close proximity to one another, and often have lunch together in the same break room.

Here are some guidelines for effectively washing hands:

• Use warm water to loosen the dirt on your hands.
• Use soap to dissolve oils and dirt.
• Rinse with warm water again to rinse off oils, dirt, bacteria and soap lather.
• Drying hands with high-quality paper towels removes most of the remaining bacteria.
• Always drop the paper towel in the waste basket to avoid transmission of bacteria.

Use effective paper towel dispensers. The paper towel dispenser is one of those workplace "trouble spots" with lots of potential for spreading bacteria. Consider this: If someone uses the rest room but doesn't wash their hands properly, and then touches the paper towel dispenser, the next person who touches it will be exposed to bacteria. Use high-quality industrial wipes. Bacteria isn't the only enemy in the industrial workplace. In industrial work areas, where spills of solvents, grease or other liquids are commonplace, wipe dispensers come in handy in keeping the work area clean. Industrial wipes are made for a wide assortment of uses, from light-duty wiping and cleaning to heavy-duty prepping, polishing and maintenance.

Generally speaking, the more absorbent an industrial wipe is, the more effective - and cost-effective - it will be in the workplace. Absorbent products such as the four-ply Tork Mekanic, for instance, are able to handle oil, grease, hydraulic fluids and solvents, and feature dual-textured sides for multipurpose cleaning and wiping. Other highly absorbent products are designed specifically for pre-cleaning and degreasing tasks (like Tork 606). Absorbency and versatility in industrial wipes mean that they can be used for a wider range of applications - and need to be used less frequently than other, less absorbent products, which ultimately saves money for the end-user.

Of course, not every surface in an industrial work environment requires an aggressive heavy-duty wipe product to keep it clean. As an example, there are two-ply cellulose products on the market (cellulose provides strength and absorbency) that are designed for light-duty wiping of delicate surfaces. And certain types of light-duty wipes are custom-made for no-scratch polishing jobs.

Other industrial wipes are geared specifically for certain kinds of tasks: One kind can be particularly effective for cleaning up spills of water- and oil-based chemicals, while another might be designed for cleaning screens, paint and ink. In all, it pays for the end-user to thoroughly explore the products on the market before investing in industrial cleaning products - if they have a specific cleaning need, chances are there's a product on the market that is custom-made for the job.

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