Carpet and Sanitizing

[ruff]

Most carpet sanitizers or "germicidal cleaners" say something like:" for use as cleaner ...on non-porous surfaces" etc. However the instructions regarding use on carpet- "it can be used on carpets in institutional areas such as homes, motels...." etc.

I understand the difference between disinfectant and sanitizer.
I also understand that you cannot guarantee complete sanitizing on any porous surface.

So:
1) Is there any advantage to using a sanitizer (not talking about floods or sewer back up) if the client wants it? Or would cleaning alone achieve it without sanitizing. (Not talking about us making more money. And also sometime the client just wants to know that it was sanitized.)

2) From your experience, once sanitized (say 'Microban') will a good rinsing leave the carpet free of unhealthy residue for the homeowner.

3) I've used 'Benefect' which I like mostly because it is organic and zero toxicity etc. (Please, lets not start the green debate. Please ) however the Thyme smell lingers for ever. What do you use?

 

[Ray Burnfield]

Ofer, We live in California. There are claims that we should never make. 1. Killing bugs 2. Disinfecting carpet 3. Sanitizing carpet. I get asked often about Carpet Sanitizing. I do not know of any Carpet sanitizer that is available for use in our State. Quite a few manufactures make them but will not ship to California. I'm not sure about a CA E.P.A. number as a Carpet Sanitizer for Benefect. If there was, I still would not make the claim that I sanitized the carpet. I would state that I applied the Sanitizer according to the manufactures directions.

 

[Shawn Forsythe]

The only antimicrobial that could conceivably be used on a carpet in California is a product called Sterifab by Noble Pine Industries. I have no idea how they managed approval, but they did. Moreover, the product itself must be used full-strength and saturate the carpet for 10 minutes. Here's the kicker.... the product is flammable.

I had asked Cal EPA to please explain the logic of the approval, but didn't get anywhere.

 

[Shawn Forsythe]

So:
1) Is there any advantage to using a sanitizer (not talking about floods or sewer back up) if the client wants it? Or would cleaning alone achieve it without sanitizing. (Not talking about us making more money. And also sometime the client just wants to know that it was sanitized.)

2) From your experience, once sanitized (say 'Microban') will a good rinsing leave the carpet free of unhealthy residue for the homeowner.

3) I've used 'Benefect' which I like mostly because it is organic and zero toxicity etc. (Please, lets not start the green debate. Please ) however the Thyme smell lingers for ever. What do you use?

If you are performing the service professionally, you are in violation of Federal law to use an EPA registered antimicrobial inconsistent with the labeling. Unless the instructions have directions for use on carpet, the product should not be used on carpet...period.

 

[ruff]

Thanks Ray and Shawn, much appreciated.

I understand the difference between promising sanitizing and the issue with porous fibers. That's not my question.
And as we all know, sanitizing may not be necessary.

However, sometime the client really wants it even though I am 110% clear (as I always am) as to what it can and cannot accomplish. And contrary to the popular belief, we are in the service business. So, once the client understands the limitation and still chooses to do it, I will try to accommodate them. Unless it is bad/hazardous/violate warranty or their belief in a just and benign universe.

OK. Now that we got that out of the way.

Here is what "MICROBAN- Germicidal cleaner concentrate" says on the label: "To treat carpet against odor causing bacteria, for home,institutional, industrial and hospital use: Use this product on carpet to control the growth of odor causing bacteria......." etc and so forth.

Therefore:
1) Since I bought it legally in CA, I assume that it is legal to be used in CA.
2) Since it mentions carpet in its instruction, it means that it is approved to be used on carpet (test,will not kill everything etc.) but approved for use on carpet.
3) Since it kills stuff it will also kill some bacteria and some of the "funky" stuff. Not 100% but kill, sanitize some.

So, what's the general experience here regarding:
A) Its use on carpet.
B) How well does it rinse out and is there any residue that may be unhealthy.
C) Does it help? Are the sanitizing results a little better than just a regular cleaning.

From the sweaty trenches in CA, thanks for any feedback.

 

[Shawn Forsythe]

Ofer,

You are right. On the extended label it does indicate the product can be used to "to control the growth of odor-causing bacteria and fungi" under the deodorization heading. But that is the maximum extent of its claimed effectiveness. There are no claims for specific or pathogenic bacteria, just control of growth on odor causing types. That would be the extent of your claims as well. You definitely do not want to promise efficacy on anything that might cause illness, because the product makes no such claim.

It is a quaternary ammonium chloride based cleaner. It needs to be thoroughly rinsed, and the surface should be devoid of anionics before application. So, you would want to thoroughly rinse the carpet of any anionic cleaning residues, if there are any, before you use this. Otherwise the interaction with the cationic quat and an anionic cleaner residue will really make for a resoiling residue that won't rinse very well at all.

Sure, it makes sense that you are leaving the carpet with less bacteria, so long as it of certain unspecified types (of the odor causing variety). But stay away from making promises of health benefits beyond this. It is not sanitizing, by any stretch. For sanitize, sanitizer, and sanitization all have legal definitions, which are outside the scope of this product when used on carpet.

 

[truckmount girl]

As I understand it, disinfecting means to remove virtually all pathogens. Sanitizing simply means to remove some of the cooties. Sanitizing is to make a surface more clean. Disinfecting is to make it sterile or nearly so.

I think you can say you sanitize the carpet, but not disinfect it.....but maybe I'm wrong?

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Shawn Forsythe]

Lisa,

Its actually more formal than that. Nor can you legally claim any of these unless your product and procedure have been proven and approved by the EPA for efficacy. The state of California is even more stringent.


According to US EPA, there are three classes of antimicrobials and their level of effect.


SANITIZER
One of three groups of antimicrobials registered by EPA for public health uses. EPA considers an anti-microbial to be a sanitizer when it reduces but does not necessarily eliminate all the microorganisms on a treated surface. To be a registered sanitizer, the test results for a product must show a reduction of at least 99.9% in the number of each test microorganism over the parallel control. Sanitization requires the level of reduction to be demonstrated when used exactly as instructed.

DISINFECTANTS
One of three groups of antimicrobials registered by EPA for public health uses. EPA considers an antimicrobial to be a disinfectant when it destroys or irreversibly inactivates infectious or other undesirable organisms, but not necessarily their spores. EPA registers three types of disinfectant products based upon submitted efficacy data: limited, general or broad spectrum, and hospital disinfectant.

STERILIZER
One of three groups of antimicrobials registered by EPA for public health uses. EPA considers an antimicrobial to be a sterilizer when it destroys or eliminates all forms of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their spores. Because spores are considered the most difficult form of a microorganism to destroy, EPA considers the term sporicide to be synonymous with "sterilizer."