Clorox® bleach has played an important role in public health for more than a century. Today, at the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) EXCHANGE 2016 annual conference, Clorox Healthcare announces its breakthrough innovation in healthcare disinfection with the introduction of Clorox Healthcare® Fuzion™ Cleaner Disinfectant.

Fuzion is the next generation of bleach and the first product of its kind to combine trusted bleach efficacy against tough-to-kill pathogens with the aesthetics required for broad use throughout healthcare facilities. Fuzion is Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered to kill Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) spores in two minutes, the fastest kill time available, and 35 other pathogens in one minute.

“At Clorox Healthcare, we are constantly looking for ways to expand the breadth and depth of our industry-leading bleach portfolio to meet the needs of healthcare facilities and equip end users with the tools they need to safeguard patient environments,” says Lynda Lurie, director of marketing for Clorox Healthcare. “Healthcare facilities need the right disinfectants to help keep patients safe from infection-causing pathogens. With Fuzion, they no longer need to make tradeoffs between efficacy, odor and surface compatibility.”

Clorox Healthcare® Fuzion™ Cleaner Disinfectant’s innovative features include:

- Proven Efficacy: The formula is EPA-registered to kill drug-resistant threats such as C. difficile, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE) and carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-KP) as well as other bacteria, viruses and fungi in two minutes or less.

- Excellent Aesthetics and Surface Compatibility: Fuzion is a pH-neutral, highly-efficacious form of bleach that won’t cause damage to common surfaces. It can be safely used on stainless steel, chrome, countertops, sinks, mattress covers, glazed tiles – even finished wood, clear plastics and glass. The low residue formula leaves surfaces looking clean, not cloudy, and has a low odor profile with any mild bleach odor dissipating in minutes.

- Revolutionary Design for Enhanced User Experience: Fuzion was designed with environmental services professionals (EVS) in mind. The product features an ergonomic bottle shape and innovative trigger spray designed to deliver the appropriate concentration of active ingredient every time the trigger is pulled. The new trigger technology requires less force to activate, covers twice as much area with each spray, clings to vertical surface to minimize dripping and delivers even surface coverage with 60% larger average droplet size to reduce misting.

“Fuzion uses innovative new technology to improve surface compatibility and reduce residue,” says Hedi Modaressi, department manager of R&D for Clorox Healthcare. “The solution contains sodium hypochlorite and a neutralizer which, when combined, form a pH-neutral hypochlorous acid – a highly effective form of bleach. Once the two-minute contact time is reached, the neutralizer breaks down the bleach solution into a very small amount of sodium chloride and water with minimal residue, eliminating the need for a rinsing step.”

This revolutionary approach makes Fuzion tough on pathogens, yet easy on surfaces and practical for everyday use across a wide variety of healthcare surfaces and settings. These features, combined with the ease of use of a one-step cleaner and disinfectant represent the next generation of disinfectants and an entirely new user experience designed for efficacy and satisfaction.

Studies show that C. difficile has become the most common microbial cause of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in U.S. hospitals and costs up to $4.8 billion each year in excess costs for acute-care facilities alone, making disinfecting efficacy you can trust more important than ever before. Clorox Healthcare offers the most robust portfolio of EPA-registered surface cleaners and disinfectants in addition to UV technology, to provide healthcare facilities and EVS professionals with a comprehensive approach to treating environmental surfaces to help keep patients safe from C. difficile and other HAI-causing pathogens.

With the introduction of the Fuzion product, Clorox Healthcare continues to lead the way in C. difficile solutions for acute care facilities and beyond. Trusted bleach products such as Clorox Healthcare® Bleach Germicidal Wipes and Clorox Healthcare® Bleach Germicidal Cleaners kill a wide variety of bacteria and viruses, including MRSA and norovirus, in 30 seconds to one minute, and C. difficile spores in as fast as three minutes. Unlike bleach and water solutions, Clorox Healthcare® Bleach Germicidal products contain detergent, so they can clean and disinfect in just one step. Additionally, because they are ready to use and stable, it eliminates the labor costs associated with mixing and labeling bleach solutions.

Clorox Healthcare is a long-standing supporter of AHE. Attendees at this year’s EXCHANGE conference can visit the Clorox Healthcare booth (#403) to learn more about Fuzion and other Clorox Healthcare products.