Hospital faucets can harbor slime and biofilm

Water splashing out of a sink can spread contaminants


Water splashing out of a hospital sink can spread contaminants from dirty faucets according to an article on the Infection Control Today website

New research from the University of Michigan Health System assessed eight different designs across four intensive care units to determine how dirty sinks and faucets are.

The study found that a shallow depth of the sink bowl enabled potentially contaminated water to splash onto areas as far as more than four feet from the sink itself.  

The researchers suggested a design improvement program that included sink guards, which were shown to limit splash significantly.

Read the article.



June 21, 2019


Topic Area: Infection Control


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