Dr. Charles Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist, examined the microfiber and cotton cloths used to clean hospital rooms. He found that the very tools being used to wipe germs away could be spreading them around, according to an article on the CleanLink website.
The study showed 93 percent of the laundered towels used to clean hospital rooms contained bacteria — ranging from E. Coli to total coliforms (bacteria indicative of fecal matter) to Klebsiella — all of which could result in hospital acquired infections (HAIs).
“Some cloths actually had E-coli in them after supposedly being cleaned for re-use in hospital rooms,” Gerba said in the article.
The study identified insufficient laundering practices as one culprit, but also revealed that 67 percent of buckets with disinfectant used to soak cloths contained viable bacteria.
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