CINET offers with Covid-19 and provides sensible recommendation and webinars

INTERNATIONAL
Corona viruses are a large family of viruses that can cause diseases ranging from colds to more serious diseases such as SARS or MERS. The new coronavirus, now known as SARS_CoV2 and causing Covid-19 disease, is a new species that has not previously been identified in humans. Corona viruses are transmitted from animals to humans and from humans to humans.

The main focal points for laundries are:

1. Protection of laundry personnel (especially those who can come into contact with soiled and (possibly) contaminated laundry)
2. How do I clean textiles in a hygienically clean (coronavirus-free) way?

There are many questions about the new virus: how does it spread, how is it transmitted? Physical contact? Aerosol? Hard surfaces and other materials? How contagious is it? How quickly / easily do you get infected? How long does the virus survive outside of a carrier, the human body? And so on …

In order to have a clearer view, our research relied on literature / (scientific) research, test results in relation to the above-mentioned questions, legal framework, existing protocols, guidelines and quality management systems.

At the same time, there is a continuous consultation with experts. These experts include: health experts, RIVM (Dutch National Institute for Health and Environment), microbiologists, washing technology experts, suppliers and experts from CINET's international network

Conclusions

There is a lack of scientific research and test information, most of which are based on MERS and SARS. The constant coordination with experts results in new knowledge about the virus. The virus survives longer than expected and SARS_CoV2 is more contagious than expected

The destruction of the virus (in linen) can be achieved by thermal disinfection. Or by chemothermal disinfection – whereby most of the disinfectants used are based on an acid.

Protection of personnel

With regard to personal protection, the available protocols were analyzed, which prescribe the following: work clothes, gloves, hand washing, face mask FFP3.

What should additional measures be? Based on the consultation of authorities and microbiologists, new measures were developed:

• Drivers wear gloves and wash their hands after removing the gloves
• The personnel responsible for sorting dirty laundry must wear gloves and, if infectious laundry is not packed separately, an FFP1 or FFP2 mask.
• If no masks are available: Infectious laundry must be kept in closed and labeled laundry bags for five days. After these five days, the virus is no longer active and therefore no longer contagious.
• For chemical cleaners: Warn customers that they have to hand in contaminated laundry separately

Deliver hygienically clean laundry

Standard procedures are not sufficient to guarantee the delivery of hygienically clean, corona-free textiles. The following procedures are therefore recommended:

1. Thermal decontamination: 70 degrees Celsius for 25 smaller disinfections. Check that the recommended temperature is reached every 25 minutes
2. Chemothermal decontamination by adding a disinfectant (in most cases based on products containing peracetic acid) to the washing process. The process conditions applied should be supported by all experts, including authorities and microbiologists. Note that disinfectants can damage textiles. It is therefore recommended to consult your supplier.

In the Netherlands, Certex has a solid position in the industrial textile service. Based on the internationally recognized standards ISO9001: 2015 and EN 14065 "Textiles – laundry processed textiles – biocontamination control system". Certex comes from a quality management system developed by the Dutch Association for Textile Service Companies together with the Dutch Union for Quality in Hospitals. The specified requirements and criteria with specific values ​​for microbial contamination were adopted by the Dutch infection prevention working group in the "Linen in hospitals" guideline.

CINET has developed a special, cost-effective e-learning program, which was developed for textile service companies (CERCLEAN® ITS) as well as for retail companies for textile cleaning (dry cleaning) – CERCLEAN® RTC – to make quality management for professional textiles more easily accessible Care industry. The step-by-step approach enables companies to follow the program at their own pace. CINET offers companies comprehensive support in cooperation with national organizations, associations and representatives of international suppliers. The program has two levels. The first level focuses on the development of a quality management system based on ISO 9001: 2015 and best practices in terms of working conditions and environmental aspects. The second level deals with hygiene management and focuses on the delivery of hygienically clean textiles in accordance with the specified requirements. This level is based on the standard EN 14065 Risk Analysis Biocontamination Control (RABC), which focuses on the analysis of the risk of biocontamination throughout the process and the monitoring and control of these risks.

CINET WEBINARS

Together with renowned professional textile care experts, CINET has developed various recommendations for both industrial textile services and textile cleaning in retail. From the beginning of April there is another initiative in which CINET is concentrating on creating international open platforms for the exchange of knowledge and experience. The Corona webinars are aimed at industrial laundries and textile cleaning in retail. The first meetings with participants from all over the world were also fully booked, so the initiative will continue. Visit the CINET website to learn more about how to participate in webinars that suit your interests.