The purpose of the study was “to develop and perform a test method which would demonstrate the efficacy of the ACT Natural Cloths and Mops in removing microbiological contaminants from various surface types.”

The question has never been “do these products clean the dirt that we can see” – all one needs to do is try them to be convinced that they work.  But the question has been, how well do they clean the dirt (contamination) that we do not see? 

Therefore, throughout this testing two different microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and Escherichia coll ATCC 8739) were used along with normal household dirt particles taken from a vacuum bag. 
In addition to testing the efficacy of the cloths/mops to clean hard (non-porous) surfaces, the laboratory also conducted tests on cloth saturation, cross contamination, and methods used to clean dirty (contaminated) cloths.  All tests were conducted in triplicate and data depicted in this fact sheet reflects the average of all three tests.

Executive Summary

The Executive summary from the technical laboratory report provides a summation of several key areas from the testing and it is provided in its entirety below;

“The Act Natural Cloths removed an average of 99.94% of all microorganisms throughout the test period.  Only the conventional Cloth in conjunction with a disinfectant (which had to remain on the test surface for 30 seconds) performed better.  

Using the Act Natural cloth with water provides clean surfaces without the use of harsh chemicals.  The effectiveness of these cloths was not reduced even after 10 surfaces in succession as demonstrated by the absorption test data.”

The Act Natural Mops were significantly more effective in removing bacteria than the conventional Mops.  In the first series of test with the mops, the conventional mops were “new” ; they had not been used and were dry.  After use, we boiled the mops, rung them out, then left them at room temperature. 

These mops developed a significant bioburden (bacterial population) under these “normal use” conditions.  This is demonstrated by the second set of test data (for the ceramic surface), where there were more bacteria on the test surface after cleaning than before.  Therefore, the repeat use of a conventional mop, even with a disinfectant, actually adds bacteria to the surface being cleaned.”

The test also demonstrated that after a contaminated (dirty) area had been cleaned with the ACT – tex Multi-purpose cloth, the contamination was held inside the fiber of the cloth and was not transferred to another surface. Lastly, laboratory testing showed that washing the cloths in a standard washing machine on the hottest cycle was as effective in removing bacteria from the cloth as was boiling.

Type of Cleaning Material	Cleaning Agent	Percent Effective (%)
ACT-tex Multi-purpose cloth (New)	Tap Water	99.951%
ACT-tex Multi-purpose cloth (Used)	Tap Water	99.950%
Conventional Dish Cloth (New)	409R as Disinfectant	99.9994%
Conventional Dish Cloth	Lysol Pine Action Cleaner	99.7778%
Conventional Dish Cloth	Bleach Water (60 ppm)	99.000%

ACT-tex Multi-purpose cloth (New)	Tap Water	99.9721%
ACT-tex Multi-purpose cloth (Used)	Tap Water	99.9646%
Conventional Dish Cloth	Lysol Pine Action Cleaner	90.3571%
Conventional Dish Cloth	409R as disinfectant	99.9977%
Conventional Dish Cloth (New)	Bleach Water (60 ppm)	98.7073%

Analysis of results (Table 1): These results demonstrate the ACT-tex Multi-Purpose Cloth is extremely effective.  Only 409R used as a disinfectant did better. Remember that the surface was saturated with a full concentration of 409R and allowed to stand for 30 seconds. 

Of particular note is the comparison of the ACT-tex Multi-Purpose Cloth with the bleach water solution which is recognized as a standard for cleanliness.  Even though the percentages are very close, a mathematical analysis of these percentages shows that the bleach water left much more contamination on the surfaces as compared to the ACT-tex Multi-Purpose Cloth (20 times the amount of contamination on the smooth surface and 46 times on the textured surface).

Analysis of results (Table 2): These results demonstrate that the ACT-tex Damp mop is more effective than a conventional mop.  The most significant aspect of the mop testing is what happens to the conventional mop after being used for the first time. 

The conventional mops used on the ceramic tile surface had been used only once on the previous test.  These mops were “0%” effective on the second test even using a disinfectant.  A conventional mop may make the floor surface ”look” cleaner, however, the “cleaned” surface retains very high levels of bacterial contamination (microorganisms).

*ACT-tex Multi-Purpose cloths could clean up to 40 sq. ft. of Formica counter with 99.7% effectiveness.  Remember the recognized standard was bleach water between 98.9 & 99.9%.

Modern Green Clean - Your source for Norwex online! http://www.ModernGreenClean.com

 Purpose

The purpose of this project was to conduct a study on the long-term development of microbiological particles when you clean with microfiber the surfaces and areas that are in daily use in a hospital.

The study is done using daily regular sanitary and cleaning routines, using only microfiber cleaning products and water on floors and other surfaces at Feiringklinikken in Eidsvoll, Norway.

The measurements started on the 16th of September 2003 and was ended on the 20th or January 2004. The first 3 weeks of the project was used as a pilot study.

What is the Feiring Clinic?

The clinic is specializing in consulting, treating and rehabilitation of adult heart patients. With a capacity of 1100 open-heart surgeries per year, it conducts about 25 % of all open-heart surgeries in Norway. The total number of infections as a result of surgery at the hospital is only 50 % of the nations standard of 5.4 %

Today, there are 245 employees at the clinic, and of these, 140 are medical staff. The clinic was opened in 1989, by the Association for Heart and Lung Disease in Norway (LHL)

The project was kicked off with a general information session and training of the cleaning staff at the hospital. It was emphasized that the goal of the project was not to benchmark each individual employee, but rather to determine the long-term effect of using microfiber combined with water as the single method of cleaning and sanitation at the hospital.

Staff used products from a stock of dry microfiber cloths that was dampened and wringed using clean tap water. Each cloth is replaced once it is visibly dirty.

The Norwex mop is used to clean all floors. All other areas were cleaned with the microfiber cloths from Norwex.

All products were laundered at 90oC and then dried in a dryer, with no fabric softener.

CONCLUSIONS

The cleaning department has used microfiber cloths since 1993, and started using microfiber mops in 1998. There is a minimal use of chemicals in the daily cleaning routines, and the department is consciously trying to adhere to “Clean Without Chemicals” concept.

The Feiring Clinic has a very high cleaning standard based on commonly known adhered-to daily and periodical cleaning standards.

The use of microfiber cleaning products combined with only water was used to clean the cafeteria kitchen. The test data shows a good and satisfactory hygiene level that is just as good as traditional cleaning methods and products. The clinic has experienced that microfiber cleaning products are excellently suited for cleaning a cafeteria kitchen.

The use of microfiber cloths and mops in the operating room has a higher hygienical level. The results after cleaning is done are absolutely acceptable, even on the floor where there are very different conditions present in the operating room. In the operating room, conditions for ultra clean surgery (sterile) are met consistently and in every condition tested.

The final conclusion, both in the kitchen and in the surgery ward, is that the microfiber cleaning products and the cleaning routines is of excellent quality and continued reliability. This is comforting for the patients as well as for the staff at the clinic.

** Full test information and study can be viewed at request. All swab test and agar plates were examined independently at labs for aerobic and anaerobic micro-organisms with a 99% removal on all smooth surfaces tested. The effectiveness of these cloths was not reduced even after 10 surfaces in succession as demonstrated by the absorption test data.

(For a copy of the full study, please contact me)

Modern Green Clean - Your source for Norwex online! http://www.ModernGreenClean.com

Japan Spinners Inspecting Foundation
Kinki Head Office
1-18-15 Ue-machi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 540-0005, Japan
Tel:  06-6762-5887
Fax:  06-6762-8588

Date of sample receipt:  April 30, 2003            Test No. 604738
Article:  cloth          
Subject:   Test for microorganism eradication
Tested Culture:   Staphylococcus aureus    NBRC 12732
             Escherichia coli                          NBRC 3972

Test Method:
Culture solution regulated at 2.5 to 10 x 10 cells/ml is dropped on a film (6 x 6 cm square) by 0.4ml using 1/500NB. The culture solution on the film is wiped off by the cloth sample. Then detection on the film surface is performed immediately to measure viable cell count by mixed dilution plate medium culture method. Besides, measurement on another film is also conducted after dropping culture solution in order to exemplify viable cell count before wiping off. The rate of eradication is calculated according to the formula below.

                                                Rate of eradcation (%)

Name of Sample:	Staphylococcus aureus	Escherichia coli
Cloth	99.9% or more	99.9% or more

                             
Date of sample receipt:  September 3, 2003
Subject: Test for microorganism eradication
Tested Culture:   Staphylococcus aureus    NBRC 12732
             Escherichia coli                          NBRC 3972

Test Method:
The above test was completed again in the same manner. However this test was conducted after the cloth sample had been washed 300 times based on the washing resistance

                                                  Rate of eradication (%)

Name of Sample:	Staphylococcus aureus	Escherichia coli
Cloth	99.9% or more	99.9% or more

This test confirms that the Norwex Microfiber cloth removes 99.9% of bacteria from a surface.
It also confirmed that even after washing the cloth 300 times it was still able to pick up 99.9%
of bacteria from the surface. 
Modern Green Clean - Your source for Norwex online! http://www.ModernGreenClean.com