by LBrownless@absolutehygienesolutions.com | Jan 16, 2017 | Uncategorized
What a better way to start off the new year than to announce that we have been presented with two accolades from Build 2016 Facilities Management Awards for the Best Workplace Hygiene Experts and Excellence in Clinical Waste Management for South East England. This recognition of our services could not have come at a better time, as we recently celebrated 10 years of AHS (we will talk more about that later – as that celebration deserves its own post). If you are unaware of what the Build Awards are, they’re a platform that rewards the best in technical innovation, property industries, design and worldwide construction. The Facilities Management Awards acknowledges the “hidden heroes” (as they like to call it) within the Facilities Management industry; the awards are a declaration of their excellence and dedication to their profession. Now I’m sure you can imagine why we are so excited to be rewarded these two awards out of all the facilities management companies in the whole of South East England! Over the 10 years we have spent building AHS, we have ensured that we always remain committed to our clients’ welfare and our environment, whilst working proactively to solve everyday problems which enables our customers to carry on with their working day. In a world where environmental policy is held with such high esteem, we strive to provide services that contain a limited amount of chemicals, reduce water and energy usage and we grid plan our vehicles for the best fuel consumption. We can all agree this is a pretty hard task but AHS has managed to conquer this which confirms...
by LBrownless@absolutehygienesolutions.com | Aug 26, 2016 | AHS Guides
Good hand hygiene is the best defence we have against infections and this is particularly helpful when children start nursery or school where bugs are in abundance. We know it can be tricky to get your child to wash their hands so we’ve put together our hand hygiene tips for kids! Experiment This is perfect if children are visual learners. In a bowl, get some body lotion and ask your child to mix some glitter into it. When the glitter and body lotion are all mixed together and all over their hands ask them to shake your hands or pick up their favourite toy. As you’re doing this, show them how easy it is for the glitter to end up around the house or school. When washing their hands, point out how the glitter is washed away, especially when you wash your hands thoroughly. This experiment is good as you are able to explain that some germs are not bad but highlights how hands need to be washed after the toilet or after sneezing. Colour Kids love to colour in so if you want them to understand the importance of hand hygiene, it is time to get creative! Draw your own posters of germs or simply a picture of someone or your child’s favourite character washing their hands. If drawing is not your thing, pass the pen over to your child or visit Pinterest. Sing! World Health Organisation recommend washing your hands thoroughly for twenty seconds with soap and warm water. A good way to do this with kids is to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice so they know they are washing...
by LBrownless@absolutehygienesolutions.com | Aug 22, 2016 | New Products
AirSteril products are the best, boasting unbeatable technology that always delivers excellent results. It’s hard to believe they could work better. Well, now they do. AirSteril completely eradicates bad smells and kills bacteria on surfaces and in the air, helping to reduce sickness in the workplace. The performance of all the units has been substantially improved which means even greater reduction in contamination, both on surfaces and in the air, giving you an even safer and more hygienic workplace. The Technical Bit… The lamps now all feature a Tungsten core meaning they have greater reliability than ever before with more resistance to temperature variance. Titanium Dioxide Catalysts have now been added to create Photo Catalytic Oxidisation (PCO) – one of the most powerful airborne disinfection processes known to man. PCO eliminates pollen, pet dander, mould, bacteria and viruses in the air, as well as VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) such as Methane, Benzene, Ammonia, formaldehyde. Even toxic gases, such as nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide are reduced or destroyed. So whether you work in a school, care home, funeral directors or an office you will find AirSteril to be a huge benefit to your workplace. We have units suitable for different environments and demands such as Washrooms, Healthcare, Commercial and Mobile Units. Contact us for a FREE consultation: Tel: 0208 317 9693 Email: enquiries@absolutehygienesolutions.com Follow us on Twitter Like us on...
by LBrownless@absolutehygienesolutions.com | Aug 16, 2016 | Uncategorized
If you have a particular room in your workplace that has an offensive stench and no amount of cleaning is helping, why not try AirSteril? It’s an odour control innovation that uses the latest technology to eradicate bad odours and replaces it with a fresh, mountain air smell. It also kills bacteria on the surface and in the air, making your workplace hygienic and smell-free. Cleaning can be frustrating as you are unable to treat the root cause of a problem area – once the area is re-used, bacteria returns and grows at a rapid rate, bringing the smells back until the next cleaning session, creating a vicious circle. Smells Explained Those offensive odours that hit you are created by bacteria and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) found in the air. In urinals for example, that unmistakable odour is due to the build-up of scale and uric salts clogging pipes which provides a breeding ground for bacteria. Consequently, the smell and germs only multiply. These airborne micro-organisms compromise hygiene standards and pose significant hygiene and reputational risks to all businesses. There are specialised AirSteril units available that have been created for different industries and to suit different demands such as, healthcare environments, washrooms and commercial. There are portable AirSteril units available too which can be moved from room to room as required, for example this is effective if someone has smoked in a hotel room. Simply place the AirSteril in the room and it will get to work purifying the air within an hour, leaving you to carry on with your normal cleaning routine. This is beneficial for businesses as...
by LBrownless@absolutehygienesolutions.com | Jul 28, 2016 | AHS Guides
If your workplace generates Healthcare waste there are more legislative measures and procedures and is governed a lot more closely and securely than general waste. We provide a healthcare waste management service providing everything you need from sharps containers to disposal. If you have a question that is not listed below do not hesitate to contact us by calling 0208 317 9693 or emailing enquiries@absolutehygienesolutions.com 1. What is healthcare waste? Healthcare is also known as ‘Clinical or Hazardous Waste’. It could be: • Blood and other bodily fluids • Needles, syringes and other sharp implements • Swabs or dressings • Human or animal tissue The business types that require this service are varied such as dentists, doctors, hospitals, vets, funeral directors and tattooists. 2. Do I need to know the waste colour codes? Not necessarily as we will take away all of this stress for you and ensure you’re complying with all legislation. We will however sit with you and explain why we’re giving you a particular container. The colour codes let waste carriers and disposal companies know what is inside the container or bag and how it should be dealt with. Check out this Healthcare Waste poster. 3. Do you send your waste to landfill? No. We use the ‘Waste to Energy’ disposal method for all our waste, Healthcare or Offensive. All of the energy generated is recovered by the plant and the steam is used to heat our local hospital. Any surplus energy goes straight back to the National Grid. Sending waste to landfill is detrimental to the environment – they release harmful gases and can contribute...
by LBrownless@absolutehygienesolutions.com | May 6, 2016 | Hand Hygiene
There seems to be so much information out there that you may find yourself wondering how you wash your hands properly. Glasgow Caledonian University researched into hand washing techniques in the healthcare industry and found that the six step method recommended by World Health Organisation is more superior to the standard method of rubbing your hands together for 20 seconds or so, followed by a rinse. Glasgow Caledonian University found this six step method was micro-biologically more effective for reducing the bacterial count (from 3.28 to 2.58) compared to the standard method. Healthcare professionals have to be more vigilant when washing their hands but we’ve made our own fun AHS poster that will help to promote excellent hand hygiene, no matter where you work. One way to think about it is you should wash your hands thoroughly for as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice. Wet hands and apply soap or hand sanitiser. Rub palms together until soap is bubbly Rub each palm over the back of the other hand Then rub between your fingers on each hand Rub the backs of your fingers against the opposite palm while interlocking your fingers Clasp your left thumb in your right palm and rub in a rotational motion, then switch hands and carry out the same step. Carry out rotational rubbing backwards and forwards while clasping the fingers of your right hand in the palm of your left and vice versa Click here to view our Clean Crew...
by LBrownless@absolutehygienesolutions.com | May 5, 2016 | Hand Hygiene
Here at AHS we work closely with the Healthcare industry from care homes to private and NHS hospitals and that is why we are supporting the World Health Organisation’s campaign, SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands. Washing your hands is the simplest way to prevent and control infections, which is incredibly important in the healthcare industry. However it is the lack of compliance among healthcare providers which causes problems worldwide. Just recently, shocking statistics were released that revealed a large majority of healthcare workers in outpatient care, did not wash their hands efficiently and in some cases, not at all. This campaign is working to improve hand hygiene globally, in surgical wards to operating theatres to outpatient surgical services to reduce HCAI (Health Care Associated Illness) and the burden on health systems. Hospital patients are more at risk of developing infections, especially if they have scars or wounds. Each time a healthcare worker touches a patient, microorganisms are transferred. These little micro-organisms have strong standing power as they can survive on hands for anything between 2 minutes to an hour. In the absence of hand hygiene action there is a greater degree of hand contamination. The possible implications of not washing your hands are huge – infections lead to more serious illnesses, prolonged hospital stays, financial costs and in the worst case, tragic loss. The good news is most health-care associated infections are preventable through hand hygiene – cleaning hands at the right time and in the right way. You can visit World Health Organisation’s website to find out lots more about hand hygiene and we have a few articles...
by LBrownless@absolutehygienesolutions.com | May 4, 2016 | Hand Hygiene
We all know you should be washing your hands but are you aware of just how good it is at infection control? It’s so important, wherever you are, that you make sure you wash your hands after every toilet visit, before and after preparing food, after a cough or sneeze and when dealing with patients. Why should you wash your hands? First of all, it is the easiest way to prevent sickness in the workplace. A typical worker in an office comes in to contact with 10 MILLION germs A DAY. Toilets, and in particular, faeces, are a big source of germs, such as Salmonella and Norovirus which can give you diarrhoea. In fact you’re 31% more likely to get diarrhoea if you do not wash your hands. A single gram of human faeces—which is about the weight of a paper clip—can contain one trillion germs. These germs can get onto people’s hands and if they are not washed off can be passed from person to person and could make you sick. Bacteria can spread very quickly- in just 8 hours one bacterium could have multiplied by 17 million. Handwashing properly reduces the amount of bacteria on your hands and the chances of it spreading further. But, did you know that 1 in 10 people do not wash their hands? Say you work in an office of ten people: you probably think one person isn’t that bad. But imagine this, that one person could be the colleague opposite you who has just gone to toilet. On his or her way back to the desk, he/she has offered to do...
by LBrownless@absolutehygienesolutions.com | Apr 22, 2016 | Environmentally Friendly
Today is World Oceans Day and now more than ever we need to look after our environment. It’s held every year to honour, help protect, and conserve the world’s oceans. A healthy world ocean is critical to our survival: They generate most of the oxygen we breathe They help feed us They regulate our climate They clean the water we drink They offer a pharmacopoeia of medicines They provide limitless inspiration! What will you be doing as part of the #WaveForChange? We’re going to reduce our usage of plastic disposable bags and make sure we always pack a reusable bag with us. Being environmentally friendly is important in business too that’s why we only offer products and services that will have a positive impact on the environment and your sustainability targets. AHS and the Environment Firstly, it starts with us. We’re ISO 14001 accredited so we are committed to being environmentally conscious. From choosing our product design, packaging and products to servicing we always consider the environment. In fact, all of our products can be recycled. Reduce Your Water Usage Whether you’re a small business or a big company you could be using more water than necessary. Typically, one urinal, without water management uses 315,000 litres of fresh, drinking water per year. What does 315,000 litres of water look like? –3939 bath tubs –10 petrol tankers –15,750 water cooler bottles –4848 washing machine cycles –9004 showers And that is just one urinal – you probably have more! With an AHS Water Management System it reduces the flushing time to once per hour and even stops completely when the building is unoccupied, meaning your urinal will flush...
by admin | Mar 28, 2015 | AHS Guides, New Products
You’ve probably read in the news about recent research into popular, branded hand dryers and how they actually spread sixty times more bacteria than other hand dryers. When researchers dried their hands using these hand dryers they found they were capable of spreading germs up to three meters around the washroom! This isn’t the case with our Plasma Hand Dryer. The Plasma Hand Dryer is a breath of fresh air compared to other hand dryers – literally. It naturally kills 80% of bacteria on your hands and leaves no impurities in the air or on your surfaces. Unlike other hand dryers it eliminates odours, germs and bacteria meaning fewer sicknesses in the workplace. How? In the ten seconds drying time, ultra violet ions eradicate particles of dust and any impurities in the air. A process called photo-catalyst oxidation takes place to destroy the protein of viruses and the cell membrane (the most important part) of bacteria. As the process is constantly oxidising and destroying bacteria they’re unable to land on surfaces, such as door handles or in the air. The UV Plasma Technology also kills nasty bugs such as E.coli, C.diff and MRSA. What about paper towels? In the same research, paper towels spread germs up to 25cm across the washroom which means the germs are still there in your washroom, on handles and other surfaces, waiting for the next person. In terms of cost, paper towels actually cost you more money per year than a good, effective hand dryer, not to mention the waste they generate. Remember, one in ten people do not even wash their hands. So, if...
