Astral Hygiene Blog | Commercial Cleaning & Hygiene Advice UK

Current UK context: REACH means Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. UK REACH applies in Great Britain; EU REACH applies in Northern Ireland. Biocidal products are regulated under GB BPR in Great Britain and EU BPR in Northern Ireland. See HSE UK REACH and HSE biocides guidance . The article below is historical background.   REACH and Biocidal Regulations explained……  15th September 2021  | By Anna Armstrong REACH and Biocidal Regulations explained……   Chemicals and other potentially harmful substances and stringently regulated by the EU legislation in order to ensure that they are being used, safely and responsibly.    REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals)  and the  BPR (Biocidal Products Regulations)  are two of these pieces of regulations – and compliance with these regulations can be quite difficult for some small businesses – especially when you don’t have an info...

  First Aid Kits.... important things to remember  21st September 2021  | By Anna Armstrong As the population becomes ever vigilant in terms of making sure that everyone is safe, First Aid kits can be seen almost wherever we go.  The increase in population, and the more movement that we as individuals are afforded, the more the likelihood you will be to find a First Aid Kit, whether it be in a public place or in a workplace.  It is absolutely best practice to make sure that at the very least there is a first aid kit.   View Astral Hygiene’s full range of First Aid Kits here.   Differing work environments have different requirements in terms of the first aid kits that need to be on site to comply with health and safety.  For instance in an environment where there are heated equipment (fryers, ovens, grills) you will require a  Burn First Aid Kit , which contains burn stop dressings, burn dressings etc – which will allow you to treat the burn i...

  Guide to buying paper towels  4th October 2021  | By Anna Armstrong What should I consider when choosing my paper towel? Paper towels, or hand towels are a huge part of our society, and are used by a mulititde of people for many differing reasons. They can be used for drying hands, mopping up spills, and everyday cleaning.  In todays' blog, we'll examine everything you should be looking at and evaluating, when considering which type of hand towel is for you.   Many people think that price is the most important factor, and it is important, but you also need to think about what impression do you want to make; how many towels are in a case (because a case of towels at £20 for 1200 towels is VERY different than for a case of towels at £20 for 5000 towels).   Other areas for consideration would be how many ply, sheet size, absorbancy, fold or roll, centrefeed or handtowel roll?  See what I mean? Something so simple like choosing a handtowel is a...

  Cross Contamination ... how to avoid it!  15th October 2021  | By Anna Armstrong What is cross contamination? Making a kitchen look clean by removal of crumbs and smears is easy, but this does not  mean that your kitchen is not contaminated by life threatening bacteria like E-coli and MRSA.  So how clean is your kitchen, is it tidy but contaminated with bacteria?   Cross contamination is the easiest and most common way in which people get food poisoning. Cross contamination is effectively bacteria being put on to surfaces, and being picked up and contaminating food.  If a piece of equipment isn't handled correctly, cross contamination can easily occur, and can infect food and can make customers very unwell.  If you are not educated enough and aren't making enough of an effort to avoid cross contamination E.Coli can spread, grow and multiply and this is one of the most deadly bacteria you can find in your kitchen. The spread of E.Coli can no...

  How does Antimicrobial Resistance affect us?  28th October 2021  | By Anna Armstrong Antimicrobial Resistance is the ability of bacteria and viruses to develop a resistance to the things we use to treat them. These pathogens are living organisms, and it's natural for them to mutate to their surroundings in order to survive.  These mutations enable the pathogen to resist antibiotics and cleaning prodcuts that would have previously eradicated them. This issue has wider implications for both the cleaning and the healthcare sector. Although antibiotics are continually updated and reworked to tackle the new mutations the pathogens present, it is still and ongoing challenge for our healthcare professionals to combat.  We are regularly facing patients who have contagious pathogens with no known cure, such as COVID 19 which we as a global presence recently and are continuing to face.   Although antimicrobial resistance will occur naturally over time, just as...

  How to clean lockers and locker rooms...  5th November 2021  | By Anna Armstrong How to clean lockers and locker rooms... . Locker Room Risks Locker rooms can be a breeding ground for various types of fungi, bacteria and viruses.   Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (staph) is a type of bacteria that can spread easily in locker rooms, especially when equipment is being shared. Fungi often make their home in dark, damp, warm environments. Locker room users can catch fungal infections like athlete’s foot by walking barefoot in these environments if they aren’t cleaned routinely Ringworm is another fungal infection that can spread from person to person in communal areas like locker rooms Unclean surfaces can spread respiratory infections like the cold and flu to those using the locker room, especially between October and March when flu activity is elevated Plantar warts may arise if you walk barefoot, including in wet shower areas of the locker room...

  Cleaning and disinfecting after a COVID outbreak in your school  12th November 2021  | By Anna Armstrong Government and parents are both advocating for in-person learning   this school year,   keeping schools open and safe for students and staff is a top priority. Unfortunately, no matter how good your school's infection prevention strategy and how many mitigation layers it contains, COVID 19 outbreaks and school closures are on the rise, with schools across the country temporarily shutting down as infection rates soar in their classrooms and communities. Factors outside of your control – the increased transmission of the Delta variant, low vaccination rates in some areas, and lack of universal masking in many school and community settings have sent tens of thousands of students and staff members across our country into isolation and quarantine just as the new school year started.     While you can't control many of these, fortunately, your faci...