Astral Hygiene Blog | Commercial Cleaning & Hygiene Advice UK

  Are you ready for Hygiene 2.0?  21st April 2021  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Coronovirus ,  Hygiene The virus that effectively shut down the world in 100 days, has taught us a great deal about Hygiene, and particularly how to manage it The virus that effectively shut down the world in 100 days, has taught us a great deal about Hygiene, and particularly how to manage it. It has also taught us that we need a new strategy, to manage the effects of any future pandemics or breakouts, to slow the spread down without having to shut everything down. Businesses, individuals; everyone has been through such a difficult and harrowing time over the last 12 months…. so now is the time to devise a plan to counter the effects of new virus outbreaks to allow us to manage it whilst still allowing businesses to function. In 2007, statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb defined “Black Swan” as an event that “is an outlier,” as it lies outside the realm of regular expectations. Black...

  Are all hypochlorous products made equal??  7th April 2021  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Hygiene Not all Hypochlorus Acid is created equal... can you be sure your HOCI is in the right state to kill bacteria and virus - or if it is just salt water? Since 2020 the popularity of  Hypochlorous Acid  has increased exponentially, and its explosion can only be testament to the benefits of this biocide that effectively bottles the same capability the human immune system uses to fight infection. This chemical is amazing, and in the right formulation, and in the right chemical state it can kill up to 99.9999% of pathogens quickly and safely.  IF it is the right formulation,  HOCI  can be used effectively on hard surfaces, on skin and hands, in fogging machines and in some cases, babies bottles and dummies. This incredible chemical, in it’s pure form has been proven to kill E. coli, Salmonella, C. difficile, Coronaviruses and Norovirus faster than ot...

BS EN 1276 vs BS EN 14476: Understanding Product Claims BS EN 1276 and BS EN 14476 address different disinfectant claims. A product meeting one standard should not automatically be assumed to meet the other. BS EN 1276: bactericidal activity BS EN 1276 evaluates bactericidal activity using a suspension test. It is not a hard-surface-only test. See the BSI standard description . BS EN 14476: virucidal activity Check the product’s specific virucidal claim, the organisms covered and its test conditions. Bactericidal evidence does not establish that a product is effective against viruses. Read the instructions Use the product only for its intended application and follow the stated dilution, contact time, surface compatibility and rinsing requirements. “Tested against” a standard should be supported by evidence of the result and applicable conditions. For food premises, see official cleaning guidance . Ask Astral Hygiene for product documentation if you need help comparing disinfectants. Th...

Shared Office Kitchen Cleaning and Hygiene Shared workplace kitchens need a clear cleaning routine covering worktops, appliance handles, sinks, taps, tables and other frequently touched surfaces. Clean before disinfecting Remove food debris and grease with an appropriate detergent. Where disinfection is required, select a product suitable for the surface and food-area use, and follow its dilution, contact time and rinsing instructions. A quick wipe must not shorten the required contact time. Separate tasks and equipment Keep food preparation areas and cleaning materials organised. Use suitable cloths and equipment, store chemicals away from food and arrange regular waste removal. Include shared appliances and overlooked touch points in the cleaning schedule. Support hand hygiene Provide soap and hygienic hand-drying facilities. Encourage handwashing before preparing food and after handling raw food or waste. See official food hygiene cleaning guidance . For chemical selection, distingu...

  8 of the Germiest Public Places – Some May Surprise You  2nd October 2019  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Hygiene ,  Cleaning Tips It’s an exciting world out there, but it can be pretty germy, too. That’s according to the editors of Prevention Magazine, who have compiled a list of the eight public places that bacteria like best. 1. Restaurant menus Except for a quick swipe with a dirty rag, when was the last time you saw your menu being cleaned? Right after handing it back would be a good time for a  PURELL  moment. 2. Lemon wedges According to a 2007 study in the Journal of Environmental Health, nearly 70% of lemon wedges on restaurant glasses contain disease-causing microbes—including, in some cases, E. coli and other fecal bacteria. How about skipping the fruit garnish? 3. Condiment dispensers Remember those rarely cleaned restaurant menus? Ditto for the salt and pepper shakers, ketchup and mustard bottles and other shared table property. I'd give ...

  Are your toilets the first to welcome guests at your door?  28th November 2019  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Hygiene This is quite an unsavoury topic you must admit. However, myself and my team here at Astral are so experienced, we tackle this subject daily with gusto! We have all experienced walking in to a public house or a restaurant and instead of being met with the smell of mouth-watering cuisine, or the smell of a nice candle, or even the smell of malt and hops…. We are affronted with the smell of urine coming from the toilets. Now don’t get me wrong, this is VERY common, and one which myself and my team have to bring up with our customers very regularly.  There seems to be a silent acceptance that if you run an establishment and people have one too many tipples, your toilets (particularly the gents!) will smell like urine – but it doesn’t have to be this way.  During this blog I’m going to explain why they smell (and it’s not bad hygiene or unclea...

  The Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)  5th December 2019  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Environmental Health The Safety Data Sheet has a lot of really important information in it.  The first look generally means nothing to most people who are looking at it, but it does give professionals information that is required to decide how to treat the chemical and equally importantly how to treat an injury sustained by the chemical. Safety data sheets provide information on chemical hazards, first aid and safe handling. In an emergency, seek medical help promptly and provide the product label and safety data sheet if available; do not delay treatment while looking for documents. Astral Hygiene’s safety data sheets are actually contained on the side of all of our bottles, in the form of a QR code.  This code can also be found on the information sheet.  Our supplier decided to put all of the QR codes directly on the bottle, so that in an emergency when someone...

  Secrets of the Cleaning Boss....  19th December 2019  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Cleaning Tips ,  Hygiene So Christmas is almost upon us, and in my household I am preparing for Christmas Day making sure that everything is clean and tidy, and everything is ready so that Christmas Day can go off with out a hitch. So Christmas is almost upon us, and in my household  I am preparing for Christmas Day making sure that everything is clean and tidy, and everything is ready so that Christmas Day can go off with out a hitch. I do some rudimental things in advance, like clear the washing pile, get it all washed, ironed and put away before the last few days of Christmas, an overflowing wash basket drives me insane! Change all the beds, and get the sheets laundered and put away, keep on top of the hoovering and make sure your stairs are clean and free of bits and dog hair etc.  Spray the stairs down with  Odour Neutraliser  (this is enzyme based so n...

  Body Fat Wars.......  20th January 2020  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Cleaning Tips ,  Hygiene You know in your shower tray, or in your bathtub there are times, when you can feel the grease underneath your fingertips when you run it along the edge. This can be ever present in clean or dirty bathtubs/shower trays, but have you ever thought what this is? Greasy, yucky, oily stuff! The answer will alarm you/appall you……this is in fact your body fat!! It doesn’t matter how fat or thin you are, how often you clean your bath or shower, It’s just a fact of life that this body fat will leach off your unsuspecting body and stick to whatever it can! It feels greasy, if it builds up enough it can become slippy, & in between your tiles you can see it (if you know what your looking for!).  It’s gross, slightly unsavoury and downright disgusting – but its there, in everyone’s bathroom! Body Fat is a particular problem in communal bathrooms, where lots of people ar...