Astral Hygiene Blog | Commercial Cleaning & Hygiene Advice UK

  Astral proud to have been awarded Royal Warrant by HM The Queen  20th April 2022  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Cleaning Tips ,  Environmental Health ,  Hygiene ,  Sustainability ,  Coronovirus This great privilege allows Astral Hygiene to display the Royal Arms on our fleet of vehicles, our premises, stationary, and marketing which demonstrates the Royal Household prefers our services and products over others. View the Royal Warrant Holders Association website  here .  Astral Hygiene Ltd have a long-standing arrangement with the Royal Households, and have been supplying  cleaning  and  hygiene  supplies and advice and consultancy for many years. A Royal Warrant of Appointment is granted as a mark of recognition to people or companies who have regularly supplied goods or services to HM The Queen, HRH The Late Duke of Edinburgh or HRH The Prince of Wales or their households.  Astral Hygiene Ltd is family busines...

  Why Hand Washing Is So Important... Why is hand washing so important? Does it really have such an impact on your health?  10th March 2022  | By Rhea Crosbie   |  Cleaning Tips ,  Environmental Health ,  Hygiene ,  Coronovirus 80% of known diseases are passed on through hands and touch alone; hands are the main culprit for spreading bacteria and this is why hand washing is a useful habit to encourage from an early age. In this blog, I want to give you all a clear understanding of hand hygiene and, in detail, explain how not washing your hands correctly can be extremely dangerous. Surprisingly, what people believe to be a simple task, if not done properly, can be life threatening.   Four of the most common ways bacteria is spread is: From the hands, eyes, nose, and mouth to other people From hands to food From food to hands to food, through handling raw vegetables or meat for example From children to adults In all of these examples above, you...

  What is PPE – Things you need to know  1st March 2022  | By Rhea Crosbie   |  Cleaning Tips ,  Environmental Health ,  Hygiene ,  Sustainability ,  Coronovirus Personal Protective Equipment, also known as PPE has become crucial over the last few years due to COVID-19, to the point where it is now used daily by almost everyone across the world, including myself. Protective equipment such as face coverings, gloves and gowns are now vital to people’s lives, even more than they were before the virus. In some workplaces across the world, it is a legal requirement to wear PPE. However, yes, it may save hundreds of thousands of lives; but some choose to ignore this out of personal choice – but why? Do people really understand how important PPE is?   There are many different types of PPE but the term usually relates to clothing, headwear, or eyewear that has been specifically made to protect an individual who may face a health risk or danger i...

What does food safe actually mean? What does Food Safe actually mean? Is it different than food grade, and in what circumstances would food grade and food safe actually be the most pertinant?  17th February 2022  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Cleaning Tips ,  Environmental Health ,  Hygiene ,  Sustainability ,  Coronovirus Yesterday, I was preparing a large pot of Minestrone Soup and this got me thinking about what food safe actually means?  I chopped all the vegetables on a chopping board, and popped them  in the pot.  Afterwards; as usual, I tidied up, put the peelings in the compost bin and sprayed down the work top with the closest sanitiser.  A quick glance at this sanitiser told me that this sanitiser wasn't food safe; and the next thing on my to do list was to prepare the chicken for BBQ chicken we were having for dinner that night.  My time here at Astral Hygiene has taught me what food safe means, how it is different t...

  What the professionals do with their blocked drains.....  8th February 2022  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Cleaning Tips ,  Environmental Health ,  Hygiene ,  Sustainability ,  Coronovirus From a customers point of view there is nothing more unappealing that going into a facility that needs more than a little maintenence. From overflowing sinks and toilets, to toilets that reek of urine due to a build up of uric acid, to damp walls and puddles one definately shouldn't be stepping in!  Winter actually magnifies the likelyhood of your drains becoming blocked, as typically your pipes become colder, meaning that kitchen oil and fat, and even body fat which will collect in your pipes solidify and block drains (bet you didn't know that)! So lets talk about each blockage and what you would use to ensure your water is free flowing. In your bathroom, showers and communal showers, sometimes; particluarly if your showers aren't maintained you will see...

  Ways to prepare your workplace for winter.....  13th January 2022  | By Anna Armstrong   |  Cleaning Tips ,  Environmental Health ,  Hygiene ,  Sustainability ,  Coronovirus It’s that time of year again. The days are shortening, temperatures are dropping, and snow is knocking at the door in many parts of the country. But this winter season will be unlike any we’ve seen before. With the COVID-19 pandemic altering how we work, convene, and communicate, it will be more important than ever to ensure your workplace is prepared for the cold months ahead. This winter season will bring new challenges for which businesses everywhere must be ready. Over the last several months, we have seen a massive shift toward remote work. Under stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines, teleworking has become the new norm. Most of us underestimate how cold the UK can get in the depths of winter, and we often neglect the small steps that make winters sa...

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...