The steam revolution
December 1st 2003

Since the late 90s the UK cleaning industry has experienced a dramatic increase in the use of lowpressure steam cleaners so much that many cleaning experts now talk about a Steam Revolution. OspreyDeepclean has been at the forefront of this technology from the very beginning and remembers the early days well when there were less than a handful of UK companies supplying steam cleaning machines. In the early days steam cleaning machines were mainly supplied to niche markets and the food and catering sector remembers Thomas Stcken managing director of OspreyDeepclean. The use of steam cleaners specifically in the food preparation and retail environment results in greater overall hygiene standards and in extended lifetimes of equipment and offers a perfect solution to achieving the highest standards of cleanliness at the lowest cost. Conventionally, cleaning equipment manufacturers are mainly concerned with floor, ceiling and window cleaning, but not with cleaning food preparation equipment, tools, utensils or grouting between tiles where steam cleaning offers an efficient and cost effective solution. The steam cleaning concept was quickly established in this market sector with a growing list of satisfied customers including many leading cleaning contractors, supermarket chains, hotel and leisure groups , retail and fast food outlets but the real market awareness of steam cleaning concepts started with the launch of the GumBusters chewing gum removal concept. Since we first introduced the environmentally friendly GumBusters chewing gum removal concept into the UK it has been well received by the public and greatly contributes to the increased awareness of the need for the responsible disposal of chewing gum explains Thomas Stcken. The GumBusters technique can be used on almost every surface, not only asphalt, concrete, paving stones and natural stone, but also on carpets, mats and so on. Chewing gum pollution is removed using a high temperature, low-pressure spray (4-10 bar) using one of the environmentally friendly cleaning agents from the GumBusters program. Specially designed brushing equipment then completes the task with a maximum usage of 100 litres of water per day, very little noise and little or no obstruction to shoppers or shopkeepers. Most important of all, however, is that with the arrival of GumBusters there is now an affordable and effective solution for a social problem, that until recently seemed to be unsolvable, and even threatened to become uncontrollable and for the first time in many years the virtues of steam, specifically its environmental benefits, were widely advertised and publicised. The benefits of steam are now also being experienced in the Health Sector and specifically Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Care Centers which are constantly confronted with the task to ensure the highest standards of cleanliness in their respective environments. Hygiene products specifically disinfectants have, over the past decade, provided effective protection with appropriate cleaning power. The right selection of the correct hygiene products, however, becomes more and more complex with the arrival of antibiotic super bugs such as MRSA and VRE and viruses such as HIV. It is therefore imperative to employ a cleaning method, which not only achieves the highest bactericidal efficacy against most commonly known viruses and microbes but also ensures a standard approach to cleaning and bactericidal control. Professional steam hygiene systems ensure that even the highest standards of cleanliness and bactericidal control can be exceeded. Utilising steam at 130C even kills microbes and organisms living beneath their own protective bio-film, which normally can resist the most powerful of chemical agents for prolonged periods. Independent laboratory and hospital tests have verified the bactericidal efficacy of steam. Heat alone ensures that the bonding between micro-organisms and the surface structure is broken down while the low pressure allows the steam to deeply penetrate into areas such as cracks, crevices and grouting, which are normally inaccessible to cleaning by any other cleaning process. OspreyDeepclean has been at the forefront of this technology since its inception and has been instrumental in moving the technology forward. Todays steam cleaning machines can be supplied with automatic boiler filling systems and/or optional vacuum cleaners from handheld 1000 Watt units to large industrial 3-phase machines operating 24/7 at 18 000 Watts with continuous water supply. The steam concept approach to cleaning and bactericidal control not only exceeds all current Hygiene Standards but is user friendly and therefore ensures operators acceptance to this new cleaning method. It is also extremely environmentally friendly one litre of water converts to 1800 litres of high quality steam, using an average of 2 litres of water only, during a 1-hour operation. As Thomas Stcken explains this is only the beginning of the steam revolution as OspreyDeepclean has just launched a complete range of assembly line/belt cleaning systems catering for most flat and modular slatted belts and mesh belts in the manufacturing environment. Independent bactericidal efficacy studies, undertaken by the a world leading food research authority underlines their own findings that steam significantly reduces the ATP count on the belt and reduces the specific bactericidal strains such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus by 99.9% when tested for a 9 second exposure. With a range of over 25 models there is a machine to suit every task and every budget. For further information or brochure request please use the enquiry bar or visit the website at www.ospreydc.com

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