Clean Atlantic.  August 2006
(click here for full magazine in Adobe pdf format).

ON THE COVER:  Eliminating Clostridium difficile from the Healthcare Environment. 
By DR. MICHELLE J. ALFA
The bug may be “trés difficile” but this project is aimed at efficiently eliminating (itals)Clostridium difficile(enditals) spores from the healthcare environment thereby reducing the risk of nosocomial transmission of Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD).  Toxigenic Clostridium difficile is a leading cause of nosocomial infections within Canadian Healthcare facilities – 35 to 95 cases per 100,000 patient days are reported. CDAD is a gastrointestinal infection that impact more people than all of the other “classic” enteric pathogens combined (e.g. Campylobacter species, Salmonella species, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Shigella speciestals)). Read more...

PROFESSIONAL HOUSEKEEPING: The Future of Cleaning. 
The Cleaning industry has seen more dramatic changes in the past five years than in any number of years since cleaning began. The evolution of lower profile carpet, vinyl flooring, cubicle living, computer technology, no smoking, e-mail, etc. have all worked to change the time required to clean.
Add to this changes in equipment, such as the use of microfibre flat mops and microfibre wipes, coupled with the system of vacuuming all hard surface floors; and the result is dramatically changing the frequency of tasks and the actual time these tasks take to perform.  Read more…

GREEN:  The Big Picture.
By SCOTT McDOUGALL
With the excitement in the jansan industry regarding ‘green’ cleaning, it is important for us to realize that making our world healthier requires much more than just using environmentally-preferable cleaning products. Indeed, for a facility to be green involves, among other things, the use of more environmentally-friendly paints, carpets, wall coverings, HVAC systems, plumbing as well as cleaning products.
The old expression that something is only as strong as its weakest link definitely applies here. For example, as admirable as using green cleaning products may be, if the paints used in the facility release significant amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – which can mar indoor air quality, water, soil and human health – how much are we really helping to protect the environment?  Read more…

AVMOR Ltd. Donates $1,000 To Scouts Canada in Nova ScotiaAs Part of the Scoutrees Program 
A new approach to solution mixing and dispensing eliminates detergent waste.  Today’s janitorial and housekeeping mangers are constantly on the look-out for cleaning equipment that deliver better performance and increased productivity with less labour, both in an effort to help reduce their total cost to clean. Research has shown that 90 per cent of cleaning costs are spent on labour, so innovative cleaning methods that help reduce labour and increase cleaning efficiency have become of prime importance to the bottom line.  Read more...

 What’s in the Big Red Unisource Truck?
By KIM MURTHA, Maintenance Supply Specialist, Unisource Canada Inc.
What’s in the big red Unisource truck? It is one of the most often asked questions of the company. Although Unisource is Canada’s largest distributor of printing and imaging, packaging and facility supply products and equipment, many people still don’t know that our 19 locations from coast to coast supply 95 per cent of the commercial market with next day delivery.  Read more...

Cleaning C. difficile – Whose job is it anyway?
Excerpts from a teleclass lecture by Dr. Michelle Alfa, Winnipeg, Man.
Toilets and commodes are probably the most heavily soiled and contaminated surfaces in the room of a patient infected with (itals)Clostridium difficile(enditals). And there is potential for a disastrous outbreak if the proper cleaning isn’t happening. Although it sounds like a rhetorical question – whose job is it? – what you think is happening, may not actually be happening.  Read more... 

How to Buy An Upright Vacuum – Think Quality, Durability
by Allen Rathey
Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the statistician and quality control expert who taught the Japanese – namely companies like Toyota - about quality, once was asked the price of his new shoes. His answer?  "How could I know? I haven't finished wearing them yet." he true cost of a product depends on its long-term performance - that is, the value provided over time. Vacuum cleaners are no exception.  Read more...

It may kill you
By RON MCQUADE, reeze Facilities Solutions
If I were to ask the question ‘What is the fourth leading cause of death of Canadians?’ you may be shocked by the answer. It is not car accidents, cancer or diabetes. The answer is nosocomial or hospital acquired infections.
Nosocomial infections are deadly. A recent report from the United States stated that approximately 5.7 per cent of all patients (two million individuals) admitted to U.S. hospitals acquire nosocomial infections, of which 3.8 per cent prove fatal. That calculates to 70,000 people dying each year from such infections.
This is a significant challenge to the housekeeping professional as housekeeping continues to be reduced to help support the ongoing thirst to support more and more clinical operations in most hospitals. This could prove to have disastrous consequences. The increase of resistant organisms such as (itals)clostridium difficile(enditals) (C. difficile), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSDA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) are on the increase, and very difficult to kill on environmental surfaces.  Read more...

Jim Darling
My friend Jim,
The sudden death of Jim Darling, president of Hunnisett Chemicals Ltd. has caught everyone by surprise and leaves a very large empty space, but the spirit and the way Jim conducted his personal and business affairs will remain with us.
Jim was a devoted and caring parent and friend. He loved, cared and made sure that everyone within range was O.K. One did not work “for” Jim but rather worked “with” Jim, as he left a lot of space to make sure that everyone was comfortable in developing a personal way of doing what had to be done. Personally, for more than 25 years, I was in daily contact – except when travelling or during holidays – chatting, joking and discussing business over the telephone or the Internet. Jim loved to laugh and joking was always the best way to bring the pressure down. I never considered Jim as a boss, but rather as a friend from the start.  Read more...

Industry Educational Seminar & Golf Tournament Combined
On Wed. Sep. 27, the Atlantic Chapter of the Canadian Sanitation Supply Association (CSSA) is holding its fourth annual golf tournament at the Royal Oaks Golf Club in Moncton, NB. The course features beat grass fairways, strategic bunkering, challenging approaches, and an award winning practice and teaching facility on the beautiful par 72 links style lay-out.  Read more...