Is dry steam detergent and disinfectant?

OBJECTIVE

We want to prove that professional or industrial dry steam cleans and disinfects.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a cleaning and disinfection procedure using an industrial steam process on various surfaces commonly found in the food industry.

METHODS

The surfaces tested (stainless steel painted metal and tiles) were cleaned directly with the STEAMBIO 19000 ( with turbo nozzle).

In addition, the STEAMATIK mobile connected to STEAMBIO 19000 has also been used to clean a conveyor belt (PVC).

Detersive action assessed by the ATPmetry method. Samples were taken from a surface area of 100 cm2. Once the buffer is placed inside the luminometer (Luminomat, AES Chemunex), the quantity of ATP is given in RLU (Relative Luminescence Units).	Biocidal action assessed in Petri dishes. The agar plates (Hygicount, AES Chemunex) were pressed onto the surface for 15 s (NF EN 1632-3 standard) and incubated for 48 h at 30°C. Results are given as colony-forming units (CFU) per plate.

RESULTS: DETERSIVE ACTION OF STEAM

Visually, there were traces of soil on the tiles.

We also found residues of edible fats on the stainless steel and on the conveyor belt.

And mainly dust and air pollution on the metal.

Quantity of ATP in ULR (parent luminescence units)

ATP measurements for the different zones, before and after steam cleaning

RESULTS: BIOCIDAL ACTION

BEFORE	AFTER

Number of colony-forming units (CFU) isolated on agar plates for the different zones, before and after steam cleaning

Contamination

Tiles are the most popular surfaces for the contaminated before cleaning. This high rate could be explained by the presence in the soil of micro - organisations. Stainless steel and the conveyor belt show a similar level of contamination, probably due to due to the presence of flora of food . After cleaning with steam, all surfaces show a very sharp fall in the number of micro - organisms (<4 CFU / plate), this being the proof of the lethal action of steam water on germs present on surfaces.

CONCLUSIONS

According to the study, under our experimental conditions, the steam cleaning and disinfection procedure shows excellent detergent efficiency, removing dirt from a wide range of solid substrates without damaging them. In addition, dry steam has a very excellent biocidal disinfectant action on micro-organisms naturally present on surfaces.

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