When a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, automobile, camper or recreational vehicle LOOKS clean, but still emits an unpleasant odor, there is likely an easy explanation. In each of the next few posts, we will be looking at the possible reasons for this, and how to solve the issue or correct the procedures.
In this post, I would like to speak to the potential for odors coming from HARD SURFACES: How & Why a hard surface can be a source of odor.
Cleaning: A Definition
First, let's begin with a definition. Cleaning is the removal of soil from hard and soft surfaces - soils that may be organically sourced (food, urine, feces or decaying matter) or inorganically sourced (dirt, dust, sand, etc).
Inorganic matter is a pain, but it doesn't feed microbes. Organic matter, on the other hand, can be digested by bacteria and other microbes to aid in metabolism (growth) and replication (reproduction). When microbes metabolize, they create byproducts - one of which is odor, and microbes don't have to have a depth of surface to take up residency and create colonies - they can live on just about any surface - hard or soft.
Cleaning With Microfiber
To clean hard surfaces, we heartily recommend and exclusively use microfiber cloths and mops. Microfiber is a wondrous material with millions of microscopic extruded (grooved) fibers that capture even the finest of particles, removing them without the need for detergent surfactancy. Detergent surfactants are the ingredient in most cleaning products designed to attract soils (on one end) and water (on the other end). Unfortunately, when they dry these compounds can become sticky, still attracting soil, but forcing the soils to stick fast to the surface. What you wind up with are countertops, sinks, trim, doorways and other touch points that are covered with layer upon layer of stick residue that pulls both organic and inorganic soils from the air, off of hands and continues to make surfaces harder to clean and less safe for your facilities occupants.
Cleaning Without Leaving a Residue
When we clean hard surfaces, we use aqueous ClO2 (liquid chlorine dioxide solution) at the very mild concentration of just 100 ppm. This is a residue-free sanitizer, cleaner and deodorizer all in one. In short, the solution breaks down the soils and the microfiber picks up the debris. When hard surfaces have to be guaranteed clean - where we must achieve nearly 100% soil removal, we will use a dampened microfiber cloth (with the clO2 solution) to wipe clean, then use a dry microfiber to remove any remnant dampness. They result is an unsurpassed level of sanitation on any hard surface.
This is just one of the ways an Odor-Pros Affiliate is truly an Odor-Pro!
