Stop the spread: Lancaster contamination expert’s 10 tips for your ‘new normal’ hygiene routine

Leading contamination expert Joe Govier says we need to adapt scientific practices as our new normal to prevent a second spike and has compiled 10 simple steps everyone can do to help stop the spread in daily life.

Joe is founder of Lancaster-based Connect 2 Cleanrooms. Headquartered on Forge Lane, Halton, Connect 2 Cleanrooms is an international firm which helps hospitals, scientists and businesses minimise contamination risk through manufacturing and installing cleanrooms.

Connect 2 Cleanrooms has been operating 17 years. The award-winning business has customers worldwide for its purpose-built cleanrooms, and the team has been on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19, building cleanrooms for virus testing labs and supplying more than 250,000 face masks via its online accessory store.

“We live and breathe contamination control principles every day," Joe said. "Now the public needs to enter our world in order to keep everyone safe."

From desktop options to full sized rooms, a cleanroom is an environment which keeps the air and interior sterile. Millions of everyday products are manufactured in cleanrooms, including cars, satellites, vaccines, medicine and baby food containers.

Joe shares expert advice based on professional contamination control routines which we can all use in the home, or out and about, to stay safe and avoid potential infection risks.

Joe said: “There is increasing evidence that the virus is predominantly spread through droplets. When these droplets are airborne or land on a surface, they can be transferred to another person. That's why the fundamental principles of minimising the spread of particles is so relevant.

“As soon as people are involved there is a risk of contamination spreading. But we need to interact with people - we need to visit shops for food, we need to work. Being well prepared with a thorough anti-covid plan will minimise the risk of a second spike and allow us to go about our daily lives more safely.”

1. Create a flow

Cleanrooms need to breathe - fresh air comes in and dirty air goes out. Now people are allowed in others’ homes and in shops and pubs, it’s vital to ventilate. Evidence indicates a much lower transmission rate of covid-19 outside, so airflow is clearly an important factor. The government advises that when people enter your home, or for shared spaces such as corridors in apartment buildings, you need to open doors and windows to dilute airborne contamination. However, remember that air currents can spread droplets around, so don’t sit directly by a window if there’s a breeze. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the idea of contamination transfer by air was explored, and the first proper cleanroom was made. It covered patients during surgery and sent down filtered air which reduced sepsis rates from about 10% to 1%.

2. Clean hands are vital to break the virus chain

Cleanroom operators wash hands before they enter and as they leave a cleanroom, and use sanitiser inside the room as there are no sinks. Washing or sanitising hands when we move between environments needs to become our new normal too.

Someone going from shop to shop wearing gloves will spread more contamination than someone washing and sanitising their hands, without the use of gloves. Plus, a glove with a 1mm puncture hole can transfer as much as 7,000 bacteria from an unwashed hand.

3. Keep it calm

When we’re out shopping and maybe faced with a congested aisle ahead, it may feel natural to rush past other people in order to reduce risk of infection. In fact, the opposite works better. By moving calmly and slowly in enclosed spaces we reduce air turbulence. This means if you are infected but without symptoms, any droplets you are breathing out will not travel as far as if you move quickly.

4. Clean then disinfect

Cleaning removes physical particles and disinfecting kills any microbes that are left. When wiping a surface, learn to take a scientific approach. Start from the back and wipe forwards with straight strokes, overlap each wipe by 25%, with a fresh side of the cloth each time. This way you can ensure every inch of the surface has been wiped. Cleaning can be done with hot soapy water and disinfection with your chosen household disinfectant. Once cleaned, keep clutter to a minimum to avoid dirt-traps.

5. Beware of ‘fomites’ and touchpoints

Fomites are objects that, when exposed to infection agents, can transfer disease to a new host. Mobile phones are hotspots for contamination, as well as keys, remote controls, credit cards and door handles. Don’t let these everyday objects spread disease – make sure you clean and disinfect them regularly. In cleanrooms, frequently touched areas such as workstations are disinfected more regularly than the floor as there's a greater risk of transfer of contamination.

6. Zone your home

Cleanrooms have clean and dirty zones as well as dedicated changing areas. If you've worn disposable PPE outdoors, a dedicated bin by your front door will reduce the risk of contamination ending up on surfaces inside your house. A handy laundry basket for your outdoor clothes is also a great idea. Change outdoor clothes and remove any mask or gloves as soon as you get home. Place them in your bin or laundry basket and then wash your hands.

When removing a mask, don't touch it with gloved hands that may be contaminated. This could make you more likely to be infected than if you weren't wearing one. And don't re-use disposable PPE. Even if it looks OK, the virus is sub-micron so can't be seen.

7. Rethink your cleaning routine

Remember to consider zones when cleaning your home. Sweep or mop from clean areas, finishing at dirty areas, to avoid spreading contaminants around. In most cases this would mean cleaning floors starting centrally and working towards outside doors.

8. Don’t slip up with shopping

When it comes to shopping, we can be eager to get food put away or try on our new buys now changing rooms are closed. But remember that with anything other people have touched there is a risk of virus transmission.

Multipacks or wrapped products are ideal at the moment as you can emulate cleanroom ‘material transfer’ practices and simply discard exterior packaging, but anything else should be cleaned or washed before being put away.

9. Log your contacts

In cleanrooms, every action and person who enters is logged. This is so if there’s an issue with a batch, the source of the contamination can be traced. Now pubs and other public places are keeping customer logs. The World Health Organisation has consistently underlined the importance of tracing contacts of anyone who becomes infected, so in the absence of an app, keeping a short diary of who you come into contact with and where you visit will make it much easier to trace any contacts and minimise spread, should you develop symptoms.

10. Protect the environment from youThe idea of a cleanroom started in the healthcare sector. Initially it didn’t occur to anyone to protect the patient, it was all about protecting the surgeons from the patient’s bodily fluids. But as research progressed throughout the 1800s, operating theatres got cleaner and the idea of protecting the patient and the transfer of disease through touch and shared equipment was accepted. That principle is behind the idea of wearing a facemask in public to protect others from you, should you be asymptomatic. If you consistently follow the tips above you can be sure you are doing your bit to limit the spread of the virus.