Nominations Open for IEHA's 2010 Unsung Hero Award, in conjunction with International Housekeepers Week
IEHA
The International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Unsung Hero Award. This award is presented to frontline workers in the housekeeping and custodial industry who show exemplary initiative in going "above and beyond" their call of duty. Because the work of frontline staff often goes largely unrecognized, IEHA's Unsung Hero Award assists in bringing more attention to cleaning departments in institutions across the globe.More

IEHA's Chapter Leadership Manual Now Available to
Download on www.ieha.org
IEHA
IEHA's Chapter Leadership Manual is your personal guide to managing a chapter effectively and is intended to be utilized as a guide by chapter officers in conducting the affairs of each chapter. Developed by the IEHA Association Office staff, this 266-page manual covers everything from chapter officer's job descriptions and responsibilities, planning tools for chapter meetings and educational seminars, public relations, membership recruitment and more. This informative manual is now available for IEHA members to download for FREE from the IEHA Library at http://www.ieha.org/library.php.More

IEHA and UMass Lowell TURI Lab Announce Color and Gloss Measurement Technology as Part of the HPCP Testing Program
IEHA
The International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) and the University of Massachusetts Lowell TURI lab have announced that performance analysis during the IEHA/TURI High Performance Cleaning Product (HPCP) testing program will be enhanced through use of the BYK-Gardner Spectro-Guide to measure the color and gloss of surfaces before and after cleaning. More

Brush and Clean enters North American market to revolutionize carpet and tile cleaning
askMandO.com
Brush and Clean, the global leading innovative manufacturer of dry carpet and flooring cleaning systems, chemicals and accessories worldwide, has announced it has now expanded into North America, with the opening of its headquarters in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and distribution facility in Pennsylvania. A renowned company in European, South American and Asian markets, Brush and Clean has been in business for more than 20 years and now operates in more than 35 countries. More

Alcohol-based sanitizer: For hands... and stethoscopes?
Infection Control Today
Researchers from the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, say that the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to clean hands as well as stethoscopes between patients could become an accepted bedside practice. They emphasize that although cleaning the stethoscope with an alcohol wipe was more effective than the alcohol-based hand rub for decontamination of stethoscopes, they acknowledge that most clinicians consider this second step to be impractical and unlikely to be performed reliably. More

Enviro-Solutions releases survey on 2009 H1N1 scare and its impact on the cleaning industry
Cleaning and Maintenance Management
A recent survey polled 131 Jan/San Distributors and their customers regarding their thoughts on last year's H1N1 scare and its impact on the professional cleaning industry. The survey was commissioned by Enviro-Solutions, a leading manufacturer of environmentally preferable cleaning products. The respondents were all distributors for Enviro-Solutions along with some of their customers. Because the H1N1 virus made international headlines for several months but since then has drifted out of view, respondents were asked if they thought concerns about it were exaggerated or unfounded from the start.More

Cintas releases Infection Preventionist Survey results
Businesswire via Market Watch
Cintas Corporation announced the results of an attendee survey conducted at the recent Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology 2010 conference. The survey was designed to better understand the relationship between infection prevention department and environmental services in controlling hospital-acquired infections. The survey was completed by 100 infection control personnel. Results showed that 79 percent of respondents indicated they work closely with the environmental services department to establish cleaning protocols and ensure compliance. More

Researchers define 'high-touch' surfaces in hospitals
Infection Control Today
A team of researchers from the Department of Hospital Epidemiology at University of North Carolina Health Care and the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has tried to better determine what constitutes high-touch surfaces in hospitals related to contaminated environmental surfaces; their research was published in the August 2010 issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. The researchers acknowledge the emphasis that has been placed on the role that inanimate objects in the immediate vicinity of a patient play in the transmission of nosocomial pathogens. More

More offices see bedbug infestations
USA Today
Your abusive boss isn't the only vermin in the office. Defying their reputation as a scourge of households, blood-sucking bedbugs are creeping into a growing number of cubicles, break rooms and filing cabinets. Nearly 1 in 5 exterminators have found bedbugs in office buildings in the U.S., according to a recent survey of extermination firms by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky.More

Hot tub maintenance — Some useful tips
Lon's Article Directory
Hot tubs allow you to relax, be in company of other family members and spend time together. But the need to properly maintain the hot tub is sometimes frightening for many of us. There are a lot of chemicals that are used to balance the water in the tub and with practice you get used to it. Daily maintenance of the hot tub is quite important to keep the water safe for the family. In water you have to keep close watch on the pH and Chlorine levels. If the level of these two is in balance then the water in the hot tub is safe for use.More