As industries strive to maintain strict cleanliness standards, the quest for effective contamination control solutions becomes increasingly important. Polymeric floor coverings like CleanZone by Dycem provide a practical, economical, and more sustainable alternative to traditional methods such as disposable peel-off mats.
The need for contamination control is vital, especially considering 80% of particulates reportedly enter controlled environments via shoes and wheels. Dycem's polymeric flooring offers antimicrobial properties, enhanced durability, and improved cleanliness compared to the peel-off mats, which are often subject to particle generation during peeling.
In a comparative evaluation at a Medical Device Manufacturer's facility, polymeric floor coverings showed clear advantages. The facility, previously spending around $24,000 per year on peel-off mats, found that over a 3-5 year lifespan, the Dycem solution would yield significant savings.
Unlike peel-off mats, Dycem's polymeric floor coverings retain particles through a natural tack and electromagnetic forces, ensuring greater control over particulate contamination. They're also embedded with an antimicrobial additive, Polygiene BioMaster, that curbs microbial growth by 99.9%.
The advantages of using Dycem's polymeric floor coverings extend beyond monetary savings. In the facility where they were implemented, airborne particles in the gowning room reduced by 75%, while foot and wheel-borne contamination capture was up to 99.9%. The absence of peeling reduced particle shedding levels significantly.
Custodians also reported saving approximately 2 hours daily as they no longer needed to peel and dispose of peel-off mats. This time saving translates into improved productivity and further cost benefits.
The environmental impact of this switch cannot be overstated. Implementing polymeric floor coverings led to a significant decrease in plastic disposal, preventing over 1 tonne of plastic from ending up in landfills each year. This, coupled with the fact that only six footfalls or three wheel rotations are required to remove up to 99.9% of contamination, shows the efficacy and sustainability of Dycem's solution.
While no one-size-fits-all answer exists for contamination control, polymeric solutions such as Dycem's CleanZone make a compelling case. Providing significant cost savings, time efficiency, improved cleanliness, and sustainability, these solutions challenge the industry to rethink contamination control methods for a cleaner, greener future.