Probiotic cleaning actively cleans while also helping prevent future recontamination improving occupant wellbeing overall, without the need to compromise on cleanliness or cost.

Using probiotics to clean and maintain safe, healthy environments has a raft of benefits for your business and doesn’t cost nearly as much as you might think.

Traditional cleaning methods using harsh chemicals may seem efficient, but they can increase risk of illness by encouraging microbial resistance. Unlike traditional cleaning and sanitisation, probiotic cleaning is a holistic and scientifically proven solution focussed on improving the health and cleanliness of your workspace overall; promoting wellbeing, reducing sickness, and leading ultimately to a boost in business productivity and performance.

How does Probiotic Cleaning work?

Probiotic cleaning products work to bioengineer hygienic environments. They use good bacteria to colonise surfaces, out competing the bad bacteria and pathogens for space and resources. It’s very much the same principle as is used in probiotic supplements and live culture drinks in humans!

Probiotic cleaning products can inactivate 99.99% of all tested viruses within 1–2 hours of contact and while disinfectants become inactive within 2 hours of application, the probiotic antiviral action persists for up to 24 hours post application.

Probiotic cleaning can therefore prevent the spread of infections and viruses, without worsening the likelihood of antimicrobial resistance or negatively impacting our environment.

We’d love to show you how affordable and beneficial the switch to probiotic cleaning can be. Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss the switch for your business. 

Better for Humans, Better for the Planet

Probiotic products can be used on both the hard and soft surfaces, key touchpoints and even ensures the air we breathe is continually clean too.

Cleaning Surfaces

Disinfecting & Sterilising is a Prevention, Not a Cure

Quality cleaning has become the bedrock of employee confidence and we’re cleaning now more than ever not just for comfort, but for compliance too. However, over-use of fogging and harsh sterilisation products has its drawbacks.

Traditional cleaning only works to try to prevent the spread of infection and does not take into account the good bacteria we need to be well. This is where probiotics come in…. probiotics are a secret weapon for promoting overall wellness.

Find Out More About the Science Behind Probiotic Cleaning

What is anti-microbial resistance or AMR?

Antimicrobial resistance is when microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites) change as they are exposed to antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antifungals and antivirals).

Over time, bad microbes in your environment can become resistant to previously effective treatments which is a serious health concern for you and your team. Antimicrobial-resistant infections already result in approximately 2000 deaths per day globally.

Traditional cleaning methods can increase the risk of microbial resistance. By over-sterilising surfaces we create more space for bad pathogens to grow and spread. We also unbalance the space’s natural microbiome, removing both the bad bacteria and the good.

Pathogens are able to grow a protective shield and can mutate into resilient super bugs. The temptation to increase the strength and use of cleaning chemicals to prevent this only fuels their potential mutations –and decreases effectiveness with every cycle.

Why chemical disinfectants don’t work as well as we would like to believe.

Chemical disinfectants are designed to destroy bacteria. They only work when wet and cannot differentiate between the good bacteria we need and the harmful bad bacteria. This creates a biological void which would never occur in nature and is not good for humans either. The beneficial bacteria that’s needed for our health and wellbeing is wiped out.

The other problem is that the hyper-sterile environment that is left behind is not sustainable. It is only clean for as long as no one enters the premises and you keep the windows closed.
Chemical cleaning products offer no residual cleaning or ongoing protection. It also does not spread and increase surface area as a probiotic product can. They also do not address the risk of pathogen mutation or resistance. In addition, diluting sanitising products, or using them intermittently or inefficiently, can provide a survival advantage to the most resistant strains.

Disinfectants generally claim a 99.9% “kill rate”, but have you ever considered what happens to the remaining 0.01%? Under the right conditions just 1 surviving pathogen can replicate to two million in 24 hours.

Are probiotic cleaning products effective against Covid-19?

Yes they are. We have written up the extensive research in this area here for you:

New Research Finds Probiotic Cleaning Is Effective Against All Viruses Including COVID-19 >

What is biofilm and why does it matter?

Biofilms are a group of one or more types of microorganisms that grow on surfaces. Biofilms can be made up of bacteria, fungi and protists (a common example of a biofilm dental plaque) but 90% of harmful bacteria and viruses live in biofilm. Biofilm is present on virtually all surfaces and its growth rate is very rapid (it doubles every 21 mins). It allows pathogens to grow without a host present.

The challenge is that chemical cleaners and disinfectants on their own do not remove biofilm and the presence of biofilm seriously inhibits the efficacy of chemical cleaners and disinfectants. The claims made around kill rates are based on lab testing that is done in the absence of biofilms. Yet biofilms are one of the main causes of resistance.

What are probiotics and how are they applicable to cleaning?

Probiotics are living organisms, much the same as those we ingest. In cleaning products, they work on both dry and wet surfaces and can provide longer lasting, ongoing microscopic cleaning. They can dismantle the biofilm on surfaces and can also grow and move across your surfaces unlike chemical cleaners. They even work when discarded down the drains!

Probiotic cleaning products deliver an over-abundance of beneficial, safe probiotic bacteria to the hard and soft surfaces. The probiotics then out-consume the available microscopic food source meaning that the bad pathogens are starved and ultimately and die out. As probiotic bacteria eat, they produce biosurfactants which break down microscopic surface contaminants, releasing more protein. The probiotics eat the new protein and produce more biosurfactants which makes the cycle ongoing. This process is called competitive exclusion.

Using probiotics as part of your daily routine helps overcome the issue of microbial resistance – rather than leave surfaces sterile, we flood the area with good bacteria and inhibit the growth of the bad bacteria using probiotic misting. Large quantities of carefully selected helpful, good probiotic bacteria simply repopulate areas where pathogen bacteria thrive. They out-compete the bad pathogens for food and space needed to reproduce. The pathogens die and instead become a food source for the probiotics. This restores a safe ratio of helpful to harmful bacteria creating a healthy microbial balance, without contributing to the risk of mutations and resistance.

What are the benefits to the environment of using probiotics for cleaning?

All the products in this probiotic range are made from natural products with no toxic chemicals; just ‘good’ probiotic bacteria, naturally sourced from plants.

Probiotic cleaners are much better for the environment than chemical-based cleaners which are produced using large scale industrial processes that not only produce CO2 and are non-renewable, but also can produce hazardous by-products that reside in the environment.

Commercial cleaning is also water-intensive and most chemical products only work when wet. But the helpful probiotic bacteria in probiotic cleaning products are never wasted; they become a resource after use. They do not cause pollution or environmental damage or require expensive, safety-conscious waste management at the end of their useful life.

They also have a ‘bonus’ action that extends their life cycle and reduces the toxic burden on the environment: When discarded down the drain, they carry on working. They safely and efficiently continue to clean and reduce pollution from wastewater, drains and inside pipework. They reduce organic waste, harmful bacteria, oils and fats and unpleasant sewage odours. This improves the quality and safety of discharged water and increases the effectiveness of water systems.

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The Clean Space is a trading name of Standard Office Cleaning (UK) Ltd, 1B Bethwin Road, London, SE5 0SN. Company registered in England and Wales, Registration No. 04746094. VAT Registration No. GB 810 8645 37.