One thing the coronavirus has created is an increased awareness of hygiene, and it wouldn’t be unexpected for this to have a lasting impact on many of us as we move forward.

In fact, current studies on the survival of viruses is providing data useful for product developers – and the brands that develop solutions and help to devise cleaning best practice are likely to benefit the most as the market evolves.

The behaviour of the virus on different materials and in varied settings has inevitably been the subject of research – which obviously has the potential to produce new, innovative technology. In addition, cleaning strategies have also had an increased profile and scientific research into improved product function is also inevitable.

Areas of research include added sensory cues so that we can know when a surface has been thoroughly cleaned, the ability to capture viruses on textiles using glycoproteins, and new product coatings and cleaning devices.

Dr Eileen Buttimer, author of the paper ‘How will Covid-19 change consumer attitudes and behaviours’ suggests that fast track cleaning solutions are well on their way:

“Right now, chemical products are the backbone of the hygiene market, but future innovation is likely to draw on a range of strategies in addition to this. On the one hand there may be opportunities to enhance the functionality of existing chemical formulations by improving their efficacy or duration of action. However, there is also potential for alternative approaches that don’t involve chemicals. For instance, heating a contaminated surface can have a significant impact on its viral load, and electrostatic cleaning is gaining a lot of attention too.”

Collaboration between product manufacturers and scientists looks like it will be of benefit to us all in the post-Covid world.

ServiceMaster Clean provides exceptional commercial office and industrial cleaning in the North West, Chester and Ellesmere Port.

To discuss your cleaning requirements with our experts, please get in touch.