Robert Scott’s top of the mops for Saltgreen Residential Care Home

Saltgreen Residential Care Home in Eyemouth, part of SB Cares in the Scottish Borders, invited the Robert Scott team to carry out a review of its current floorcare system to find out where efficiencies could be made in reducing waste water, chemical use and to increase productivity. Following an in-depth analysis, Kelly Brierley, key account manager at Robert Scott, discusses their findings and how the team were able to advise the care home on implementing a new microfibre cleaning system designed to save time, money and improve staff morale as a result.

“It’s a service we often get asked for by our distributors,” explains Kelly. “We frequently visit end-users on our customers’ behalf to spend a day with their cleaners to understand the challenges they face and recommend the best practices and products to get the job done. We then follow this up with on-site training to make sure any new products are demonstrated correctly and used properly.

“In this example, Saltgreen were using a very traditional system of mops and buckets, J Cloths and a lot of chemical cleaning agents. Our distributor, Unico, asked Robert Scott to introduce the Rokleen microfibre system, which is a trolley-based cleaning system consisting of a core range of products that can be tailored to suit the customer, designed to reduce cross contamination and maximise cleaning standards across site.

“In busy environments such as care homes, along with the day-to-day cleaning of residents’ rooms, public areas and kitchens, it’s important to ensure that any spillages or dirt caused by heavily trafficked areas can be quickly and effectively cleared without having to close down sections of the building.

“This is where the benefits of microfibre mopping systems and cloths really do come into their own. As one of the first companies to introduce microfibre products into the UK janitorial sector, we’ve been encouraged over the past 20 years by the increased use of microfibre to not only clean a wide range of surfaces and floors but also to help companies adhere to the demands of sustainability and the environmental concerns associated with our industry.

“Microfibre mops and cloths clean surfaces without the use of chemicals which means that cleaners can improve sustainability and dramatically reduce costs, while eliminating the need for harsh chemicals and excessive amounts of water.

“Microfibre mops and cloths can be washed and re-used many, many times over and mopping systems, such as the Speedy microfibre flat mop, are safer to use, lighter than traditional mops and significantly quicker to clean with.

Microfibre has been proven to remove over 99.9% of dirt and bacteria while traditional systems often only remove 60%. Microfibre also removes dust completely leaving no cleaning films behind and therefore ensuring surfaces stay cleaner longer. And finally, with care home cleaning in mind, microfibre enables cleaning without the need for noisy machinery such as vacuums and polishers,” explained Kelly.

Of course, the successful implementation of any new system comes down to the team responsible for cleaning the site and improvements they see in the user experience, as well as efficiencies for management who are responsible for running the business.

Susan Chisholm, manager at Saltgreen Residential Care Home, comments: “Cleaning of the home had previously included the use of traditional mops and cloths, and due to infection control policy a clean mop and fresh water had to be used in every room to avoid cross-contamination. As a business this had a detrimental effect, meaning that our water consumption increased to approximately 300,000 litres per year to clean a 35-bed unit; utility costs increased due to charges for water in and water out; chemical costs increased and time to clean increased as staff had to trail back to change water with the access getting further away after each room.

“One of the claims of the microfibre mop cleaning system was that I would see a reduction in time spent carrying out tasks with this new system. This can be quantified in real terms as, so far, I have seen a 25% reduction in staff time spent doing the same tasks with microfibre, compared to using the old system.

“Not only has this improved staff morale greatly, which impacts positively on productivity, but the home is visibly cleaner, and we are using fewer chemicals, which reduces costs further. Another benefit is that areas where we store chemicals and cleaning equipment are far tidier and more organised with the new system.

“Infection Control Audits are having better outcomes with most areas’ results sitting at medium to high. Significantly, during a winter period where we are at high risk of infection outbreaks, we have had none and this includes having two service users with Norovirus symptoms and no spread.

“One of the most positive outcomes for me as a manager is that the staff group feel listened to and valued as they reported the difficulties they were having with the previous mopping system and their high workload, which was causing stress. Cleaning staff in this home are held in high regard as they are our primary front line for protection for infection control. At a recent cleaners’ meeting the new mopping system was a discussion point and all staff spoke very highly of the Rokleen system. They were so enthusiastic in fact, they wanted to invite the Robert Scott team to a meeting to give their positive feedback directly.

“The support team have also benefited from the new system when they have had cause to use it, making their role more efficient when cleaning up after the care tasks they perform, such as bathing and personal care.”

Kelly added: “Seeing such positive results from the implementation of the Rokleen microfibre system at Saltgreen demonstrates just how effective a new system can be, from reducing water usage to improving productivity and morale in front line staff.

As a company with over 90 years’ cleaning know-how we’re confident that floor cleaning with chemicals and excessive amounts of water belongs in the past and today’s modern, environmentally aware businesses will not tolerate cleaning regimes that do not stand up to scrutiny from either a sustainability or environmental stance. Microfibre provides the best possible option to not only clean quickly and effectively, but in a manner fit for a sustainable future.”

For more information on Robert Scott’s floorcare cleaning systems, please contact 01457 819400 or email info@robert-scott.co.uk.