You need to control fungal contamination in your cleanroom, and you need to test the disinfectants for validation. Here are three to consider.
Controlling fungal contamination in your cleanroom requires cleaning and disinfection procedures. Your disinfectant application is a critical step that needs validation. Since many agents that are effective against vegetative fungi aren’t effective against fungal spores, it’s necessary to conduct a series of tests to demonstrate your agent’s efficacy. Here are three testing methods to consider.
- Suspension tests. These are especially valuable for finding how much time is needed to reduce organisms to an acceptable level. However, they don’t reveal any variations in efficacy that happen when disinfectants are applied to different surface types. The test procedure is to suspend the microorganism in an appropriate dilution of the test disinfectant. At designated time intervals, samples are removed for viable counts. The test is conducted at room temperature.
- Carrier tests. These are specific to hard-surface disinfection agents, and they’re performed under the conditions that match your facility’s specific application. Typical cleanroom surfaces are stainless steel, but can also include terrazzo flooring, vinyl, epoxy, and glass.
- Statistical comparisons. While both of the above tests are quite reliable in evaluation a disinfectant’s efficacy under lab conditions, they guarantee results in your actual cleanroom environment. To address this, you need to perform statistical comparisons of the frequency of isolation and the numbers of organisms isolated before and after a new disinfection program is implemented. Trend the environmental data over the course of a year to find seasonal variations that may cause facility or maintenance issues.
When it’s time for cleanroom validation, trust the experts at Gerbig Engineering Company. We’ve provided cleanroom construction for thirty years. Contact us at 888-628-0056 or info@gerbig.com.