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Applied Microbiology logoLink to Applied Microbiology
. 1971 Apr;21(4):693–697. doi: 10.1128/am.21.4.693-697.1971

Hospital Sanitation: the Massive Bacterial Contamination of the Wet Mop

John C N Westwood 1, Mary A Mitchell 1, Suzanne Legacé 1
PMCID: PMC377258  PMID: 4930279

Abstract

Following the demonstration of massive spread of bacterial contamination throughout the hospital by the wet-mopping techniques in use, quantitative studies were undertaken to determine the source of contamination and to institute measures of control. It was found that mops, stored wet, supported bacterial growth to very high levels and could not be adequately decontaminated by chemical disinfection. Laundering and adequate drying provided effective decontamination, but build-up of bacterial counts occurred if mops were not changed daily or if disinfectant was omitted from the wash-water. Recommendations were based upon the experimental findings.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Hurst V., Sutter V. L. Survival of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the hospital environment. J Infect Dis. 1966 Apr;116(2):151–154. doi: 10.1093/infdis/116.2.151. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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Articles from Applied Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

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