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Workplaces are slowly but surely entering back into normality after coming out of a lockdown, but their main concern still lies with the safety of their employees.

As people return to workplaces, factories, manufacturing industries and offices employers have a huge responsibility on their shoulders to make sure their spaces are free from Covid-19. New safety protocols call for new cleaning habits and disinfection strategies so that workplaces can go back to a somewhat normal way of life. Not only is this vital for employees, but it’s also a fundamental strategy to win back customer confidence.

A New Phase for Many Businesses

There are a lot of businesses out there that will never have had to deal with this level of cleaning before; spraying and fogging is becoming a more and more popular way of cleaning effectively due to coronavirus. The mechanics of spraying for hygiene purposes are interesting, and the effectiveness of these strategies stem mainly from the type of Spray Nozzle and equipment you decide to use. In an ideal world, the antiviral agent would reach as many places as possible. It could be making itself at home in the air, on surfaces and in hard to reach corners.

The Ideal Cleaning System

We’ve now established that spray technology is the ideal cleaning system, but there are still a number of considerations to make. There are a variety of health risks caused by regular exposure to disinfectants, and there is also a risk to the dampening of surfaces. The cost to set up a spray dispersion system is also considerable, and it takes time to complete the process too. If your workplace is looking to set up this type of system, then all of these factors need to be considered. All in all, the objective is to create the safest workplace possible rather than kill the virus itself.

More About Spray Nozzles and Their Functions

No matter what the purpose of the spray nozzle is, its job is to perform two vital functions. Firstly, it aims to break liquid apart into multiple droplets. Secondly, it should have the ability to direct a liquid into a specific spray pattern. When it comes to spraying for Covid-19 there are a number of requirements that need to be met, in order to make the spraying as effective as possible. Recent research suggests that human to human contact is the main mode of transmission, and the secondary mode of transmission is contact with contaminated surfaces. How the virus survives on surfaces could be the main issue workplaces are trying to fight here. Different surfaces affect the rate of virus survival; shiny hard surfaces tend to harbour the virus for longer. Reaching surfaces with disinfectant sprays is therefore the most important job of the spray nozzles and equipment.

Disinfecting Surfaces With Spray Technology

In order to effectively disinfect public spaces and workplaces, the air and surfaces need to be treated properly. First of all, the amount of disinfecting agent or liquid needs to be accurate, and then it needs to be distributed all over the surfaces. The idea is that the spray comes into the pathogen that needs to be treated. In many cases, you may want to use a secondary distribution process to enhance the efficacy of the liquid spray. For example, you could also wipe the surface or use fans to further spread the agent across surface areas or the air.

Finding The Ideal Balance With Spray Volumes

Ideally, a uniform coating would be applied to all areas so that surfaces became disinfected. A heavy coating would obviously do the job, but this may cause soaking of surfaces which would cause damage over time. A fine balance therefore needs to be found with regards to the amount of spray; it needs to be just enough to decontaminate the virus but not enough to cause damage to the environment around it. In general, viruses such as Coronavirus only require a very small amount of disinfectant to kill them. This means that a micro-layer of spray needs to be delivered using a finely automated spray and appropriate nozzle. If this process is completely effective it will reduce chemical usage, damage to appliances and the health of employees and customers visiting the workplace.

Delving Into Droplet Size 

As soon as a droplet comes into contact with a surface area, there are a handful of different reactions that can occur. It can either attract to the surface and spread, or it can bounce off the surface. So, how can you predict what will happen? It all depends on the speed and size of the droplet (and the nature of some surfaces too). An extremely large droplet will tend to shatter and bounce away from the surface, but some of the liquid will stick to the surface in a wide pool. Unfortunately, this usually leads to uneven patches on the surface which can cause wetness and damage. With smaller droplets, the coating is much more even and effective at covering the surface. Small droplets can spread out and merge to form a layer of protection. If the spray is atomised enough, then this ideal thin coating can easily be managed.

The Downlow on Spray Distribution

Now it’s time to delve into the nitty gritty details of how the droplets are actually sprayed around a workplace. Using a sub 10-micron spray, it will stay airborne and carried around the room for quite a long time. This means that it doesn’t settle quickly and in this case reach those hard to reach corners. As mentioned earlier, the ideal scenario would be a micro layer of disinfectant on every single surface. Not only will this help to attack the virus that is already existing, but it will also help to kill any stray particles that appear after the spraying has been completed. With this residual layer of protection, it can ensure that anyone who re-enters the space does not contaminate it entirely.

Types of Spray Nozzles To Choose From

In an ideal world, the nozzle you choose for your workplace should be a high pressure one, which operates between twenty to one hundred on the pressure bar. When you use this type of pressure range, you can produce droplet sizes between fifteen to one hundred microns. It’s important to remember that the higher the pressure, the lower the droplet size, no matter what type of nozzle you use. You may also want to consider air atomising nozzles which allows fluid and air to mix together and create a very fine mist. There are many good options to choose from, but it ultimately depends on your budget and the type of workplace you’re trying to disinfect from coronavirus.

Conclusions About Spray Technology and Covid

As you can see, it’s quite the balancing act between the droplet sizes, distribution and their ability to settle onto surfaces. You may want to opt for trial and error to discover the best option for you, but generally you should be looking to create droplets above ten microns in size. This size is not only well equipped to disinfect surfaces, but they are also very good at remaining airborne for several hours. All in all, disinfecting the surfaces in your workplace is now made possible by the advancements in spray technology. Going back to the workplace is possible as long as you take your time to assess the risks and make the most of the equipment and resources available to you.

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