Healthcare facilities' environmental services staff can be challenged by poor surface choices that make cleaning and disinfecting more difficult, according to an article on the Facility Cleaning & Maintenance website.
The Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee's 3rd edition of Best Practices for Environmental Cleaning for Prevention and Control of Infections in All Health Care Settings, is expected to place more stringent guidelines on the selection of environmental surfaces in healthcare settings.
These updates are in response to research indicating that microbes can live on surfaces for months, the article said.
Healthcare facilities reduce infections with effective cleaning and disinfecting, but some surfaces are not compatible with hospital grade disinfectants and break down when exposed to cleaning products.
A Shift in Healthcare Facilities Management
Trauma-Informed Design Transforms Boston Homeless Shelter
Inside One of Healthcare's Most Ambitious Hospital Projects 
Disinfectant Contact Time: The Case for Biofilm Disruption
Texas HHSC Reaches Construction Milestone for Panhandle State Hospital in Amarillo