Treating coronavirus-infected laundry with a professional ozone washing system created by JLA could have major implications for the future of infection control for the care sector, according to new research.
The in-depth study carried out at De Montfort University in Leicester found that the OTEX washing system, which uses ozone to kill bacteria even at low temperatures, completely removes all traces of coronavirus (OC43), a model virus for SARS-CoV-2.
The research found that cleaning with the OTEX technology completely removed the coronavirus, even in large washing loads. Additional testing also proved that the virus was not transferred to other textiles in the wash.
The system was tested by a research team overseen by Dr. Katie Laird, reader in microbiology and head of the infectious disease research group, and expert virologist Dr. Maitreyi Shivkumar, lecturer in molecular biology.
“Until now we have had little data about how the virus responded to different types of cleaning. These initial results demonstrate that cleaning with ozone, as in the OTEX system, completely removes the model coronavirus,” said Laird.
“This held true even when treating larger loads of washing, as is likely to be the case in a real laundry setting. This result can give reassurance that such cleaning is effective,” she added.
Laird and her team are now completing the next stage of their research, looking at the rate at which the virus is inactivated in the cleaning process to give more data on the length of time and quantities of ozone required for the virus to be eliminated.
JLA said the implications of these findings are highly significant for the healthcare sector in the fight against Covid-19 and the protection of both service users and staff.
“We have been developing and refining the OTEX laundry system for over 15 years and its benefits to our customers are clear - full eradication of disease, including coronavirus, even at low temperatures and a significant reduction in operational cost coupled with a meaningful benefit to the environment,” said chief executive Helen Ashton.
“The system has been designed to be easy to use with real time verification of the disinfection process on every wash which provides a unique audit trail of full compliance to regulatory standards,” she added.
JLA also highlighted the financial and environmental benefits of the OTEX system. Research shows that over the average seven-year lifespan of a standard 30kg thermal disinfection cycle, using OTEX can reduce operating costs by over £130,000, while reducing the businesses total carbon footprint by over 400 tonnes.
For more information about OTEX by JLA, please visit: https://jla.com/otex
