Contaminants, like viruses and bacteria, can be airborne for extended periods if not neutralized on a timely basis. Wipe-downs and hand-held spray bottles may be effective against lower-lying contaminants – on doors, chairs, tables, and shelves. However, using an in-house https://www.hypochlorousacid.com/ to produce HOCI, and then disseminating it with the aid of a hypochlorous acid fogger can help with virucidal activity in harder-to reach locations.
The Power of the Fogger
One oft overlooked aspect of any sanitization protocol, is the dissemination of HOCI. While using commercially-available spray bottles, or wipe-down cloths might work in some instances, it’s more feasible to use a hypochlorous acid fogger in most situations.
However, even your choice of a HOCI fogger has an impact on the efficacy of your safety protocol. Not all foggers are built alike, with some inexpensive devices labeled as “foggers”; but which are really misters. These devices may be ineffective for most commercial and industrial applications.
Specifications to Look For
Here are some characteristics to look for in when buying a HOCI fogger:
- Once your hypochlorous acid generator has produced sufficient solution for disbursement, you’d want to use generous quantities in your fogger when conducting the fogging task. Consider a fogging machine with a capacity of at least a 4-litter tank. Anything smaller, and your fogging crew may have to make frequent refilling stops/trips – which wastes valuable time and money
- The size of the fogged particles is important too. Ideally, the fogger should be able to spew out adjustable droplet sizes between 20 and 50 μm. These particles will more easily bind to the surface of viruses and germs to deliver optimal disinfectant results. Having a fogger that can produce adjustable droplets is also suitable when using the fogger for multiple applications requiring droplets of different sizes
- To be effective – both in terms of cost and results – the discharge rate of your hypochlorous acid fogger should be between 0.4 to 1.2 Liters/min. This rate is typically sufficient to cover up to 2500 square feet of space in 1 minute. A lower flow rate means longer time to complete each round of fogging
- Your target spray area might not always be straight ahead. Usually, to be effective, cleaning crews must reach behind counters, spray under countertops, and cover ceilings and attics with the HOCI solution. Therefore, it is important to have a fogger with an adjustable spray nozzle that swirls at least up to 80-degrees. If not, the cleaning team will have a challenge fogging hard to reach areas
In parting, it’s important to verify whether the solution produced by your hypochlorous acid generator is, in fact, delivering an effective defense against viruses, germs and other harmful pathogens. One way to ascertain that is to check the surfaces that your crew have fogged. If the floors, countertops, and walls are dripping wet after a fogging, adjustments may be in order. Change the flow rate or particle sizes of the fogger to adjust.