Bathroom cleaning, it may be said with some certainty, is among the most challenging aspects of FM delivery around the world. Asset managers will agree that a bathroom’s pleasantness could make or break occupant perception about the facility. However, these areas are also significantly more challenging to manage given the frequency and high rate of footfall they host.
Of course, bathrooms are but one part of the broad universe that cleaning services encompass, and global manufacturers are now working towards facilitating more cost- and time-efficient cleaning operations through the their technology development programmes.
Cleaning technology company Karcher unveiled the BRC 40/22 carpet cleaner at The Hotel Show, held in Dubai between 17 and 19 September this year. Later that month, the company hosted a product demo at a meeting of the UAE Professional Housekeeper’s Group as well.
The deep and intermediate carpet cleaning machine is equipped with a head capable of rotating 200°, which Karcher asserts makes the product extremely manoeuvrable.
Remarking on its launch ahead of The Hotel Show, Sreekumar Panicker, head of UAE sales at Karcher Middle East, said: “When the machine is used for deep cleaning, the area covered is 350 m2/h, but on the intermediate setting the area increases to 1,000 m2/h.”
Meanwhile, FM company Khidmah has also developed in-house cleaning systems that promote both, lower costs and increased productivity. Furthermore, in partnership with Innu Science, Khidmah has launched Cradle to Cradle, a programme that goes beyond the cradle-to-grave approach to facilitate sustainable cleaning.
Unsurprisingly, Khidmah was crowned fmME Awards 2016’s Cleaning Company of the Year for its sustainability-driven initiatives.
Khidmah’s Cradle to Cradle operations incorporate the use of a natural cleaning agent by harvesting bacteria. The solution is flushed into the environment after the bacteria has broken down the soil.
Speaking to fmME about the award, Shadi Akeel, acting soft services manager at Khidmah, said: “We’re determined to deliver sustainability and quality to our clients, and to also look after the safety of the environment and our future generations through our operations.”
Clearly, while the contribution of cleaning practices to sustainability may be minimal at present, FM operators and suppliers that work together will eventually herald greener and healthier cleaning operations in the region.
