If you have a cleanroom at your workplace, you know from experience the primary challenge is keeping your cleanroom contaminant-free. Going by the Federal standard 209E, cleanrooms should have a concentration of less than 0.5 micron per cubic meter of air particles. This means even the smallest airborne particles such as dust, skin particles, grease bacteria, fibers, fungi, human hair, viruses, and ions are hazardous to your cleanroom. 

The sure-fire way to get rid of these contaminants and other microbes in your cleanroom is through antibacterial fogging - also referred to as hydrogen peroxide fogging or H2O2 fogging. This ensures your cleanroom manufacturing processes continue with zero risk of contamination.

What Is Antibacterial Fogging?

Hydrogen peroxide fogging is a decontamination process that uses aerosolized hydrogen peroxide to spray an enclosed area, effectively destroying bacteria, mold, spores, viruses, and all microbes in the enclosed area. Hydrogen peroxide fog cleaning is especially effective for critical environment cleaning because the aerosols can reach every square inch of the enclosed space and destroy pathogens on a molecular level.

How Antibacterial Fogging Works

Ionized hydrogen peroxide generates a reactive oxygen species (ROS) responsible for destroying all the contaminants. During fog cleaning, the ROS, hydroxyl, and free radicals (unstable atoms) in the ionized H2O2 react with the lipids, double bonds, and proteins in the pathogens. This breaks down the cells of the organisms, destroying them completely on a physical and biological level. 

This means there’s no chance future strains of the pathogens will evolve and develop immunity against hydrogen peroxide decontamination. The lethality of antibacterial fogging is commonly described as a 6-log kill, which means it exterminates all contaminated organisms in their entirety. Cleaning experts say hydrogen peroxide fogging cuts back the microbial population by an order of magnitude of 10-6.

Why Is Antibacterial Fogging Important?

While there are many ways to decontaminate an enclosed space - such as manual cleaning, radiation, heat sterilization, and liquid disinfection - hydrogen peroxide fogging is the pick of the bunch for several reasons. These include: 

H2O2 Fogging Is Safer and More Convenient

Other bio-decontamination methods can jeopardize your employees’ health. For instance, ultraviolet radiation can burn your employees’ eyes and skin if exposed during or after decontamination.

Conversely, antibacterial fogging is safer and your employees can securely get back to the cleanroom within an hour after decontamination. This is if you keep the HVAC running to dry the aerosol faster after the fogging process. If you opt to air-dry the aerosol, it’s safe for workers to return to the cleanroom after 24 hrs. 

Additionally, you don’t have to lock down the whole building when fog cleaning your cleanroom. As long as the cleanroom is not occupied, you can complete H2O2 fogging safely without further disturbance. This makes it a more convenient decontamination method.

Hydrogen Peroxide Fogging Leaves No Chemical Residues Behind

Other cleaning methods such as liquid disinfection and manual cleaning may leave residues all over the surfaces of your cleanroom. This can be counterproductive because particles such as dust and hair may easily get trapped in the residue. On the contrary, H2O2 fogging leaves no residues because the hydrogen peroxide dissipates into oxygen and water right after the decontamination process is complete. 

How Can It Help Your Cleanroom?

Cleanroom Cleaning is a routine task because you must keep your controlled environment pathogen-free to uphold your manufacturing standards. Contaminants can rain havoc on your manufacturing process, causing product damage and manufacturing downtimes. However, with antibacterial fogging, you’ll leave your cleanroom nearly 100% sterile every time you decontaminate. 

This keeps your cleanroom well-sanitized all year round, which is a basic requirement for all manufacturers working in critical environments. Knowing your cleanroom is contaminant-free all year long will give you peace of mind and elevate your operational efficiency. It’ll also keep your employees safe by reducing exposure to harmful pathogens. 

Additionally, hydrogen peroxide fogging leaves your HEPA filters intact and doesn’t damage any of your electronics or manufacturing equipment in your facility. As a result, constant cleanroom cleaning using H2O2 fogging won’t devalue the manufacturing assets in the cleanroom. 

Reach out today, and we'll be delighted to contact you to learn more about your facility's cleaning needs.