At Prime Source, we are exposed to new products and new vendors on a daily basis. We take pride in the fact that one of the valuable services we provide to our clientele is exposing them to purchasing innovation. With this in mind, we thought that the Prime Source Newsletter would be a perfect forum for introducing new products to our clients. In this edition, we will focus on Microfiber.

Microfiber is defined as “an extremely fine synthetic fiber that can be woven into textiles with the texture and drape of natural-fiber cloth but with enhanced washability, breathability, and water repellency.”* Microfiber products are the latest craze in housekeeping purchasing because their value is undeniable. In Europe, the newer flat-microfiber mop is much more common because of its ability to clean without chemicals.* Microfiber technology has actually been around for well over a decade but facilities are still slow in trading in their old-fashioned string-mops. While the technology still seems new, why is it that facilities that use them are still considered “early adopters?”

The answer is that most purchasing managers have probably not investigated the long term savings, improvement in efficiencies, and reduction in cross-contamination that microfiber can provide. The best example of a facility that exchanged its strings for microfiber is the case of UC Davis Hospital. Interestingly, one of the most noticeable improvements was a significant reduction in worker compensation claims. UC Davis reported the following findings**:

• 60 percent lifetime cost savings for mops
• 95 percent reduction in chemical costs associated with mopping
• 20 percent labor savings per day”

Clearly, the microfiber mop option is beneficial in the long run in terms of cost and bacteria reduction. Does that mean that we always recommend facilities switch to microfiber? The answer is: it depends. It depends on the amount of mopping space, the type of facility, how much patient care goes on in the facility, their level of workers compensation claims, etc. Very often, our job is to inform you of options that you wouldn’t otherwise be aware of without Prime Source. If the decision works for your facility, then we are happy to be the conduit of that information.