Steam Cleaner Research Articles

Numerical Simulation of Vapor-Liquid Two-Phase Saturated Steam Fluent Flow and Atomizing Jet Cleaning

In order to reduce the serious impact of polluting particles on the performance and quality of high-precision machinery and equipment, a cleaning system that uses saturated steam to clean the surface of parts and components is designed to achieve high cleanliness requirements. Based on the standard k-ε model, the large-scale fluid simulation software ANSYS is used to simulate the flow pattern of the steam nozzle to obtain the best distance for steam cleaning. According to the simulation results, a steam cleaning machine was developed and put into an automated cleaning production line to clean three different types of aviation parts. The residual masses of the parts were 0.1 mg, 0.1 mg, and 0.2 mg, and the maximum particle diameters were 549.461 μm, 275.464 μm, and 399.660 μm. The cleaning results show that the saturated steam cleaner can meet the cleaning requirements and get better surface quality parts after cleaning.

Biocleaning in operating theatres: validation of cleaning techniques by revealing residual traces of blood

In the operating theatre the biocleaning process is essential after each passage to guarantee the non-transmission of potentially pathogenic microbial agents from patient to patient. To evaluate the quality of this biocleaning, the Operational Hygiene Team used a very sensitive method to detect residual traces of blood: luminol (3-aminophthalhydrazide) on the basis of methods used by the police. Luminol was used after conventional one-step biocleaning with the usual detergent/disinfectant, after bleach disinfection before biocleaning, and after biocleaning with a steam cleaner. Lunimol revealed extended traces of blood corresponding to the passage of the strip on the floor, in the corners of the room and on certain pieces of furniture which are difficult to clean. However, no luminescence was detected on the surfaces cleaned by a single passage of the steam cleaner. In all cases, the rooms appeared visually clean and traces of blood only became visible when revealed by luminol. We also showed that usual detergents or disinfectants do not remove blood and instead actually spread it over surfaces that may seem visually clean. These results led us to modify our procedure and also confirmed our wish to generalize the use of the steam cleaning technique for immediate cleaning. Furthermore, our tests show the relevance of luminol as a validation tool for the quality and method of biocleaning.

BED BUG INFESTATIONS: A CASE REPORT IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT OF CENTRAL ITALY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF STEAM TREATMENT AGAINST CIMEX LECTULARIUS (HEMIPTERA: CIMICIDAE)

There has been resurgence in interest in infestations from the common bed bugs (Cimex lectularius), as they have become more prevalent in well-developed countries. This paper reports the case of a 50-year-old woman whose bedroom was infested by bed bugs. The woman presented in our laboratory with insect specimens that she had caught in her bedroom. She reported bites on shoulders, back, belly, and thighs associated with sleep disturbance. Based on an examination of the morphological characteristics, the insects were identified as Cimex lectularius. As the apartment had been rented for several years before the woman moved in, it was suspected that the bed bugs had been introduced by some of the tenants, including some from overseas, who may have inadvertently brought the bugs with them in their luggage/belongings and who had previously lived in the apartment. After two unsuccessful insecticide applications, a thorough weekly decontamination using a steam cleaner completely resolved the infestation within about two months. Knowledge of the epidemiology, life cycle, clinical signs, medical treatment and environmental management of bed bugs by physicians, dermatologists, and entomologists may contribute to the better dissemination of information needed for effective prevention and control as well as to a more accurate diagnosis of the bite marks caused by these insects.

The Unnecessary Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose

Warranty law provides that if a seller makes “an affirmation of fact” about an attribute of a good, an express warranty is created upon its sale. But if the buyer specifies she wants a good with that same attribute, a warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is formed upon the sale. This distinction, without an analytical difference, can cause problems. Take the case where a dry cleaner wanted to use its existing steam cleaner to power a heating system for its store. It called a commercial heating company, explained its desires, and the heating company put in a system. The system didn’t work – it needed more steam than could be produced by the existing cleaner. The heating company, however, had effectively disclaimed the warranty of fitness in the contract. So the dry cleaner lost because only a fitness warranty was created when the buyer brought up the need to run the new system from the existing equipment, and fitness warranties can be disclaimed. But if the seller had promised with words that the heating system could be powered by the existing steamer, then the buyer would have received an express warranty, and the dry cleaner would have prevailed because it is almost impossible to disclaim an express warranty effectively under warranty law. Such analytical tap dancing is nonsense. The law in both cases should protect the legitimate expectation of the dry cleaner that the new heating system would be run by the existing steam unit, and no disclaimer should take that away. That result can be achieved by finding that the seller’s undertaking to supply a good in response to an expressed need of the buyer acts as an express promise that the goods will meet the buyer’s needs. In that way, what are now fitness cases can properly be treated as express warranty cases, and the fitness warranty can be eliminated as unnecessary. Express warranty is the proper theory because in both fitness and express warranty cases, the attribute of the good being warranted is expressed. In traditional express warranty cases it is expressed by the seller; in traditional fitness cases, it is expressed by the buyer. But it is expressed, and the act of the seller in furnishing goods that purportedly have that attribute is as much of a promise that the goods are suitable as if the attribute was promised in words. That is, it should make no difference if the seller promises that a dive watch is watertight down to 200 feet while she hands over the watch to the buyer, or the buyer asks for a dive watch that is watertight down to 200 feet and is handed the same watch by the seller. In both cases, the same contract is formed, and, in both cases, an express warranty that the watch can be used down to 200 feet is created. Further, eliminating the fitness warranty would have other beneficial consequences, such as: (1) eliminating the systemic problems that arise under implied warranty theory when a buyer’s “particular purpose” is the same as the good’s “ordinary purpose”; (2) more properly making a “fitness” warranty harder to disclaim, as in the dry cleaner case above; and (3) providing a correct parol evidence rule framework for what are now fitness cases.

Successful implementation of infection control measure in a neonatal intensive care unit to combat the spread of pathogenic multidrug resistant Staphylococcus capitis

BackgroundOnce present in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), multidrug resistant Staphylococcus capitis NRCS-A is able to settle and diffuse.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of infection control (IC) interventions to reduce the spread of Staphylococcus capitis NRCS-A in a NICU.MethodsBetween December 2012 and December 2017, all patients presenting positive sampling (blood, skin or catheter) to S. capitis were included, and clinical data were recorded from electronic clinical charts. The IC team has continually implemented measures of control infections (hand hygiene, standard precautions, patient contact isolation and disinfection of the inanimate environment). From May 2015, a steam cleaner was implemented in the cleaning procedure instead of disinfectant to disinfect heating tables and incubators. Four periods were determined: Period 1 (P1) before steam cleaner acquisition; Period 2 (P2) after implementation steam cleaner; Period 3 (P3) when the steam cleaner had broken down, and Period 4 (P4) when the steam cleaner was functional again. The consumption of antibiotics and the epidemiology of infections inside the NICU were investigated during the study period.ResultsDuring the studied period, 37 infants were infected or colonized by S. capitis. The incidences of infection or colonization by S. capitis were P1 = 1.04‰, P2 = 0.55‰, P3 = 3.95 ‰ and P4 = 0‰ and were significantly different between P1-P3 and P2-P4 (p < 0.001). During the different periods, antibiotics consumption and bacterial epidemiology of the ward were stable.ConclusionsThe use of steam vapor system was associated with a significantly decreased incidence of S. capitis NRCS-A infection or colonization and could constitute an effective and safe procedure to control and eradicate its diffusion inside NICUs.

スチームクリーナーの利用法 : 水の状態変化(私の工夫)

スチームクリーナーの利用法 : 水の状態変化(私の工夫)

Влияние удобрений на перезимовку и урожайность озимой пшеницы сорта «Казанская 560»

The paper discusses the issues of fertilizers effect on germination, plant productivity and overwintering of Kazanskaya 560 variety winter wheat. The results showed that pre-sowing seed treatment by Humate fertilizer “Bioplant Floro” calculated 0.5 liters per ton increases the seed germination to 4-5%, the accumulation of sugars in the tillering nodes of winter wheat to 10-11%, and the safety of overwintering plants to cleaning to 5-10%. The calculated fertilizer norms allow to get close to planned levels of crop during favorable weather conditions. Treating the seeds by “Bioplant Flora”, the yield exceeded the target level (4.1 tons per hectare instead of planned 4 tons per hectare of grain). An application NPK and ammonium nitrate as an ordinal fertilizer at planting provides almost the same level of productivity of the main fertilizers, calculated to produce 3 tons per hectare. It is undesirable to use ammonium nitrate fertilizer on winter wheat as ordinal, especially after steam cleaner with a high nitrogen content. This can reduce its winter hardiness quality. Good results are obtained by using nitrate in the doze 1 centner per hectare in bulk

Analysis and Optimization of Steam Duct for Improving Performance of Steam Cleaner

Not only the price of a steam cleaner but also the performance of it should be considered to improve the competitive power of the products. In this study, a steam duct was optimized by changing the length of guide line for compensating the drawback of the unbalanced mass flow rate of steam from each outlet. For evaluating the mass flow rate of each outlet, a commercial CFD(computational fluid dynamics) code was used. In the process of the optimization, SQP(sequential quadratic programming) optimization algorithm was applied. The numerical method in this study can be widely used to develop a high performance domestic steam cleaner.

Effectiveness of commercial household steam cleaning systems in reducing the populations of Listeria monocytogenes and spoilage bacteria on inoculated pork skin surfaces

In a previous study conducted in our laboratory, a commercial household steam cleaner was found to be effective in reducing the naturally occurring bacterial populations on 72 beef and 72 hog carcasses processed by four small and very small meat processing plants. The goals of this study were to determine the maximum levels of bacterial reduction caused by treatments using the steam cleaner, and to compare the efficacy of this cleaner with the efficacies of two other commercial household steam cleaning systems in reducing bacterial populations on the surface of pork skin artificially inoculated with ca. 7.61 or 5.75 log 10 CFU / cm 2 of Listeria monocytogenes. The contaminated pork skin samples were treated with the three stream cleaners for 30–180 s in 30 s intervals, and assayed for the populations of L. monocytogenes as well as total aerobic and thermoduric bacteria. The application of steam significantly reduced the population of L. monocytogenes (7.61– 3.23 log 10 CFU / cm 2 ), as well as total aerobic (5.68– 4.04 log 10 CFU / cm 2 ) and thermoduric (6.12– 2.57 log 10 CFU / cm 2 ) bacteria on the surface of pork skin ( P ⩽ 0.05 ) . Significant differences in microbial reductions were observed between different inoculation levels, treatment times, and types of cleaning systems used in the study ( P ⩽ 0.05 ) .

Use of a Commercial Household Steam Cleaning System To Decontaminate Beef and Hog Carcasses Processed by Four Small or Very Small Meat Processing Plants in Georgia

Small and very small meat-processing facilities in the United States are in need of a pathogen reduction technology that would be both effective and economical. In the present study, the effectiveness of a commercial household steam cleaner for reducing naturally occurring bacterial populations on freshly slaughtered beef and hog carcasses was evaluated in four small or very small meat-processing plants. Three anatomical sites on the right half of each carcass were exposed to a 60-s steam treatment, and the corresponding left half of the carcass remained untreated. Samples were collected from 72 beef and 72 hog carcasses before, immediately after, and 24 h after the steam treatment. The mean populations of total aerobes, coliforms, and Enterobacteriaceae recovered from three anatomical sites on the beef carcasses were 1.88, 1.89, and 1.36 log CFU/cm2, respectively, before the steam treatment, 1.00, 0.71, and 0.52 log CFU/cm2, respectively, immediately after the steam treatment, and 1.10, 0.95, and 0.50 log CFU/cm2, respectively, 24 h after the steam treatment. On hog carcasses, the mean populations of total aerobes, coliforms, and Enterobacteriaceae recovered from the three anatomical sites were 2.50, 2.41, and 1.88 log CFU/cm2, respectively, before the steam treatment, 0.50, 0.94, and 0.21 log CFU/cm2, respectively, immediately after the steam treatment, and 0.91, 1.56, and 0.44 log CFU/cm2, respectively, 24 h after the steam treatment. The steam treatment significantly reduced the total aerobes, coliforms, and Enterobacteriaceae at all three anatomical locations on both types of carcasses (P < 0.05). The order of mean bacterial populations recovered before steam treatment was midline > neck > rump for beef carcasses and belly > jowl > ham for hog carcasses except for the total coliform counts at the midline and neck areas on the beef carcasses. Of the 144 carcasses evaluated, 5 (3.47%) were positive for Salmonella before steam treatment, but all carcasses tested negative for Salmonella after the treatment. Results indicate that the household steam cleaner can effectively reduce overall bacterial populations on freshly slaughtered beef and hog carcasses in small and very small meat-processing facilities.

Eliminating Dermatophagoides farinae spp. (Acari: Pyroglyphidae) and their allergens through high temperature treatment of textiles.

House dust mite allergens cause allergy and asthma in sensitized individuals. The allergens they produce are known to resist decay under natural household conditions and are thought to accumulate until removed. We sought to evaluate the effects of high temperature (96 degrees C) generated by a hard surface cleaner on live mite populations of American house dust mites, Dermatophagoides farinae Hughes and their allergens in carpet and mattresses. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) mite mortality (100%) was observed in response to treatment in both textile surfaces. Similar effects were observed on Der f1 fecal allergen. Allergen reductions in carpet with two or five pass treatment regimes were 61.4 and 100%, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of employing a hard surface steam cleaner as a novel method to eliminate house dust mite populations and their allergens in a residential setting and appeal particularly promising as an environmental control strategy.

The use ofdomestic steam cleaning for the control of house dust mites

Control of dust mites using extremes of temperature is an alternative to the use of acaricides. In the past we have attempted control by freezing with liquid nitrogen. The present paper deals with the opposite extreme, the use of steam. To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a domestic steam cleaner for the control of dust mites, its effect on mite populations and concentrations of the allergen Der p 1. A domestic steam cleaner was used to treat carpet squares that had been seeded in the laboratory with known numbers of dust mites (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus). The number of live mites was monitored for a period of 4 months in eight treated carpet squares and eight controls. Dust samples were taken from 12 standardized areas of carpet in a tenement flat in Glasgow, UK, before and after steam cleaning treatment, and the concentration of allergen Der p 1 was compared with 12 adjacent, control areas. No live mites were found at any time in the treated carpet squares, whereas in the control squares geometric mean mite population density rose from 11 after 3 days to 39 after 1 month, 66 after 2, 122 after 3 and 185 after 4 months. There was a mean reduction of 86.7% in Der p 1 concentration (3.3-0.44 microgram/g) compared with a reduction of 4.7% (2.22-2.116 micrograms/g) in control areas, a difference that was statistically significant at the 5% level. These data indicate that steam cleaning has considerable potential as an highly effective and efficient method of killing dust mites and reducing concentrations of Der p 1 in domestic premises.

An Aerated Steam System for Controlling Ratoon Stunting Disease

ABSTRACT THERMOTHERAPY using aerated steam is a safe and effective method of controlling RSD. A treat-ment time of four hours at 125.6 °F (52 °C) with six air changes per minute is needed. Sugar cane need not be detrashed but should be loaded in layers 15 in. (38.1 cm) thick with a space of three inches (7.6 cm) between layers. An automotive steam cleaner can be automated as an acceptable source of steam. A steam temperature control valve commonly used in the process industry is satisfactory to regulate the temperature.

"Jenny" steam cleaner bites soil harder...thanks to SOLVAY LIQUID CAUSTIC POTASH

"Jenny" steam cleaner bites soil harder...thanks to SOLVAY LIQUID CAUSTIC POTASH