What is 4D Cleaning?

What is 4D Cleaning?

Since Covid-19 entered our lives, traditional cleaning methods have been under great scrutiny, especially in public buildings, schools, colleges, care homes and workplaces.

In many cases, those responsible for cleaning operations saw Covid as a wake-up call which caused them to question whether these methods – many of which have remained unchanged for years – go far enough to keep facilities clean, hygienic and safe for the people who live and work in them.

Why ‘traditional’ cleaning methodologies are no longer fit for purpose

There are many factors that contribute to traditional cleaning methods not being effective enough. This includes the fact that cleaning is often viewed as a low-level manual task by businesses, one that is usually awarded to the company that offers the best deal, where “best” equals “cheapest”.

As a result, cleaning services are usually carried out by cleaners who do not receive proper training and who are not provided with the right equipment or materials for the job.   

Introducing 4D cleaning

The essential fact about the 4D cleaning approach is that it is designed to ensure employees, visitors, residents and others are fully protected.

The four key elements of the 4D cleaning process are the floors, walls, surfaces and the air within the spaces of a building.

Traditional methods do not take these four dimensions into consideration, meaning that walls and certain surfaces may be left for weeks, months or longer without cleaning. Clean air is often given only scant attention or not considered at all. In general, floors seem to be given more consideration than other surfaces, with up to 60% of a cleaner’s time spent here, often with out of date, ineffective equipment, leading to poor results.

Clean air and many other surfaces are rarely taken into consideration. The result is that ‘traditional’ cleaning has several inherent problems:

• More expensive
• More labour intensive
• Uses potentially hazardous cleaning chemicals
• Uses potentially unsustainable cleaning materials
• Leaves some areas untreated
• Is less effective and efficient than other, newer methods such as 4D cleaning.

Adapted into a wider Vital 4D cleaning process by Newline, 4D cleaning also uses a combination of specialist cleaning approaches, modern equipment, innovative technologies and safer – less toxic and more environmentally friendly – cleaning fluids and materials to produce a clean, hygienic and healthier work environment.

Digging deeper into why 4D cleaning is needed

4D cleaning addresses the four dimensions of spaces and rooms in buildings where people live, work, play, visit or go for any other reason.

The four dimensions are:

• Floors
• Walls
• Surfaces
• Air

Let’s look at each in turn.

4D cleaning – floors

Floors are often cleaned by outdated equipment and tools (such as cotton mops) which adds extra time to the cleaning process. The Vital 4D cleaning approach helps clean floors 90% more effectively with the use of modern equipment.

Furthermore, the environmental benefits are significant thanks to a reduction in water used throughout the process.

4D cleaning – walls

Walls and stairs are often forgotten about, especially when the area is hard to reach.

If they are missed during the cleaning process then dirt, grime and occasionally mould can accumulate, causing an impact on the health and hygiene of residents, workers, visitors and other occupants.

4D cleaning – surfaces

Surfaces such as kitchen worktops, desktops, cabinets and tables tend to attract a lot of dirt, germs and viruses that can be harmful to employees. Often these germs can survive for extended periods of time, meaning that they are easily picked up by anyone who comes into contact with the surface.

4D cleaning addresses these issues by using modern and sustainable cleaning methods, materials and products to produce a cleaner work environment for all.

4D cleaning - air

In offices, air-borne contaminants can have major implications on staff health. The same goes for care homes, educational establishments, and public buildings.

However, most cleaning contracts do not tackle this problem. The 4D cleaning method understands the importance of clean air within buildings and uses specially developed ‘clean air’ technologies to remove contaminants and improve air quality.

Equipment used in 4D cleaning

Traditional wet mopping with a cotton floor mop and bucket has been around for decades. Yet cleaning floors with these outdated tools is both manually time-consuming and uses more water than is strictly necessary.

On the other hand, using a modern floor cleaning appliance such as the i-mop is up to 70% faster than wet mopping and 30% faster than auto-scrubbing, adding up to labour saving efficiencies and lower costs. 

The i-mop is also more sustainable, reducing environmental impact by over 75% by using less water.

The Jet 3 spray and scrub technology can be applied to walls and stairs, helping cleaning operatives to clean some of the more awkward places that may be out of reach of other cleaning equipment. Using this tool, accumulated and ingrained dirt can be removed using powerful scrubbing abilities.

For washrooms and bathrooms, bamboo and sugarcane consumables are a chemical-free, sustainable and cost-effective solution. Both are hypoallergenic making them ideal for workplaces. Unlike trees, which take 10 or more years to grow back after harvesting, sugarcane and bamboo grow quickly and can be harvested every few months.

Finally, improving air quality inside buildings to remove air-borne contaminants wouldn’t figure in most cleaning contracts. However, using air purification technologies to “scrub” internal air can kill 99.95% of all airborne viruses and pathogens in one single air pass.

Air purification helps reduce air-borne germs from coughs and sneezes which can linger in the air for up to 8 hours, thus bringing down levels of sickness-related staff absenteeism.

Cleaning products used in 4D cleaning

Many buildings managers are voicing concerns about hazardous chemical used in many cleaning products and processes.

However safer, more environmentally friendly cleaning products are available. For example, Tersano Stabilised Aqueous Ozone (SAO) cleaners and sanitisers can kill 99.99% of harmful bacteria without the use of toxins, chemical residues or chemical VOCs.

Furthermore they require 90% less water when being used and can save up to 70% on costs compared to other cleaning products.

4D cleaning processes also incorporate the use of bio enzyme-based products. Bio enzyme cleaning uses living organisms (such as specific types of bacteria) and natural surfactants to deliver effective cleaning results, yet in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.  It’s an ideal alternative to the use of potentially hazardous cleaning chemicals.

Overall benefits  

4D cleaning offers a more complete and effective approach to cleaning. Used together with the right equipment and approach (as outlined in Newline’s Vital 4D approach), 4D cleaning offers huge benefits in terms of cost savings, sustainability and efficiency.

For example, when used on floors, the i-mop cleans 90% more effectively than conventional string mops, cleans 70% faster and requires 75% less water.

This is what the future of cleaning looks like. A perfect combination of cost saving, efficiency safety and care for the environment - while still delivering a high-quality cleaning solution. Speak to Newline now or for more information about 4D cleaning, click here.