Clorox Germicidal Wipes Receive EPA Registration to Kill C. diff Spores in 5 Minutes

The Clorox Company announced today at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) annual meeting that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accepted the registration of Clorox Commercial Solutions® Clorox® Germicidal Wipes to kill Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) spores in 5 minutes.

Clorox® Germicidal Wipes are ready-to-use, hospital-grade disinfectant wipes and are among the strongest and heaviest on the market today. Clorox® Germicidal Wipes contain 0.55 percent (5500ppm) sodium hypochlorite, which exceeds the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended requirement to kill many of the pathogens of most concern to hospitals. Clorox® Germicidal Wipes are equal to a 1:10 dilution of liquid bleach and include an odor-masking agent, specially formulated to provide fast, effective disinfecting to accommodate the most sensitive environments and users.

"The EPA registration reinforces Cloroxs commitment to reducing the spread of infections and disease-causing pathogens, such as C. difficile, while providing useful and important tools to the healthcare community," says Craig Stevenson, vice president and general manager of Clorox Professional Products Company. "Clorox® Germicidal Wipes provide a fast, highly effective way to help keep the patient environment disinfected and is an excellent addition to Cloroxs comprehensive products to kill C. difficile spores."

Clorox® Germicidal Wipes are suitable for use on most hard, nonporous surfaces including stainless steel and they are offered in multiple packaging options that can be adapted for use in various healthcare locations:

- 70-count Clorox® Germicidal Wipes (6.75" x 9" wipes) Designed for daily, multi-surface disinfection by environmental services, as well as nursing staff. These wipes are the ideal size for general purpose cleaning and disinfecting, spills, and everyday patient room cleaning.

- 110-count Clorox® Germicidal Wipes (12" x 12" wipes) Specially designed for terminal cleaning by environmental services. These wipes are among the largest on the market and are made with the goal of increasing employees efficiency.

- 150-count Clorox® Germicidal Wipes (6" x 5" wipes) Designed for nurses everyday disinfection of clinical surfaces such as glucometers, BP monitors and more. These wipes are the perfect size for small-surface disinfection.

Leading infection prevention specialists and healthcare decision-makers support the use of bleach-based products to kill C. difficile spores as part of a larger prevention program. "When dealing with C. difficile, patient care equipment and medical devices should be disinfected as appropriate with a bleach solution or a product that contains bleach such as Clorox® Germicidal Wipes," says Lillian Burns, an infection control practitioner and administrative director of infection control and epidemiology at Staten Island University Hospital. "Germicidal wipes are convenient to use and allow everyone in the healthcare environment to participate in environmental disinfection."

The Clorox® Germicidal Wipes EPA registration comes just months after the companys March announcement that its DISPATCH® Hospital Cleaner Disinfectant Towels with Bleach were the first bleach-based wipe to receive EPA registration for C. difficile spores. In September 2010, the EPA registered DISPATCH® Hospital Cleaner Disinfectant with Bleach spray to kill Clostridium difficile spores in 5 minutes.

Clorox® Germicidal Wipes are part of a comprehensive C. difficile solution program offered by Clorox Professional Products Company, which also offers a C. difficile Prevention Kit featuring a protocol and checklist for terminal cleaning of C. difficile isolation rooms, information on bleach efficacy when it comes to fighting C. difficile spores, a calculator estimating the financial impact on C. difficile on acute care facilities and infection prevention training and education videos. To request a complimentary kit, visit http://www.cloroxprofessional.com/healthcenter/cdiff.shtml