Method for Cleaning Surfaces In Interior Spaces and in Technical Equipments with Benign Bacteria

Abstract

Method that allows surfaces in interior spaces or technical equipments to be cleaned, characterised in that it comprises at least the following step: —the targeted atomization on the surfaces of a liquid with spores of benign bacteria on all or certain types of surfaces by means of an electrically and/or pneumatically powered atomizer, while the space remains accessible to people and animals, with the purpose of speeding up the cleaning of interior spaces and of technical equipments, lowering the cleaning frequency, and lowering the dust deposit.

Claims

1. Method that allows surfaces in interior spaces or technical equipments to be cleaned, characterised in that it comprises at least the following step: the targeted atomization on the surfaces of a liquid with spores of benign bacteria on all or certain types of surfaces by means of an electrically and/or pneumatically powered atomizer, while the space remains accessible to people and animals, with the purpose of speeding up the cleaning of interior spaces and of technical equipments, lowering the cleaning frequency, and lowering the dust deposit.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the liquid with spores of benign bacteria is atomized by the electric atomizer to a droplet size smaller than or equal to 80 μm.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the concentration of spores of benign bacteria in the liquid to be atomized amounts to between 10.sup.6 KVE/ml and 50×10.sup.7 KVE/ml.

4. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the electric atomizer is an ultra-low volume atomizer, which generates a straight jet with a reach up to 10 metres or less.

5. Method according to claim 4, characterised in that the electric and/or pneumatic atomizer atomizes the liquid with spores of benign bacteria on the surface at a flow rate of maximum 300 ml a minute and an air flow of 0.2 litre per minute at a pressure of maximum 18 KPa.

6. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that it is optionally followed by the manual or mechanical cleaning of the surfaces by means of a microfibre.

7. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the amount of atomized liquid with spores of benign bacteria, applied per square metre of treated surface, amounts to maximum 10 grammes per m.sup.2, with the purpose of not having the surface feel wet.

8. Method according to claim 7, characterised in that the spores of the benign bacteria in the atomized liquid are chosen from the genus Bacillus for applications at room temperature.

9. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that the benign bacteria in the atomized liquid chosen from the genus Bacillus consist of Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus licheniformis or Bacillus megaterium or a combination thereof.

10. Method according to claim 7, characterised in that the spores of the benign bacteria in the atomized liquid are chosen from the spores of aerobic spore-forming cold-tolerant bacteria of the genera Sporosarcina, Paenisporosarcina, or Paenibacillus or a combination thereof for applications at cold environmental temperatures between 4 and 18° C.

11. Method according to claim 10, characterised in that the spores of the benign bacteria in the atomized liquid chosen from the genus Sporosarcina consist of Sporosarcina globispora, aquimarina, or psychrophila or a combination thereof.

12. Method according to claim 10, characterised in that the spores of benign bacteria in the atomized liquid chosen from the genus Paenisporosarcina consist of the spores of Paenisporosarcina macmoerdoensis.

13. Method according to claim 10, characterised in that the spores of benign bacteria in the atomized liquid chosen from the genus Paenibacillus consist of the spores of Paenibacillus glacialis, amylolyticus, pabuli, xylanexedens, castaneae, or macquariensis antarcticus or a combination thereof.

14. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that the atomized liquid consists of a solution of spores of aerobic spore-forming Bacillus varieties dissolved in demineralised water with 1% isopropyl-alcohol.

15. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that, in the aerosols formed by atomizing a liquid with spores of Bacillus bacteria, the droplets obtain the same electric charge which on sedimentation of the aerosols on dust is maintained, such that all the dust has the same charge and repels other charged dust particles.

16. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that it stimulates the take-up and metabolising of dust by the germinated spores because the surface charge of Bacillus spores favourably influences their germination speed.

17. Use of the method according to claim 1, characterised in that the method is used to clean spaces that are difficult to reach for manual cleaning.

Description

[0092] With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of the method to clean surfaces in interior spaces according to the invention is described hereinafter, by way of an example without any limiting nature, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0093] FIG. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of an electric atomizer for use in the method for cleaning according to the invention;

[0094] FIG. 2 schematically shows the application of the targeted atomization of spores of benign bacteria on a surface of an interior space;

[0095] FIG. 3 schematically shows the optional take-up of the applied spores of benign bacteria by means of a microfibre;

[0096] FIG. 4 shows the application on a climate ceiling of the method for cleaning according to the invention;

[0097] FIG. 5 shows a Sinner circle with the four factors that influence the cleaning.

[0098] In FIG. 1 an atomizer 1 is shown for the targeted atomization of a liquid with spores of benign bacteria 2 on all or certain types of surfaces 3 in an interior space. The electric atomizer 1 consists of a fan 4 which can blow air through a solution of benign bacteria 2, and targets it via a nozzle 5 on a chosen surface.

[0099] FIG. 2 schematically shows the application of the method for the cleaning of a surface in an interior space, consisting of a targeted atomization by means of an electric atomizer 1, in which a liquid with spores of benign bacteria 2 up to a droplet size of 80 μm is atomized, whereby in this case an aqueous solution of spores of benign bacteria of the genus Bacillus is dissolved.

[0100] In FIG. 3 the use of a microfibre 6 to take up an atomized bacteria film 7 on a surface 3 is illustrated. The microfibre 6 can be wiped over the surface 3 that was sprayed to clean the surface 3 without the need to make it wet first.

[0101] FIG. 4 shows the use of the method for the cleaning of a surface according to the invention, whereby in this case the surface 3 to be cleaned is a climate ceiling 8, which results in the cooling of an interior space. The distance between ceiling and climate ceiling is restricted, but can be cleaned by the targeted atomization of a solution with spores of benign bacteria possibly with 1% isopropyl-alcohol.

[0102] FIG. 5 shows a Sinner circle 9 in which the four factors are presented which influence the cleaning. It concerns chemical cleaning products 10, the temperature 11 at which they are active, the time 12 during which they are active, and the mechanical treatment 13 with brushes or cloths required to clean a surface. Reduction of one of these factors must be compensated by increasing other factors to achieve the same result. Use of less strong chemicals will have to be compensated by allowing them to work over a longer period of time or at a higher temperature for example.

[0103] The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described as an example and shown in the figures, but such a method for the cleaning of surfaces in interior spaces can be realised according to different variants without departing from the scope of the invention, as described in the following claims.