Using Activated Water Sprayer Devices

Hand-held activated water spray devices are becoming popular in schools because they offer chemical-free, water-based, renewable cleaning along with sanitizing properties, while greatly reducing harmful environmental impacts. The technology is receiving expert support.

According to Stephen Ashkin, founder of green cleaning think tank, The Ashkin Group, “Developing an effective cleaning solution that completely eliminates the environmental impacts — from the manufacturing of cleaning chemicals, the plastic bottles and packaging materials that chemicals come in, and transportation from the manufacturer to the ultimate end-user — is a truly remarkable breakthrough.”

David Mudarri, Ph.D, former senior indoor air quality scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says, “Conventional cleaning products can take away dirt, soils and stains very effectively, but they can also leave toxic chemical residues on surfaces and in the air. Because of these residues, it is a challenge to find products whose chemical content has minimal impact on health and the environment, but that also clean effectively and are convenient to use. Fortunately, new technologies involving activated water that can clean effectively without chemicals are now available for commercial use.

“In a powered sprayer device, water is treated with a safe, controlled electrical charge that creates nanobubbles that charge and suspend dirt particles in water, making it easy to wipe them away. Activated water is used to clean a variety of surfaces, particularly smooth surfaces such as glass or stainless steel. I looked at the reports of laboratory tests conducted by the University of Massachusetts Lowell TURI Lab and agree with its conclusions that the sprayer removes soil as well or better than conventional multipurpose cleaners, or cleaners for glass or stainless steel, without leaving chemical residues.

“Activated water in this configuration creates its germ-killing effect by a process called electroporation in which a slight electrical charge punctures the cell membranes of germs, killing them within six seconds.”

How It Works
The nanobubbles are electrically charged and attach themselves to dirt particles. As the charges from the nanobubbles build up on the dirt particles, they separate from one another and break apart due to repulsion of like electrical charges. The dirt particles become suspended in the charged water — allowing the dirt to be easily wiped away. The nanobubbles stay active for approximately 30 to 45 seconds before returning to their natural state.

When used as directed, the activated water device kills the 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza A virus and more than 99.9 percent of most harmful bacteria like E. coli, VRE, Salmonella, MRSA, Pseudomonas, Staph, Listeria and E. coli O157:H7 on nonporous hard surfaces.

Electroporation uses a low-level electrical field to disrupt cell membranes. The activated water device applies a low-level electrical field to the water. The water then carries this electrical field to the surface where germs reside, disrupting the germ’s membranes and killing them.

No Chemical-Related Warning Labels
Despite its harm to germs, independent laboratories have conducted extensive testing on this technology to international and U.S. standards to confirm that it has zero measurable detriment on skin, eyes, when ingested or inhaled. The data from these tests have been reviewed by the EPA for compliance and no chemical-related health warning label is required.

Think Physics, Not Chemistry
The science of electrolysis is over 100 years old, and the science of electroporation has been around for decades. The technology does not rely upon any slight changes in the water’s pH levels and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) to clean or sanitize, nor does it add salt to create hypochlorous (a form of bleach water). It relies upon physics and electrical engineering rather than traditional chemical-based cleaning processes.

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