Hygiene expertise made by Miele

Hygiene in the medical device reprocessing room

As well as providing patients with advice and treatment, those working in the medical and dental sectors also have to ensure a high level of practice hygiene as part of their day-to-day tasks. The medical devices used by the doctors and nurses get contaminated in the course of treatment. When it comes to the reprocessing room, there are therefore two important aspects that must be considered from an infection prevention perspective: protecting staff against infectious agents and making disinfected or sterilized medical devices available for the treatment of patients. To ensure success in this regard, reprocessing must be viewed in terms of the entire instrument cycle. The appropriate combination of a washer-disinfector, the associated components and the right process chemicals will help you to achieve the high level of hygiene that is required when reprocessing instruments – and also to maintain it on a long-term basis.

Hygiene in laundry care

In order to protect oneself and others, it is particularly important to subscribe to hygiene rules. Within this context, the proper use of protective clothing is vital. Naturally, it is equally important that protective clothing that has been worn and any potentially contaminated workwear gets disinfected during washing. The proper reprocessing of textiles and personal protective equipment helps in deactivating viruses and in slowing down their spread. By using thermal and thermochemical disinfection programs, you can always be sure that potentially contaminated textiles are safe to reuse. Employees must not take potentially contaminated workwear and protective apparel home with them for the purpose of washing it there. This is the only way to prevent cross-contamination through contact with private laundry. Proper reprocessing always has to be ensured. When loading and unloading laundry, staff should take precautions – particularly during a pandemic – by wearing protective gloves and a plastic apron over their own workwear, for example.

Hygiene in the kitchen

High standards of hygiene do not just apply when dealing with patients. Even behind the scenes, all involved demand immaculate cleanliness. In this regard, a few simple steps can be taken to help people make more hygienic use of the dishwasher in the break room. For instance, staff should always pay attention to good basic hygiene when unloading clean dishes to avoid the risk of recontamination. In other words, they should wash their hands regularly and always before unloading the dishwasher. In addition, users should always ensure the use of sufficient detergent. As an additional safety measure, we recommend using a cleaning agent that contains bleach.

Miele Professional solutions for doctors' surgeries

Miele Professional solutions for dental practices

Hygiene during central reprocessing

Safe processes and hygiene have a particularly important role to play in instrument reprocessing. It was precisely with this in mind that Miele Professional and Steelco joined forces back in 2017. Since then, customers specializing in the areas of medicine, laboratory work, research and pharmaceuticals have been benefiting from cleaning and hygiene solutions that offer even better quality and higher performance than before. For more information about Steelco solutions for your Central Sterile Supply Department, click here:

Hygiene during decentralized reprocessing

When you have a diverse array of items for reprocessing – primarily in the form of ward utensils such as theatre shoes and baby bottles – they each impose their own set of reprocessing requirements due to the different ways in which they have been used and the different types of soiling they have accumulated. In order for reprocessing to be hygienic, it is absolutely essential that these individual requirements are met. Miele Professional offers exactly the right solutions for this: washer-disinfectors with specialized modules and programs intended for this very purpose.

Hygiene when handling hospital laundry

Protecting patients is the top priority at hospitals. And adopting appropriate hygiene precautions can definitely help with this. Laundry that comes into contact with patients is subject to various guidelines and policies set by the relevant health authorities. Potentially contaminated laundry may pose risks. Depending on the risk classification, either a thermochemical or thermal disinfecting washing process must be used as a minimum. A hygienic working process is one that moves from unclean to clean. Ensuring the laundry is stored dry is another factor that helps ensure good hygiene. This calls for well-coordinated drying processes

In the interests of increased hygiene, personnel should – under current circumstances – wear protective equipment such as gloves, an apron over their workwear and a suitable face mask. Potentially contaminated workwear and protective apparel must remain within the laundry area at all times and should never be taken home to be washed there.

Hygiene in the hospital kitchen

Hospital patients are usually frail and in particular need of protection – which is also an important factor when washing items at the hospital. This makes it all the more important that patients only come into contact with hygienically clean dishes or other utensils, such as medication cups. In this way, they can be kept safe from food-related infections. In addition, users should always ensure the use of sufficient detergent. As an additional safety measure, we recommend using a cleaning agent that contains bleach.

Miele Professional solutions for doctors' surgeries and clinics

Hygiene in the kitchenette

Dishes, cups, glasses and carafes can easily pile up in your office or agency kitchenette. In any place where lots of people congregate, it is very important to ensure that the items they use get washed hygienically – for the benefit of your customers and your own employees alike. Why? The answer is easy: for the sake of protecting people and keeping them safe. In this regard, a few simple steps can be taken to help people make more hygienic use of the dishwasher in the break room. For instance, staff should always pay attention to good basic hygiene when unloading clean dishes to avoid the risk of recontamination. In other words, they should wash their hands regularly and always before unloading the dishwasher. In addition, users should always ensure the use of sufficient detergent. As an additional safety measure, we recommend using a cleaning agent that contains bleach.

Miele Professional solutions for offices and agencies

Hygiene in laundry care

Cleanliness is the watchword in the hotel and restaurant trade. Ensuring the hygienic cleanliness of laundry – such as towels, bed linen, tablecloths, and serviettes – is absolutely essential. Particularly in light of how the laundry is constantly changing hands from one guest to another, establishments need washing processes that not only remove heavy soiling but also kill pathogenic viruses. This is important for many reasons – not least because of the need to comply with the instructions that the health authorities issue in particular cases.

Hygiene in the kitchen

Whether it be in a restaurant, a school canteen or a nursery, you always have to be able to count on hygiene! These are places where lots of different adults and children congregate. Care must be taken to ensure that all items are hygienically clean so that everyone can enjoy their food without any problems. In this regard, a few simple steps can be taken to help people make more hygienic use of the dishwasher in the break room. For instance, staff should always pay attention to good basic hygiene when unloading clean dishes to avoid the risk of recontamination. In other words, they should wash their hands regularly and always before unloading the dishwasher. As an additional safety measure, we recommend using a cleaning agent that contains bleach.

Miele Professional solutions for hotels and bed & breakfast

Miele Professional solutions for restaurants and catering

Miele Professional solutions for schools and nurseries

Hygiene when washing cleaning textiles

Through their cleaning and disinfection work, contract cleaners play a huge part in helping to prevent infection – particularly in areas where hygiene is crucial, such as hospitals, grocery shops or community facilities. This is because surfaces that are touched frequently carry an increased risk of transmitting infectious agents, which can enter the mucous membranes and cause infection. Door and window handles, light switches, banister rails and lift buttons are all typical examples of such contact surfaces. In such cases, wipe disinfection ensures a higher level of protection. However, this depends on the cleaning textiles having been professionally disinfected in the washing machine in the first place. This prevents clinically relevant microorganisms from multiplying. And special wash programs can certainly help in this regard.

Miele Professional solutions for facility management

Hygiene when washing protective clothing

The protection of fire and rescue personal is one of the key aims when washing their protective clothing to make it hygienically clean. Whenever they go out on an operation, there is a risk of their protective clothing getting contaminated by pathogens (germs that cause illness). Consequently, the priorities when washing the clothing are to remove the dirt that has got trapped in the fibres and to avoid contamination. For this reason, fire and rescue clothing should be disinfected and, where applicable, treated with a proofing agent when it is washed. Treatment with a proofing agent stops contaminants from adhering to the fabric as much. Using special thermochemical wash programs for this ensures clean results. The final stage of any hygienic wash cycle is the drying process. Within this context, it is important to ensure that the clothing is not stored while still damp.

Miele Professional solutions for fire brigades and emergency services