Evaluation of Microfiber Cloths in the Removal of Microorganisms

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a species of bacteria that can cause a variety of different illnesses in humans, from mild skin infections to life-threatening diseases such as meningitis. Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coliare species of bacteria associated with food borne ailments. Strains of Bacillus subtilisare associated with food poisoning while a variety of strains of E. coliare associated with food-borne gastrointestinal diseases. Along with these bacteria, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, less formally known as bakers' yeast, is a yeast commonly used in the kitchen. Although this yeast is often used when baking and brewing in the food industry, it can also rarely cause infectious diseases in humans. Organisms such as these make maintaining proper kitchen hygiene extremely important. The Norwex™ company has developed microfiber clothes that have silver nanoparticles woven in between the fibers. The company claims that the microfiber is capable of removing 99% of bacteria from surfaces and that the silver is an anti-microbial agent that will inhibit the growth of microbes in the cloth. In this study, the ability of the Norwex™ microfiber cloth to remove microbes from surfaces and inhibit microbial growth within the cloth is compared to a similar microfiber cloth that lacks the silver nanoparticles.