3rd October 2019
Follow this page for all of the latest information and news updates from Dycem Contamination Control.
With last year ending on a high, we were all eager to start the new year hitting the ground running and looking forward to introducing our specialist decontamination floor mats to a much wider audience than ever before.
Here are some of the highlights so far:
3rd October 2019
Updated March 2021Table of contents
Disposable tacky mats and peel-off mats are often used when it comes to contamination control procedures.
It is well known that critical environments, cleanroom or controlled areas should be protected within the manufacturing facility. This is to minimise the presence of both viable and non-viable contamination during manufacturing.
Foot and wheel-borne contamination are the two major sources of both viable and non-viable contamination.
It is essential that some form of control or preferably, removing these particles entering cleanroom areas is practised.
This is due to contamination particles which can affect productivity, product quality and cost.
Disposable tacky Mats and sticky mats have been the go-to solution to use to reduce these forms of contamination for a while. However, there are many reasons to suggest why these so-called solutions are causing more problems than they are solving.
Scientific tests have proven that disposable sticky peel-off tacky mats are only 27% effective in preventing foot and wheel-borne contamination, yet there are various problems when it comes to using disposable sticky mats and peel-off mats.
Size Matters
On average disposable tacky mats has a surface area that is 5 times smaller than your average Dycem Contamination Control floor mat.
This is too small to decontaminate effectively and makes full wheel-borne decontamination almost impossible.
A singular peel-off mat, 2’ x 4’ can still cause up to 73% contamination to enter your critical environments. Even when 10 of these sticky mats are put together 20% of the contamination ‘captured’ is still entering your critical areas and contamination-free zones.
This shows, that no matter how many sticky mats you put together, the risk of contamination entering areas that you don’t want it to is still very much high.
A Non a – peeling solution
Peeling away each used tacky mat from a disposable pack, leaves you with a layer of contamination you are unsure what to do with.
When ripping the sheets of plastic, you are releasing on average 215,000 particles back into the atmosphere with most of the waste particles returning to the air and surrounding environments or even worse – your protected area.
Peeling a disposable sticky mat generates a 20cm (8”) ball of waste each time a single mat is ripped. This makes enough waste to fill multiple dumpsters/skips in a single year. (average estimates have proven between 8-25 dumpsters).
As the surface area of the disposable sticky mat is exposed to contaminated particles, it should be treated as secondary waste. This costs more to remove of safely and also cannot be used again.
It’s Proven Science
In tests comparing disposable tacky mats and peel – off sticky mats with Polymeric flooring, there was found to be a much higher reduction in the microbial count for both wheel and foot contamination after contact with the polymeric flooring. This was comparing it with the results that were achieved for peel-off sticky mats.
Performance of the sticky mats is also greatly reduced with overstrikes.
Overstriking happens when each person stops and takes at least three steps with each foot.
To compare, if overstriking on polymeric flooring, a further 90.3% of particles are taken away from overshoes.
This is compared with an increase of up to 381.9% falling back on to the shoes using peel-off mats. (Source: Dr Tim Sandle).
Imperfect and impractical
To achieve an adhesive peel-off mat’s optimum 27% effectiveness they need to be peeled after every use.
This is not only time wasting but it is also very impractical and a hazard to the areas that you are trying to protect.
The use of sticky peel-off mats also presents a health and safety risk.
The sticky surface often pulls and rips overshoes and causes a severe tripping hazard.
It can also cause the ripped pieces of mats to wrap around wheels.
Sticky mats also cannot allow the three full wheel rotations needed to remove contamination from wheeled traffic.
This makes it very hard to control cross-contamination in corridors.
Crippling Cost of Tacky Mats
Disposable tacky mats and peel-off mats might seem to be the cheapest option at first glance and this would be ideal for companies and facilities who are looking for a quick fix and to save money.
However, when looking at polymeric flooring with peel-off sticky mats, polymeric flooring not only costs less over the longevity of both products but most critically it outperforms the main selling points that a peel-off sticky mat has to offer, by a long way.
The cost of disposable peel-off mat times by 10 (to create the size needed for six footsteps or three full wheel rotations) is added to the number of peels per shift, multiplied by the number of shifts per day, then multiplied again by the days operational per year multiplied by 2.
Comparisons | Dycem | Using Nothing | Peel-off Mats | Foot Baths |
Is 99.9% Effective in Inhibiting Foot and Wheel-borne Contamination |
✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Captures 75% of airborne Contaminants | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Doesn’t Redistribute Particles Back Into The Atmosphere | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Doesn’t Harbour Bugs | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Can be recycled at the end of its lifecycle | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Large surface area to allow for multiple footsteps | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
Adhesive free | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
Waste from Disposable Tacky Mats
The contaminated waste, mixed with disposal costs created with disposable tacky mats are not to be ignored.
Every peel of a sticky mat results in a 20 cm ball of contaminated plastic waste.
This sized ball of waste is created when peeling off a mat layer. Generating enough waste to fill multiple dumpsters per year.
Alongside this, as this is classed as secondary waste, peel-off mats not only create an abundance of the unneeded waste again, cost becomes a factor as they are very expensive to dispose of properly at the end of their very short, working life.
This, coupled with the usual placement of only one peel-off mat outside critical areas can be very dangerous.
Find out more about more information about how you can reduce using single-use plastics in contamination control in our feature article on single-use plastic in contamination control here.
Time to for you to get out of your Sticky Situation
Dycem Contamination Control Floor Mats offer lots of resolutions that tacky mats and sticky mats cannot offer.
They are made with a Patented, polymeric compound with a natural tack, rather than a manufactured sticky feel like a sticky peel-off mat would have.
Dycem Mats are proven to keep up to 99.9% of foot and wheel-borne particles from going into unwanted areas.
All of Dycem’s products can be cut to any length or width to make a large enough surface area to allow up to 99.9% decontamination of foot and wheel-borne traffic.
So, Why Dycem?
Dycem is easily placed into your SOP and can be cleaned as part of your standard floor cleaning schedule.
Dycem does not impact on your daily waste volumes and It can be removed of in regular waste.
Tests have proven that when Dycem floor mats are viewed against sticky mats, the average percentage reduction for polymeric flooring was much greater for Dycem than for peel-off tacky mats.
This was for both wheel and foot-borne contamination. (Here)
Dycem Floor Mats are also a washable solution rather than a disposable, peel-away solution.
This cuts the costs and time that waste added significantly over time and use.
For microbial benefit, Biomaster is placed into all Dycem products.
Biomaster is silver ion-based, anti-microbial addition. it is proven to provide effective and non-stop protection on more than 50 different organisms.
These organisms include Salmonella, E. coli, listeria and MRSA. Sticky peel-off mats do not offer this feature.
Dycem also has room to reduce Electrostatic discharge.
This is due to all options having a surface resistivity of 108 ohms something again, peel-off sticky mats cannot offer.
Make the Change Today
If you wish to switch to from disposable sticky peel-off mats to a more longer-lasting, environmentally-friendly, washable and reusable solution, please contact us or email Contact@dycem.com
15th September 2019
Contaminated plastic waste is harmful to your environment, therefore by using disposable peel-off mats and plastic overshoes, YOU are harming your environment.
2nd July 2019
Electrostatic Discharge Protection at floor level is essential in ensuring electrostatic charges don’t affect productivity. The majority of people encounter electrostatic charges or discharges (ESD) through commonplace processes such as the crinkling feeling after emptying clothing from a tumble dryer, scuffing or walking across a carpet and grabbing a door handle, holding onto metal stairway railings, escalators or more awkwardly when shaking hands with other people and receiving a shock. To offer an explanation In layman’s terms, ESD occurs when two materials rub together causing friction and thus positively charging the material. Once your body comes into contact with this the positive charge is transferred to you and escapes you when possible resulting in what is commonly referred to as an “electric shock“. The human body is capable of storing a charge up to 25,000V. This charge is then dissipated (ESD) through the receiving object as the current seeks an unimpeded path. An object’s metal chassis will often act as the conductor for the static to strike, but it can occur through other materials. The amount of charge that is created through the friction of commonplace procedures, however, is not significant enough to create large volumes of electricity – in other words, you will not see a lightning bolt spark from your hand after moonwalking across the carpet and opening a door through touching the door handle.29th March 2018
Dust explosions remain an under-reported issue, but a very real concern in the pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing industry.
Jhun Yparraguirre
29th March 2018
6th March 2018
Listeria can pose a huge threat to human health and the food production industry. Recalled batches can damage a company’s reputation; reduce consumer trust and ultimately, death for high-risk consumers.
6th March 2018
Dycem’s two-tone systems have proven an extremely popular way to inhibit contamination growth for our customers as a way of improving their Standard Operating procedures, making them an ideal system and solution for sites with heavy traffic, and strict auditing bodies.
6th March 2018
We have all heard of the term pasteurisation but do you know where that term comes from, and the processes involved in pasteurisation? Did you know the huge impact that it had on the wine industry, which it effectively saved?8th February 2018
Peel-off mats, are you still using them to protect your controlled or sterile environment? Are they not working the way you’d like? Have you thought about a non-disposable option?
Many businesses are now choosing to switch to a longer-term solution than peel off or tacky mats, not just because of the environmental implications.
Dycem Contamination Control floor mats service various companies in the Pharma, Biomedical, Nutritional, Packaging, Healthcare, Electronics, Optical sectors, as well as many more.
Contamination Control-Zoning and coverage are two factors for the flooring in many establishments that have cleanrooms or facilities requiring protection from contamination. Having clear visual communication technology that signals the difference in areas in changing rooms, entrances and hallways can help to encourage better practices, avoid human error and actively guide footfall to allow for the maximum possible decontamination of foot & wheel traffic.
This is not just vital in Pharmaceutical or Biomedical facilities. Even for food processing and packaging facilities there is a clear need to mark out areas where staff must pay additional attention to their hygiene.
Our floor mats fully customisable. Dycem can be customised to reflect not only the differences between zones through the use of colour but also with VCT to guide footfall, company logos/branding and custom edging to suit all needs.
The flexibility of Dycem products also extends to size. Because Dycem can be a fitted long term solution, or a customisable mat available in a number of sizes, there is a Dycem solution designed to meet the needs of your facility.
Do peel off or tacky mats effectively cover your entrance/exit points between controlled areas? Are you getting 3 full footsteps in order to remove the maximum amount of particles?
If the answer to all these are no, then Dycem is the solution you need.
The daily peeling of mats can make your standard operating procedures complicated and time consuming. Not only do daily peels require the attention of a member of staff, they must also be disposed of properly and safely. Dycem CleanZone and WorkZone floor mats are a washable flooring solution, which are easy to clean. Less waste to manage, better for the environment and less time consuming.
All of our products are protected by Biomaster; a silver ion technology that actively inhibits the growth of bacteria. Our custom made and washable systems can easily be built into your protocol, to simplify your SOPs and provide a complete and sustainable zonal concept. No more daily peels and complicated disposal procedures. With Dycem you have total control.
Interested in Dycem? Call today on +44 (0)117 9548 721 or email us at contact@dycem.com and your enquiry will be directed to your specific Dycem representative.