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Mattress hygiene – six year case study in the Hotel Stadthaus, Burgdorf, Switzerland

en la categoría Noticias, Textiles domésticos
18.3.2014

Long-term study confirms lasting protection against dust mites and allergens in mattresses through Sanitized®.

Burgdorf, Switzerland:
The growing number of people suffering from allergies demands further measures in the hotel industry. Working together with SANITIZED AG, the four-star Hotel Stadthaus in Burgdorf, Switzerland, demonstrated during a six-year case study how mattresses can have lasting protection against dust mites and fungi, which are responsible for allergic reactions. SANITIZED AG is a global pioneer in the field of antimicrobial hygiene protection for textiles and plastics.

Hygiene in rooms plays an elementary role in the hotel industry for nearly every guest and in particular for those with allergies, and not just since TripAdvisor® inserted the Cleanliness category into its hotel ratings.

The Swiss company SANITIZED AG has many years of experience in the manufacture of products for antimicrobial mattress treatments, which hinder the growth of bacteria and fungi as well as hinder dust mite infestation. For this, they use patented technology developed in-house, which is based on the natural active ingredient zinc pyrithione. It has long been shown that the antimicrobial Sanitized® hygiene function works when used in mattress ticking. The list of mattress providers, who put their trust in this proved treatment, speaks for itself (including Bekaert Textiles and Hilding Anders Int.). Now, this effectiveness was investigated in a long-term case study in a hotel.

To do this, the Hotel Stadthaus in Burgdorf, Switzerland, was outfitted with 29 mattresses with Sanitized® hygiene function. After six years of regular use in real hotel operations, the mattresses were subjected to different test procedures: “No verifiable allergens” as well as “no measures necessary” was the result of the Dräger Bio-Check. These results were confirmed by the Laboratoire T.E.C. in Anglet, France, which works according to the international AFNOR test standard. In particular, these tests focused on bacteria and fungi, which are responsible for the presence of unwanted odors and for faster material deterioration, as well as dust mite feces, which can cause allergic reactions like head colds, asthma or skin reactions. In comparison with the unfinished control samples, drastic differences were revealed. In short: The Sanitized® hygiene function is still active even after six years of intensive use.

“Proved hygienic,” was how Thomas Jann, the director of the Hotel Stadthaus summarized the results of the long-term case study. He is enthusiastic about offering his guests an additional reason for selecting his hotel.

Stadthaus director Jann values the effectiveness of Sanitized® as active support for hygiene measures in his hotel. Because he also knows that, despite perfect cleaning management, it is virtually impossible to completely eliminate household dust mites. Therefore, the objective is to “disarm” the dust mites or rather their feces, which triggers the allergic reactions. In Germany, every tenth person suffers from household dust mite allergies; in Europe, every fifth person. Especially in beds and on mattresses, standard cleaning measures are not completely successful, because there are up to 10,000 dust mites living in one gram of dust. And mattresses are the perfect living space for them, because the average person leaves up to 1.5 liters of sweat and about 1.5 grams of dandruff there – every night! These are also ideal conditions for the reproduction of bacteria and fungi.

SANITIZED AG works worldwide with textile manufacturers, which label the hygiene competence of their treated articles with the Sanitized® Quality Seal. Urs Zihlmann, Product Manager Textile at SANITIZED AG, sees a growing interest in these partnerships. “Manufacturers have recognized that added product benefits offer them an important differentiation.” And this is also how Thomas Jann, the director of the Hotel Stadthaus sees things. To make sure that his guests know that he pays attention to total hygiene in his hotel, he actively advertises that the mattresses in the Hotel Stadthaus are finished with Sanitized®.

Currently, hotel director Jann is considering taking even more intensive action to meet the needs of those with allergies. Rooms with special furniture and curtain material as well as carpets, which are also treated with Sanitized®, could significantly increase the level of comfort even more for this growing group of guests.

www.stadthaus.ch
www.sanitized.com

SANITIZED AG

SANITIZED AG is the leading Swiss company worldwide in the field of the hygiene function and material protection of textiles and synthetic materials. For more than 60 years the company has been pioneering work in this field and has established itself as a specialist for individual hygiene concepts. Besides the effective products, the range of services includes consulting on marketing and technical issues, various testing services as well as a proven trademark and licensing concept. SANITIZED AG uses exclusively scientifically researched and registered antimicrobial active substances that have undergone the strictest   human and environmental risk assessments.