Eight laundered microfiber flat mops and one single-use microfiber flat mop were photographed at 20X’s, 40X’s using a 3D stereo microscope and 1,000X’s using a Scanning Electronic Microscope, SEM.
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW:
The laundered mops demonstrated significant contamination and microfiber degradation. In some instances, the microfiber in no longer effective since it is shown to be completely melted and containing foreign material. The melted microfiber indicates that the drying process utilized by the laundries is too harsh and irreversibly damaging the microfiber. The process also isn’t able to remove the obvious foreign material in addition to the chemical particulate accumulation.
These photographs support recent findings that the special laundry processes adopted for microfiber are not adequately removing gross soils and chemical build-up that have the potential to harbor microbiological pathogens.
