The impact of cleaning on the microbiomes of indoor surfaces

Research into cleaning agents and disinfectants and associations with human health is typically performed from a chemical or particle exposure perspective. We lack good understanding of how cleaning chemicals and practices affect the microbiomes on indoor surfaces in real-life environments and what...

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Main Authors: Martin Täubel, Emmanuelle Castagnoli, Tunga Salthammer, Lidia Morawska, Heidi Salonen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-10-01
Series:Indoor Environments
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950362024000183
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author Martin Täubel
Emmanuelle Castagnoli
Tunga Salthammer
Lidia Morawska
Heidi Salonen
author_facet Martin Täubel
Emmanuelle Castagnoli
Tunga Salthammer
Lidia Morawska
Heidi Salonen
author_sort Martin Täubel
collection DOAJ
description Research into cleaning agents and disinfectants and associations with human health is typically performed from a chemical or particle exposure perspective. We lack good understanding of how cleaning chemicals and practices affect the microbiomes on indoor surfaces in real-life environments and what that might imply for human exposure and health. The objective of this review was to provide an overview and summary interpretation of studies investigating these aspects. Literature searches were performed using PubMed and Web of Science, limiting the results to studies published between 2013 and 2023. In total, 72 original research papers fulfilled our inclusion criteria and were considered in the data extraction. We found that the literature is dominated by experimental laboratory studies that evaluate and compare cleaning/disinfection efficacy of individual or multiple products or approaches. Such studies are largely motivated by the need to reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and to respond and prepare to outbreaks and pandemics caused by microbes. Observational studies in real-life environments are less common and report partly contradicting results with respect to the impact of cleaning on surface microbiomes. Promising results from probiotic cleaning and hygiene systems (PCHS) applied to healthcare environments encourage concepts of curating or engineering indoor microbial populations rather than trying to eliminate them. Studies on re-establishment of surface microbiota indicate that efforts to eliminate microbes from indoor surfaces are indeed inefficient, which adds to concerns over promoting antimicrobial resistance and increasing chemical loads indoors due to excessive use of cleaning agents.
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spelling doaj-art-23f53376451b490aa22e7e38012db77f2025-08-20T02:50:30ZengElsevierIndoor Environments2950-36202024-10-011310002110.1016/j.indenv.2024.100021The impact of cleaning on the microbiomes of indoor surfacesMartin Täubel0Emmanuelle Castagnoli1Tunga Salthammer2Lidia Morawska3Heidi Salonen4Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Department Health Security, Environmental Health Unit, Neulaniementie 4, Kuopio FIN-70210, Finland; Correspondence to: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Neulaniementie 4, Kuopio 70210, FinlandAalto University (Aalto), Department of Civil Engineering, PO Box 12100, Aalto FIN-00076, FinlandFraunhofer WKI, Department of Material Analysis and Indoor Chemistry, Braunschweig 38108, Germany; Queensland University of Technology (QUT), International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (WHO CC for Air Quality and Health), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaQueensland University of Technology (QUT), International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (WHO CC for Air Quality and Health), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaAalto University (Aalto), Department of Civil Engineering, PO Box 12100, Aalto FIN-00076, Finland; Queensland University of Technology (QUT), International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (WHO CC for Air Quality and Health), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaResearch into cleaning agents and disinfectants and associations with human health is typically performed from a chemical or particle exposure perspective. We lack good understanding of how cleaning chemicals and practices affect the microbiomes on indoor surfaces in real-life environments and what that might imply for human exposure and health. The objective of this review was to provide an overview and summary interpretation of studies investigating these aspects. Literature searches were performed using PubMed and Web of Science, limiting the results to studies published between 2013 and 2023. In total, 72 original research papers fulfilled our inclusion criteria and were considered in the data extraction. We found that the literature is dominated by experimental laboratory studies that evaluate and compare cleaning/disinfection efficacy of individual or multiple products or approaches. Such studies are largely motivated by the need to reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and to respond and prepare to outbreaks and pandemics caused by microbes. Observational studies in real-life environments are less common and report partly contradicting results with respect to the impact of cleaning on surface microbiomes. Promising results from probiotic cleaning and hygiene systems (PCHS) applied to healthcare environments encourage concepts of curating or engineering indoor microbial populations rather than trying to eliminate them. Studies on re-establishment of surface microbiota indicate that efforts to eliminate microbes from indoor surfaces are indeed inefficient, which adds to concerns over promoting antimicrobial resistance and increasing chemical loads indoors due to excessive use of cleaning agents.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950362024000183Cleaning productDisinfectantCleaningMicrobiomeMicrobeIndoor surface
spellingShingle Martin Täubel
Emmanuelle Castagnoli
Tunga Salthammer
Lidia Morawska
Heidi Salonen
The impact of cleaning on the microbiomes of indoor surfaces
Indoor Environments
Cleaning product
Disinfectant
Cleaning
Microbiome
Microbe
Indoor surface
title The impact of cleaning on the microbiomes of indoor surfaces
title_full The impact of cleaning on the microbiomes of indoor surfaces
title_fullStr The impact of cleaning on the microbiomes of indoor surfaces
title_full_unstemmed The impact of cleaning on the microbiomes of indoor surfaces
title_short The impact of cleaning on the microbiomes of indoor surfaces
title_sort impact of cleaning on the microbiomes of indoor surfaces
topic Cleaning product
Disinfectant
Cleaning
Microbiome
Microbe
Indoor surface
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950362024000183
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