GreenEarth Cleaning – a company specializing in environmentally friendly drycleaning processes – was recently awarded a U.S. Patent for the development of an anti-viral cleaning methodology which has been incorporated into the GreenEarth Cleaning System.The patent enables the company’s affiliates to integrate vaporization into the drycleaning cycle and provides a high level of protection from current and future lipid-layer viruses.
Tim Maxwell, president of GreenEarth Cleaning explains: “In the spring of 2020 – after the World Health Organization (WHO) had declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic – we contracted with MRI Global, an independent laboratory approved for testing with Sars-CoV-2.Our intent was to determine the effectiveness of our system in penetrating the lipid layer of the coronavirus using a high drying temperature of 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius) for 30 minutes. We were surprised when the initial reports showed only a 14.28 percent deactivation efficacy with heat alone. So, we went back to the drawing board.”
Through manipulation of the washing, extraction, and drying steps, deactivation levels of 75 percent were initially achieved. Based on that result, the company created a silicone vapor program component that achieved, according to Green Earth, a deactivation level greater than 98 percent on SARS-CoV-2 contaminated wool fabrics.
