A novel microwave mediated disinfection method for hospital linen

ABSTRACT

Linen fabrics used in healthcare facilities need proper disinfection and sterilization to ensure hygiene. Due to several side effects from the recommended chemical disinfectants, there is always a need for appropriate and affordable technology to disinfect and sterilize the linen. Here, we propose a device for dry sterilization of linen using microwave associated thermal heating system. The principle behind this device is dielectric heating, several optimizations, such as microwave strength, exposure, hold time; system heating, etc. was done to achieve an optimum cycle to disinfect the hospital linen. The optimized cycle was sufficient to reduce the surviving rate of microbes up to log 10 value at 70°C system temperature. This low temperature direct killing is suitable for both the life of linen and energy consumption