Koala Kare and Microban Collaborate on Baby Changing Stations

Antimicrobial science blended into the polymers offers round-the-clock product protection to these baby changing stations,

Koala Kare and Microban Collaborate on Baby Changing StationAs people and businesses emerge from a global pandemic with a heightened awareness of cleanliness, a clear challenge facing facilities managers is how to keep areas truly clean. This includes baby changing stations. They are considered a necessity, and even required by law in some countries. Whether it’s a restaurant, a mall, daycare, preschool, or anywhere where customers include parents, having baby changing tables in the washrooms is not negotiable.

In many cases, incorporating baby changing stations is taken into consideration right at the start of a build, during the architectural or constructional planning. However, whether it’s a matter of new or replacement fittings, an important part of designing these units is choosing a constituent material that is both sturdy and easy to clean.

The traditional cleaning methods and protocols for baby changing stations, comprising mainly of spraying with chemicals and disinfectants, are often inconsistent, and offer limited residual activity on the surface. This means that stations can become soiled after a single use, resulting in users wanting to clean the area themselves before they touch anything. Not only this, but restrooms are also ideal locations where odor-, stain-, or damage-causing microbes can thrive, giving users the impression of lax cleanliness and increasing costs when products degrade prematurely and need replacing.

Discolored, dirty surfaces can leave parents or guardians feeling uneasy, particularly in an environment with a number of babies, such as daycares or soft play areas. This kind of bad experience might even mean they feel reluctant to visit again. Effective cleaning of equipment and the surrounding environment are vital to keep surfaces clean and reassure users.

One partnership that is tackling this challenge head on is combining experience from both the baby changing and antimicrobial worlds. Koala Kare’s ergonomically designed baby changing units are equipped with storage facilities and liner dispensers, meeting all the relevant guidelines for safety and security.

A collaboration with antimicrobial specialist Microban® International has instilled built-in, round-the-clock product protection to its baby changing stations, helping to reduce microbial growth to keep individual units cleaner for longer. The range of scientifically-backed technologies from Microban is blended into the polymers during manufacturing of the changing tables, without compromising on color schemes, design or durability. The technology complements standard cleaning procedures but cannot be removed by harsh products, so that stations stay clean throughout their usable lifetime.

The approach of building antimicrobial product protection into baby changing units gives customers and business facilities much-needed peace of mind with respect to both cleanliness and durability. The post-pandemic world is far more educated in what science has to offer, and this collaboration can potentially touch the lives of all parents out and about with their babies and toddlers. It also addresses the concerns of facilities managers trying to provide clean and fresh changing stations for their customers, without the worry of grubby areas, unsightly degradation, and premature replacement.

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