Sheltered Housing Schemes run by Bethnal Green and Victoria Park Housing Association have benefited from a two-pronged attack against worn decoration and infection control with the application of Dulux Trade Sterishield, as part of a major refurbishment programme.
Mandela House and John Tucker House are the first of BGVPHA's sheltered housing schemes to be decorated using Sterishield, Dulux Trade's revolutionary new washable emulsion that inhibits bacterial populations such as MRSA. The unique formulation contains a non-hazardous silver bactericide that dramatically accelerates the decline of bacterial populations within 12 hours of contamination. This is a demonstrable improvement over standard paint where bacteria can survive 48 hours or longer.
Both schemes cater for persons over 60 years of age and comprise self-contained dwellings and communal areas. Sterishield was used across areas such as corridors, stairwells, communal kitchens and dining rooms to restrict the spread of infections such as MRSA, which pose the greatest threat to older age groups.
Sterishield was used in a Diamond Matt finish, which withstands repeated cleaning cycles and also benefits from the same aesthetic properties as traditional paint. This meant that the final finish wasn't compromised and tenants also weren't restricted in the colour choices available. When consulted, as part of the process, they were able to decide on a colour scheme from a wide range of options.
Dulux Trade Contract Partners, Topcoat Construction Ltd, undertook the work. Peter Reilly from Topcoat recommended the product to BGVPHA, he said: "We needed a product that was water-based, yet durable, but with Sterishield we were also able to offer so much more. You hear so much in the papers now about the risk of infection and so it seems sensible to include, whenever possible, any proactive measure you can. The beauty for us as contractors is that Sterishield is applied in just the same way as traditional paint and it covers really well."
Launched last year, Dulux Trade Sterishield has been independently tested in real life conditions created to assess its impact on MRSA, E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In all cases Sterishield demonstrated a dramatic rate of decline in bacteria population compared with standard paint.
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