Systems And Processes For Treating Textiles With An Antimicrobial Agent

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method of treating a textile with an antimicrobial agent over a plurality of laundry cycles each including a wash cycle and a treatment cycle. The method includes (a) receiving a textile in a wash system for a first laundry cycle, (b) initiating a wash cycle comprising a detergent, (c) initiating a post-detergent treatment cycle comprising dosing the textile with a solution having a predetermined concentration of an antimicrobial agent that comprises a metallic ion, and (c) repeating steps (a)-(c) for each of a plurality of additional laundry cycles. The predetermined concentration is insufficient to achieve a predetermined antimicrobial efficacy for the textile due to the first laundry cycle alone but sufficient to achieve the predetermined antimicrobial efficacy for the textile due to a combination of the first laundry cycle and one or more of the plurality of additional laundry cycles.

1 . A method of treating a textile with an antimicrobial agent over a plurality of laundry cycles each comprising a wash cycle and a treatment cycle, the method comprising:
 (a) receiving a textile in a wash system for a first laundry cycle;   (b) initiating a wash cycle comprising a detergent;   (c) initiating a post-detergent treatment cycle comprising dosing the textile with a solution having a predetermined concentration of an antimicrobial agent that comprises a metallic ion; and   (d) repeating steps (a)-(c) for each of a plurality of additional laundry cycles, wherein the predetermined concentration is insufficient to maintain a predetermined antimicrobial efficacy for the textile due to the first laundry cycle alone but sufficient to maintain the predetermined antimicrobial efficacy for the textile due to a combination of the first laundry cycle and one or more of the plurality of additional laundry cycles.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the treatment cycle is a rinse cycle. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the textile comprises an inventory comprising a plurality of pieces. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined antimicrobial efficacy is maintained when the textile is infused with at least approximately 0.6 mg of metallic ion per kg of textile. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of laundry cycles comprises at least three cycles to provide the predetermined concentration in the textile. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined concentration is such that a content of the antimicrobial agent infused into the textile is less than approximately 0.5 mg of metallic ion per kg of textile in response to steps (a)-(c) performed for the first laundry cycle. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined concentration is such that the steps (a)-(c) can be repeated for at least 50 additional cycles without causing a distortion in color to the textile. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined concentration is approximately 0.5 mg to approximately 50 mg of antimicrobial agent per kilogram of textile. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dosing the textile with the solution includes forming the solution by diluting a concentrated metal ion solution in a container of the wash system containing the textile. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the diluting the concentrated metal ion solution includes transferring the metal ion solution to the container at a rate of approximately 1 ml/sec to 30 ml/sec. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the diluting the concentrated metal ion solution includes transferring the metal ion solution to the container over a dosing period of 15 seconds to 120 seconds. 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the solution comprises water treated by deionization or reverse osmosis. 
     
     
         17 . A method for treating textiles with an antimicrobial agent, comprising:
 (a) measuring a quality of a water source for a washing system;   (b) providing, in a first container, a first solution having a first predetermined liquid concentration of an antimicrobial agent that comprises a metallic ion;   (c) determining an amount of the first solution to transfer from the first container to the second container based on the measured quality of the water;   (d) transferring, from the first container to the second container, the determined amount of the first solution to provide a second solution having a second liquid concentration of the antimicrobial agent in the second container; and   (e) submerging the textiles in the second solution at least one of prior to, during or after step (d) to infuse the textile with the antimicrobial agent.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the second solution comprises the water from the water source and the first solution. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising providing an amount of the water from the water source to the second container prior to transferring the first solution from the first container to the second container, and wherein the measuring the quality of water comprises using a sensor located in the second container to measure the quality of the water provided in the second container. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the steps (a)-(e) are performed for an initial laundry cycle and the method further comprises:
 (f) repeating the steps (b), (d), and (e) in a plurality of subsequent laundry cycles.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the first predetermined liquid concentration is approximately 200 PPM to approximately 5000 PPM. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the determined amount of the first solution is inversely related to the measured quality of the water such that a greater amount of the first solution is determined in response to a measurement of poor quality of water than is determined in response to a measurement of good quality of water. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the amount of the first solution is determined such that the second concentration of the second solution is approximately 7.6 PPM (aq) to approximately 115 PPM (aq) responsive to the measured quality of water being approximately 0 RWQ to approximately 5 RWQ. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein at least one of the first solution or the second solution comprises water treated by distillation, deionization or reverse osmosis. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein submerging the textile in the second solution includes agitating the textile for between 30 seconds and 120 seconds. 
     
     
         26 . A method of reducing a microbial load in an inventory of textiles comprising a plurality of pieces at a healthcare facility, the method comprising:
 (a) receiving a first portion comprising a portion of the plurality of pieces of the inventory;   (b) initiating a laundry cycle comprising a wash cycle and a treatment cycle, wherein the treatment cycle comprises a solution having a predetermined concentration of an antimicrobial agent that comprises a metallic ion;   (c) receiving a subsequent portion of the inventory and repeating steps (b) in a subsequent laundry cycle for the subsequent portion, and   (d) repeating step (c) until a predetermined amount of the pieces of the inventory have achieved the predetermined antimicrobial efficacy, thereby reducing the antimicrobial load of the inventory.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein a single laundry cycle is insufficient to achieve the predetermined antimicrobial efficacy. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the subsequent portion includes a plurality of pieces from the first portion. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the predetermined amount of the pieces comprises at least 50% of the inventory. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the predetermined antimicrobial efficacy is achieved when the textile is infused with at least approximately 1 mg of metallic ion per kg of textile. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the solution comprises water treated by deionization or reverse osmosis. 
     
     
         32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . (canceled) 
     
     
         34 . (canceled) 
     
     
         35 . (canceled) 
     
     
         36 . (canceled) 
     
     
         37 . (canceled) 
     
     
         38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . (canceled) 
     
     
         40 . A method of infusing textiles with an antimicrobial agent comprising:
 (a) providing a tunnel washer having an intake, a discharge, and a plurality of modules that segment an interior of the tunnel washer between the intake and the discharge;   (b) moving the textile from the intake to the discharge through a plurality of modules;   (c) washing the textile with a detergent at a wash module of the plurality of modules;   (d) after washing the textile at the wash module, rinsing the textile at a rinse module of the plurality of modules; and   (e) treating the textile with a solution having a predetermined concentration of an antimicrobial agent at a treatment module, wherein the antimicrobial agent comprises a metallic ion.   
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , further comprising:
 (f) extracting excess fluid, including at least a portion of the solution, from the textile after the treatment module; and   (g) providing at least a portion of the extracted excess fluid to at least one of the rinse module or the wash module for processing a subsequent textile.   
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the solution comprises water treated by distillation, deionization or reverse osmosis. 
     
     
         43 - 51 . (canceled)