One such national treasure is the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom, which opened 112 years ago.

The Ballroom has seen millions of feet flit across the floor to every type of dance step over the years, and with age brings the inevitable dust, dirt and necessary cleaning.

Every year a special cleaning program brings the ballroom back to its former glory, with an essential floor-cleaning regime.

It begins with industrial steam cleaning services for the more than 120 feet of wooden floors, comprising of 30,602 blocks of gorgeous mahogany, oak and walnut.

Once the floors are finished, 14 chandeliers have to be carefully taken down and dusted, cleaned and bulbs replaced. It’s a mighty task when each chandelier has more than 80 bulbs.

“As you can see it is quite a large job, with over a century of history to be cleaned and polished,” admits The Blackpool Tower General Manager, Kate Shane.

“But it’s well worth it to see the end result, a breathtaking ballroom just as it was over 100 years ago.

“With hundreds of bulbs to be checked, replaced or dusted, it’s all hands on deck to ensure it is done swiftly and to the highest standard.

“The whole process takes two weeks and has to be done with the upmost care to ensure the whole Ballroom looks just as good as it did when it opened back in 1899.

“The annual spring clean happens each year, apart from 1957 when the Ballroom had been devastated by fire.”

The Ballroom sits inside the Blackpool Tower and is open each day to the public to come and show off their dance moves.

A UK building firm was fined after a court heard it failed to provide basic washing and welfare facilities for workers despite enforcement action at another of its sites.

Proper washrooms fitted with hand towel dispensers or hand dryers are basic needs for employees.

A Health and Safety executive visited the firm on 16 June 2011 at its building site in Bristol and found a lack of proper washing and bathroom facilities.

Bristol Magistrates’ Court heard managers of the company knew exactly what the requirements were, as an Improvement Notice was earlier issued at another site run by the company.

On further investigation, the inspectors found the problems had existed during the entire period the site was in operation.

The court heard up to sixteen building people worked on site and facilities were way below the minimum requirements.

Although the firm may have thought they were cutting costs by not providing adequate washroom facilities, they were fined for their negligence.

HSE inspector Sue Adsett said:

“Workers on sites such as these need access to clean and working toilets and hand washing facilities with hot and cold running water, SOAP and TOWELS, as many materials used on such sites can cause skin problems.

“It is also a legal requirement to have a heated room on site where workers can change, rest, and make hot drinks and food if required.”

The firm pleaded guilty, were fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,014.

The case acts as a warning to companies who do not see the importance of hygiene facilities.

But the hefty fines show that hot and cold running water, properly stocked soap dispensers and hand towel dispensers, and clean areas are worth the price.

Health Minister Simon Burns announced goals to reduce the numbers of MRSA bloodstream infections and C-Diff infections significantly by April 2013, building on the progress over the past year made by the NHS.

If the resolution is met, there will be a further 29% reduction in MRSA bloodstream infections and a further 18% reduction in Clostridium difficile infections - bringing annual numbers of MRSA bloodstream infections down to 880 and reducing Clostridium difficile infections from 19,754 to 16,100.

Health Minister Simon Burns said: “There has been great progress in reducing MRSA bloodstream and Clostridium difficile infections in some parts of the NHS, but we want everyone at the level of the best.

“This progress shows the impact that our drive for greater transparency and strict infection control measures can have to prevent avoidable infections and help provide a clean and safe environment for patients.

“But there is still more to do before we have achieved our objective of zero tolerance for all avoidable healthcare associated infections and it is vital that we continue to reduce variation across the country.

“That is why we have set each Trust their own objective - to drive further improvements, particularly in the organisations with the highest rates of MRSA bloodstream and C. difficile infections.”

Preventing cross-contamination by washing hands with antibacterial soap from automatic soap dispensers and hand drying with towels from paper towel dispensers or automatic hand dryers to complete the process is essential in the fight against infection.

Recent statistics reveal that for the first time since mandatory surveillance began in 2001, MRSA bloodstream infections across the NHS have been sustained at under 100 reported cases per month for the last six months.

The resolution builds on the Prime Minister’s commitment to focus on improving quality in the health service and ensure that every patient is cared for with compassion and dignity in a clean environment.

The study, which was conducted by a carpet care firm, showed that while men are focusing on carpet cleaning, women tackle cooking, vacuuming, ironing and bed making.

Men tend to focus on jobs outside the home including taking out the bins, gardening and pool cleaning.

While women spend 65 days a year cleaning, men get away with only 23 days dedicated to jobs around the home.

Mum Cathy Lamblin told her local newspaper that the study’s results rang true for her, explaining that her husband Denis prefers to work outside because males “like more manly jobs”.

“Most of the jobs inside are boring, like making beds. Denis helps with the cooking, but he is more likely to work outside,” she said.

“I was quite proactive to get the boys to do the washing and the cooking, and now they have become independent”.

Although often forgotten about and seen as less essential, regular and steam carpet cleaning is essential to keeping a hygienic home.

Keeping debris and dirt under control can reduce airborne infections and allergies.

The next time your man of the house offers to help out with the cleaning, hand him the steam cleaner.

A bright blue light has become the latest tool in the fight against infection for a hospital in South Carolina, USA.

The Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg & Calhoun Counties is the first hospital in South Carolina to acquire a Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfector (Tru-D).

It is used in conjunction with regular cleaning practices and essential hygiene habits such as washing hands with soap from soap dispensers and drying with paper towels from hand towel dispensers.

Officials say it adds another layer of protection in patient rooms and operating suites against multi-drug resistant germs.

“We want our patients to have the safest health care we can provide,” said Dr. John Samies, infectious diseases specialist and chairman of RMC’s Infection Control Committee.

“This high-powered ultraviolet light has moved cleaning of rooms and equipment to a higher level than we have been able to achieve before.”

Tru-D works by giving off ultraviolet-C energy, which kills bacterial pathogens and viruses that may be airborne or on surfaces.

This in turn can reduce patients’ risk of developing health-care-acquired infection.

Health care, schools and public facilities are at the forefront of the battle against environmental pathogens, which have become increasingly resistant to many antibiotics as well as to the chemicals used in the disinfection process.

“Tru-D is environmentally friendly, using no chemicals, while killing germs in the hospital,” Samies said.

RMC environmental services director, Henry Miller, said rooms are first cleaned in the traditional way; this is not a substitute for not using soap from a soap dispenser and drying with towels from a hand towel dispenser. Then the device is placed inside.

“The equipment’s sophisticated technology prevents anyone from being harmed by the bright blue light. Tru-D is able to check the room and determine how long it takes to get the job done. Then Tru-D goes to work killing germs,” he said.

As the economic outlook grows more doom and gloom with each passing day and also the chance of a double dip recession, experts warn that buyers need to steer clear of ’shark’ suppliers.

Industry players that purchase plastic refuse sacks, industrial cotton mops and paper products such as paper towels for towel dispensers and soap for soap dispensers, are being warned by the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA) that they need to increase their monitoring for shark suppliers.

Gordon Butt, the CHSA’s auditor for its Manufacturing Standard Accreditation Scheme, explained: “As the economic uncertainty continues we are seeing an increase in the cutting of corners by disreputable suppliers of cleaning and hygiene products and it is distributors and end users who are being affected.

“We randomly and regularly audit both members and non-members of the scheme and we have seen a jump in the number and extent of deficiencies amongst non-members.

“Some net deficiencies caused by, for example, reducing the number of sheets or shaving a little of the width or length of each sheet of a paper product are running as high as 20 per cent.

“This is the equivalent to a distributor or end user buying five boxes of product and only getting four; it’s clearly unethical and could be an offence if the dimensions are on the label and the labelling does not reflect the reduction.

“But there is no legal requirement to label the dimensions of the product and some suppliers are exploiting this and being vague with the labelling.

“If they tell you the number of sheets but not the dimensions of each sheet then you have no way of knowing if something you have always understood to be one size has suddenly ‘shrunk’.”

One way to avoid falling into this trap, especially when purchasing paper towels for a paper towel dispenser and soap for soap dispensers, is to buy from Manufacturing Standard Accreditation Scheme members.

“We regularly audit our members and deficiencies will ultimately result in expulsion from the Scheme,” said Graham Fletcher, general secretary of the CHSA.

“This means buyers can be certain they are getting what they pay for, even when times are tough.

“Anyone concerned about the quality of their purchase can call us for a free audit. Gordon will come out and thoroughly check the products, either giving you the ammunition you need or putting your mind to rest.”

Areas the scheme guarantees include: consistency of supply; accurate labelling; and fully audited manufacturers.

The British Cleaning Council has urged healthcare managers to focus on hygiene after an outbreak of noro-virus hit hospitals across the UK, severely restricting patient care and hospital efficiency.

Startlingly hundreds of beds throughout the country were made unavailable as wards were closed and visitor numbers limited. Hospitals were forced to isolate patients infected by the virus.

Noro-virus, also known as the winter vomiting bug, is extremely contagious and can be lethal to the elderly, very young or very sick patients. The condition causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea with the symptoms beginning about 12 to 48 hours after infection and usually lasting between 12 and 60 hours.

At high-risk public places such as hospitals, the spread of the infection is simple. One way to curb the transfer is to use proper hygiene procedures, including washing hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap from the soap dispensers and drying hands completely either with an automatic hand dryer or paper towels from a towel dispenser.

Mark Woodhead, Chairman of the British Cleaning Council, emphasised the importance of updating cleaning regimes and hand hygiene in combating the spread of infections.

He said: “When the risk of infection is high, it is vital that best practice is followed for hygiene, with rigorous cleaning regimes focusing on touch points and other areas at risk of contamination.

“In addition to this, if you are due to enter a hospital environment it is recommended that hands are washed regularly and thoroughly, while everyone should avoid visiting friends or relatives until they have fully recovered.”

The main focus on hospital cleaning is disinfection and stopping the spread of pathogens, using mopping systems and other janitorial items.

On almost every wall in the toilets there are signs saying ‘Wash Hands’ and antibacterial soap dispensers everywhere you look.

But there are other dangers lurking in patients’ rooms.

An infectious disease expert at Queen’s University helped develop a disinfection system that can stop bed bug outbreaks as well as change the way hospital rooms all over the world are cleaned.

The new technology involves pumping a Medizone-specific ozone and hydrogen peroxide vapour gas mixture into a room to completely sterilise everything - including floors, walls, drapes, mattresses, chairs and other surfaces. Scientists believe it is far more effective in killing bacteria than wiping down a room.

Dr. Zoutman worked with Dr. Michael Shannon of Medizone International to create the product, which is also used to kill bed bugs.

A major U.S. hotel chain has already expressed interest in the technology because of its potential to save the company millions of dollars in lost revenue and infected furniture.

Dr. Zoutman said the technique is similar to what Mother Nature uses to kill bacteria in humans.

“It works well for Mother Nature and is working very well for us,” said Dr. Zoutman

Although there are other disinfecting technologies that involve pumping gas into a room, Medizone’s method is the only one that sterilises as well as surgical instrument cleaning.

It leaves a pleasant smell and doesn’t affect any medical equipment in the room. The entire disinfection process takes less than one hour. However it is still essential to use mopping systems and scrubber/dryers.

Dr. Zoutman says the technology is not limited to hospitals and could even be used in food preparation areas and processing plants after outbreaks.

Increasing advancements in technology are continually helping to fight the battle against infectious diseases.

With the winter colds and other bugs around at this time of year, parents could save themselves trips to the doctors if they teach their children the importance of sufficiently cleaning their hands.

Germs are everywhere, so children should be encouraged to regularly wash their hands using soap from a soap dispenser and drying them with a hand dryer to prevent themselves and others getting ill.

Germs can spread very easily especially in busy places such as schools, touching dirty hands, couching or other contaminated surfaces can all increase the spread of disease.

When one child spreads germs to another child, an entire family can end up with cold or flu symptoms.

Hand-washing regularly and effectively is the first line of defence against the spread of many germs that cause illnesses such as a simple cold to Meningitis and Hepatitis A.

Parents should instil the hand washing habit from young age; washing hands with the children will help them to learn.

Make sure the children use warm water, not too hot, and using soap wash their hands for 20 seconds including in between fingers and under their nails.

Wash the soap off and dry thoroughly with an air hand dryer if possible, or use hand towels from a hand towel dispenser.

To stop germs spreading in the home parents should get children to wash hands before eating, after using the bathroom, cleaning, touching pets and sneezing.

This could be from a hand shake or touching an arm rest, just touching a door handle could lead to a full-blown cold or worse in days.

Germs can survive for hours on skin as well as objects all around you. The good news it’s as simple as washing your hands with soap from a soap dispenser and drying with a hand dryer to stop the transfer of harmful germs.

Remember to wash your hands before eating an in-flight meal. After you have departed the flight wash your hands with warm water and soap from a soap dispenser.

Traveling in a plane involves being situated in a cramped environment, often for a number of hours and it is not always possible to get out of your seat and down the aisle before every snack for hand washing. Tray tables may block aisles before meals are served, and your neighbours are unlikely to want you getting up and down throughout the flight.

Where hand washing with soap from a soap dispenser is not possible then alcohol-based products made for hand washing can be used instead, for example hand sanitizer gel.