The importance of a good disinfection process anytime, particularly a pandemic

At Arise Diagnostics, we enjoy generating the data behind safety, and helping our clients understand their weaknesses and strengths within their processes. When Retail Music Integration (RMI) called us to discuss their multi-step disinfection process, we were excited to help measure the effectiveness of their efforts. In the beginning of March of 2020, COVID-19 had not yet hit a positive case in each state of the United States. In March of 2020, RMI was already designing a state of the art disinfection process for the remainder of the spring school year and in preparation for the Fall 2020 and years to come. At the heart of every great effort, is some spectrum of effectiveness, varying between successful or unsuccessful in those good intentions. RMI reached out to us and began to express interest in verifying the effectiveness of their disinfection efforts. The subject of cleaning vs sanitizing vs disinfecting is one we hear each day from our clients, however RMI had already installed a multi-step process, and retained our services to measure the effectiveness of their process. To see the the detailed steps of their process visit https://www.rentmyinstrument.com/uvc or ​https://bacmusic.com/uvctreat.  To read the summary or full report of our study, which included ATP, Gram Stain Counts and PCR testing, please continue reading below. 

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Abstract (RMI-Disinfection Effectiveness Study)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a multi-step cleaning and disinfection process of musical instruments designed and performed by a company, Retail Music Integration (RMI), which is a retail music management company located in Kansas City, MO, founded in 2010. RMI manages and operates RentMYInstrument.com, Best American Craftsman, Benge, and B.A.C. Music Center of Kansas City. RMI overseas distribution of B.A.C. Musical Instruments, System Blue Marching and Canadian Brass Mouthpieces. RMI Provides moderation in manufacturing, distribution and retail processes in the music instrument industry.
 
The study sponsor, RMI LLC, retained Arise Diagnostics as a 3rd party environmental testing and diagnostic organization to determine if the multi-step cleaning and disinfection process was achieving a high level of safety for their current and prospective customers, especially amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic. Three scientific testing methods were used for testing and measurement, ATP, Gram Count and Stain, and PCR. The musical instruments tested were Flutes, Clarinets, Saxophones, Trumpets and Trombones. The surfaces tested within these instruments were keys, bodies, mouthpieces, reeds, bells, cork, key pads, and the instrument cases.
 
The summary observations of the RMI-Disinfection process are as follows:   

• effective in cleaning and removing biofilms as tested through surface ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) testing of musical instrument keys, body, bell, pads, and mouthpieces. 
• highly effective in disinfection through microbial gram stain testing as analyzed by a world-leading scientific bio-analytical laboratory. 
• effective in achieving a COVID19-free status for the musical instruments that completed the multi-step process, as confirmed through PCR (polymerase-chain reaction) by a world-leading scientific bio-analytical laboratory. 
• effective in cleaning the surfaces (keys, body, bell, pads, and mouthpiece) of used musical instruments to be as clean as the same surfaces of brand new musical instruments.

 
The RMI-Disinfection process is a highly effective process, successful in removing biofilms, bacteria, and graduating musical instruments void of SARS-COV-2, ie, to be free of COVID-19. Musical instruments undergoing the multi-step RMI-Disinfection process, as demonstrated through rigorous clinical and scientific testing, are void of contamination, successful in transmission risk mitigation, and creating an exceptionally clean musical instrument, that though in used condition (previously played or rented), is statistically equivalent to that of a brand new instrument. 

To view the full report, please see below. If your organization is interested in conducting a disinfection effectiveness study, verifying or validating your in-house or 3rd party efforts, or retaining Arise Diagnostics to help design your process, assess or mitigate your environmental risks, please contact us here.

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