MaintenanceSuppliesMag.com |

There’s no denying that wipes are gaining momentum. The category that once consisted only of baby wipes and tiny, square hand towelettes has expanded to include metal polishers, glass cleaners, hand cleaners, sunscreen applicators and cosmetics removers, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Kristen Foth, marketing manager of ITW Dymon, says a Freedonia research report revealed that the wipes category realized a 7 percent growth surge in 2007 and is expected to continue at this growth rate through the year 2014. Furthermore, the study found that wipes are experiencing nearly twice the growth of other forms of cleaning chemicals, including bulk and ready-to-use.

Providing your customers with a variety of wet and dry wipe options can bolster sales and secure your position as a valuable jan/san distributor. Communicating the many benefits of wipes is the first step toward making the sale. Wipes are convenient, portable and easy to use. Spilling chemicals becomes a worry of the past for facilities that switch to disposable wipes, and they require little to no training.

HEALTHY AND SAFE

The jan/san industry is no stranger to protecting the public from disease. From MRSA, to the norovirus to the H1N1 flu (learn more about H1N1 on pg. 11), disinfecting and sanitizing surfaces and hands is the first line of defense against disease. Disposable wipes are ideal for combating diseases and viruses because they reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

After repeated use, sponges and cloths become full of bacteria and contaminate the surfaces they are meant to clean, a process called dissemination. “Disposable wipes are discarded after cleaning each surface, whereas cloths must either be changed out frequently, or folded and refolded from one surface to another, or else cross-contamination occurs,” says Tom Morrison, vice president of marketing of Kaivac.

Bob Jenkins, director of sales-specialty products for Cascades Tissue Group, says Cascades utilizes color coding to further safe-proof their wipes. “We color code the outer packaging, and in some cases, we color the wipe itself,” says Jenkins. “This signals to cleaning faculty which area of the facility the wipe should be used in.”

Wipes can also help the public keep their bodies free of germs and bacteria. Personal care wipes are nothing new in the baby arena, but anti-bacterial hand wipes for children and adults are now a mainstay.

“Anti-bacterial hand wipes are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to contain the spread of disease,” says Louis Cantelmo, director of national sales for Diamond Wipes. “People commonly transmit viruses and diseases when hands make contact with the mouth and eyes. Disinfecting hands is the first step toward staying healthy.”

Wipes are a handy resource in places where water use is limited. Cantelmo says wipes are used on cruise lines to prevent the spread of the norovirus and in health care facilities as an alternative to sponge bathing.

In addition to preventing the spread of disease, wipes can help facilities save money, as well.