No Scrubbing Required With These Sanitation Cubes

By Lauren White, RCS Assistant Editor.

We walk through x-ray machines, sensors at grocery stores and now sanitation cubes?

As vaccines for the coronavirus continue to be developed and put into clinical trials, companies are doing their part to find solutions to keep people safe and help stop the spread of COVID-19 and future viruses.  For some companies this means handing out free face masks and providing people with hand washing stations, and for other companies, this means developing sanitation cubes.

Xtreme Cubes Corp., in partnership with Proguardeum Inc., developed a walk-through sanitation cube designed to combat the spread of COVID-19, in addition to other viruses and bacterias.  The Opti-Clean cubes are relocatable or permanent fixtures that spray a dry, sanitizing mist on people as they move through the cube.  The Opti-Clean cubes have already been put to the test and have proven to be beneficial on construction sites in Nevada.

SR Construction and W.A. Richardson Builders, two Las Vegas-based contractors, are using Opti-Clean cubes from Xtreme Cubes Corp. to help keep workers safe and healthy on jobsites and combat the spread of COVID-19.  SR President Bert Loughridge shared, “The cubes come with a patented solution that sprays a dry mist on workers or other people walking through the cubes at a normal pace.”

It’s a fast process, taking only three minutes for 30 workers to walk through safely at the Nevada job sites.  No protective equipment is required to use this cube; the dry mist is safe for use on skin, clothing and glasses.  The spray is a medical-grade hypochlorous (HOCL) solution that “...Has been safely used for decades to sanitize hospitals and in wound care. It is naturally produced in the human body and a common ingredient in many eye drops,” according to Xtreme Cubes Corp.  

“HOCL is listed by the CDC as a disinfectant for use against the coronavirus. It has been approved by the FDA and USDA for use as a non-rinse sanitizing solution, algicide, disinfectant and sanitizer,” Construction Dive reported.

While this is a new technology, there’s research and information to support the validity and effectiveness of the spray.  “We were able to provide all the documentation and literature on the product to quell any concerns about the solution,” Loughridge said.  And according to Xtreme Cubes CEO Brandon Maine, “The spray is a medical-grade hypochlorous (HOCL) solution, a dry mist that was used in a nursing home with confirmed COVID-19 cases to test its ability to kill the virus.”  

SR Construction has one sanitation cube on a job site in northern Nevada and two cubes on another job in southern Nevada.  “Integrating the cubes was relatively simple as we have significant space on the job sites where they are deployed, as well as the power to run them,” Loughridge said.

The cubes measure 12 feet x 8 feet x 8 feet, are made of weatherproof steel and have a one-year limited warranty.  Opti-Clean cubes are made in America and can be delivered nationwide.  With an 80-gallon tank, these sanitation cubes can hold enough solution to last for ten days or eight hours of continuous use.  

Additional features are available to customize the cube, including motion sensors that provide for intermittent traffic, a thermal camera and temperature systems.  With all of the options included, the cubes cost about $40,000.

While the cubes have been beneficial to use at construction sites, other locations can benefit from the Opti-Clean cubes, such as airports, jail systems and schools.  For the construction workers in Nevada, Loughridge explains, “...everyone was receptive to the idea of putting additional safety measurements in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses.”

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Photo courtesy of Construction Dive.