Sensor Taps
Sensor-operated taps are widely used in healthcare facilities and are intended to reduce the risk of transmission of bacteria through hand contamination. They are operated via an infrared sensor that activates a solenoid valve, allowing water to move through the tap body to the outlet. Sensor taps are used primarily in wall-mounted configurations in association with clinical wash basins but may also be used in deck-mounted applications.
Although intended as a measure to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections, sensor taps have been at the center of studies that have identified them as being implicated in cases of microbial contamination and outbreaks of Pseudomonas. This has mainly been attributed to contamination issues with complex TMVs associated with sensor taps, but also where healthcare staff have been unable to freely use the outlet, resulting in ineffective hand hygiene practices in hand contamination of the outlet.
Sensor Taps and Point-of-Use Filters
Hand wash stations in healthcare settings should be designed to mitigate the risk of transmission of harmful bacteria to end-users and patients. This includes considering how the tap and outlet will operate once a point-of-use water filter has been installed. This should consider how the installation of a filter may affect the operation of the tap, how end-users interact with it, and ensure that filters do not impede any specific inherent infection control design feature.
Installation of a point-of-use filter will inevitably impact how a hand wash station is used. Unfortunately, this is an area that is often overlooked at the design stage and can result in a scenario where the installation of a filter may compromise controls intended to mitigate against retrograde- and cross-contamination caused by hand contact with sensor taps.
Incompatible point-of-use filters can impact sensor-operated taps in several ways: