Kaivac announces it has just been awarded its 13th patent from the U.S. Patent Office. The latest patent is for the company's Smart Towel System, which was introduced about five years ago.
 
At first glance, the Smart Towel looks very similar to a typical microfiber cleaning cloth. However, what makes it unique - and helped it earn U.S. Patent No. 8,800,094 - is the fact that the cloth can be folded into four quadrants on one side and then flipped over and folded into four more quadrants, allowing for a fresh quadrant to be used for cleaning surfaces.
 
"As you might assume, we nicknamed the Smart Towel the 'flipping and folding' towel; however, the flipping and folding serves a very critical purpose," says Tom Morrison, vice president of marketing for Kaivac.
 
"Each quadrant is number 1 through 4 on one side, and 5 through 8 on the other. This allows the user to know what section of the towel has been used and select a fresh quadrant for each new surface, helping to prevent cross-contamination."
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "studies have shown that, in situations where the cleaning procedure failed to eliminate contamination from [one] surface and the [cleaning] cloth is used to wipe another surface, the contamination is transferred to that surface."
 
Adds Morrison, it is exactly for this reason that the Smart Towel System was developed.
 
"We have seen too many studies and witnessed too many situations where the very cleaning tools used to keep surfaces clean and healthy are actually spreading disease. The Smart Towel is one more way of preventing this from happening," he adds.