Kimberly-Clark Professional has recently entered the premoistened surface disinfection wipes market, borrowing technologies from its consumer baby wipes and knowledge of the dry wipers markets, to fill a critical consumer need. Scott 24 Hour Sanitizing Wipes are the first wipes on the market to maintain surface sanitization for a full 24 hours, killing 99.9% of bacteria – even after multiple touches.

The product is described as a perfect marriage of a patent-protected formulation with K-C’s extensive materials’ science expertise, which spans not only the chemistry but also the base sheet, in the form of a meltblown nonwovens wipe, to deliver it.

Meltblown was chosen as the substrate material because of its optimized fibrous surface area and a unique bond pattern to ensure that the formulation is absorbed and distributed throughout the entire pore structure of the material. Additionally, optimized fluid distribution in the wipe leads to excellent controlled liquid release, which then helps to maximize the number of times the wipe can be used before it dries up. The substrate also features a unique bond pattern to create a surface topography that allows users to more easily remove soil.  

“The knowledge of the criticality of baby wipes – which includes a deep understanding of regulated products and how they can impact health and wellbeing – was a significant advantage for the team behind Scott 24,” says Julia Georgoff, general manager of North American Wipers, K-C Professional. “It drove our understanding on quality manufacturing processes, product safety and regulated product environments. KCP has also gained substantial knowledge in this journey by referencing our WetTask line of products—which allow end user customers to pair our substrates with their own chemicals. This product family added to our understanding of how our substrates respond to various formulations.”

Georgoff adds that this product is an example of the company’s customer-led innovation efforts and was developed through specific customer insights. “The teams worked closely with key customers across multiple segments to ensure K-C not only clearly understood their needs, but also conducted sufficient testing with customers to provide evidence-based confidence that their facilities and patrons are be protected against bacteria for longer period of times when using Scott 24,” she says.

While K-C is well known for its wipes substrate business—and by extension its nonwovens technology portfolio—creating the “juice” or “liquid formulation” in Scott 24 represents a new area of expertise for K-C Professional.

“From a raw materials perspective, we developed the liquid formulation completely internally, and in the development process, we tested the formulation with both K-C developed substrates and externally-sourced substrates,” Georgoff says.

K-C was recently honored with the World of Wipes (WOW) Innovation Award from INDA, for Scott 24, which are a portable solution for easily wiping surfaces and helping to continuously protect high-touch surfaces – such as door handles, elevator buttons, keypads, keyboards, countertops, airplane armrests, gym equipment, school desks, etc.

“These wipes offer a convenience and ease of use that makes them an ideal way to quickly and easily deliver a long-lasting antimicrobial formulation to a wide variety of surfaces,” Georgoff says. “Since we launched the product, we have seen success in segments that have reopened, while others like office buildings, have not fully returned yet. As additional segments steadily reopen, we expect to see further market penetration.”—KM