Antimicrobial coatings for treatment of surfaces in a building setting and method of applying same

#The present invention relates to coatings for surfaces and applying coatings to surfaces, particularly antimicrobial coatings that may be applied to surfaces.

#People have long been concerned with protecting themselves from microbes that cause disease, infection, and the growth of bacteria and mold. Making products with antimicrobial additives helps increase protection from microbes. Products containing antimicrobial additives are currently in abundance on the shelves of stores and in consumers' homes, including soaps, lotions, and air fresheners/disinfectants. Such products are used to clean surfaces that may have microbes on them, which offers some protective benefits but does not prevent the microbes from returning. In the field of healthcare, medical devices and dental instruments, as well as various surgical implants, are made with antimicrobial additives to product against the spread of germs and infection. These devices are themselves impervious to microbes. To protect surfaces in the same way, it would be possible to replace the surface entirely, with a new surface that includes antimicrobial additives. However, replacement can be very costly and is not possible in all cases. For example, though costly, it is relatively easy to replace a door or a countertop; it is harder or impossible to replace a wall of a building. Thus, a way of protecting surfaces from microbes that does not require replacing the surface is desirable.

#In a first embodiment of the invention there is provided a method for providing antimicrobial protection to a building, where the building has at least one exterior wall, and the at least one exterior wall has an outer surface and an inner surface. The method includes accessing the inner surface of the at least one exterior wall; providing an antimicrobial treatment including a colloidal polymeric medium, capable of being sprayed onto a surface to establish an antimicrobial polymerical coating; and spraying the antimicrobial treatment on the inner surface, so that such surface has an antimicrobial coating.

#Embodiments of the current invention provide a method for providing antimicrobial protection to surfaces, particularly surfaces that require protection from microbes, bacteria, fungus, mold, and the like. Certain embodiments of the current invention are envisioned for protecting the walls of buildings, for example, the inner surfaces of a building's exterior walls. Embodiments may also be used to protect any other surface, including but not limited to countertops, surfaces in food preparation areas such as kitchens, surfaces in bathrooms, doorknobs, door handles, interior and exterior doors, and inner walls, to name but a few.

#Various aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to applying an antimicrobial treatment to the inner surfaces of a building's exterior walls, although it will be apparent that these aspects apply generally to other situations where an antimicrobial treatment may also be used. An exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows antimicrobial protection to be provided to a building, where the building has at least one exterior wall, and the at least one exterior wall has an outer surface and an inner surface. An example of such an inner surface can be seen in FIG. 1. The inner surface of the exterior wall is first accessed. Then, an antimicrobial treatment, capable of being applied to any surface to establish an antimicrobial polymerical coating on that surface, as further described below, is provided. Finally, the antimicrobial treatment is sprayed on the inner surface, so that such surface has an antimicrobial coating.

#Thus, the method may be used to apply an antimicrobial treatment to the inner surface of an exterior wall of a building. In particular, the method is especially useful when used in connection with new construction, or a building in the process of being constructed, because accessing the inner surfaces of the exterior walls is simple. The simple access to inner surfaces of exterior walls in new construction can also result in a great cost savings, because such inner surfaces are exposed during the construction process, and no additional steps are needed to access the inner surfaces. Further, when the microbial treatment is applied to new construction, any desired surfaces exposed or installed during the construction process may have the treatment applied to them. These surfaces may include, but are not limited to, doors, door handles or knobs, countertops, and kitchen and bathroom fixtures.