Jerid Nemergut and Cody McCommas are in the business of clean starts.

The pair of University of North Texas graduates started Syndicate Sanitation a little more than a year ago after recognizing the sports community’s need for education on how to prevent and stamp out Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a bacterium that can cause difficult-to-treat infections easily spread through sports gear and in fitness facilities.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Jerid Nemergut and Cody McCommas are the owners of Syndicate Sanitation, a sports hygiene company. They offer services to protect sports gear and facilities from bacteria, mold and fungus.

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Old cleaning methods like bleach aren’t able to contain or clear up the infectious germs, the duo said.

“We want coaches to understand that there are new ways to approach these problems,” McCommas said. “That’s why preventative maintenance is so important.”

With a business office on Denton’s downtown Square, Syndicate Sanitation’s niche is the ability to offer onsite services for cleaning sports gear via its patented mobile unit — a 10-foot-by-6-foot converted trailer lined with racks and clips that has been adapted to hold helmets and pads in place during cleaning.

“It’s like a dry cleaner,” Nemergut said. “We walk up and shoot germs.”

The process is called Zero-Blast — a system that uses ozone, a naturally occurring gas that is heavier than air. The ozone ruptures the physical cells of the bacteria. The last step is applying protectant — a germicidal spray that bonds to materials and kills bacteria for 90 days.

“Our process leaves no residue,” Nemergut said. “The idea is that it cleans between cleanings.”

“Our business model is ‘we are constantly cleaning.’ What our system allows us to do … its able to destroy bacteria.” McCommas said.

Being mobile allows Syndicate Sanitation to go to its customers at various locations including drop-offs at local hockey shops.

They load and unload gear keeping it in order and can clean 50 to 60 sets of football equipment and 18 sets of hockey equipment in about an hour.

They recommend hockey gear be cleaned once a month and football gear every 90 days. The cost equates to less than $20 a child for football gear for the season.

“I have a son that skates 20 hours a week and his gear just reeks,” said Brett Howard, owner of Face Off Hockey Center.

Prior to seeing the mobile unit perform, “I was the biggest skeptic,” he said. But once his son’s gear went through the process, Howard held the hockey skate up to his face for a smell test.

“It had been the vilest smelling thing in the world,” Howard said of his 13-year-old son Devin’s hockey skate. “And it didn’t smell. I said, ‘All right, I’m in.’”

Approximately 50 or 60 families currently use Syndicate Sanitation’s service at Face Off.

“We actually intake all the bags and tag them,” Howard said.

“We call them and let them know how many bags. It’s really kind of a unique process.”

“We have not had a single player out of 250 with any type of staph or MSRA,” he added.

“The last thing I want is to have a kid get a staph infection,” Howard said. “We haven’t had any problems and the best thing is it doesn’t stink.”

“I’d do it just for the smell,” Howard said.

In addition to cleaning gear, Syndicate Sanitation also applies its surface protectant in locker rooms.

Bill Sullivan, owner of Denton Health and Fitness, recently signed up for Syndicate Sanitation’s new facility protection program service. He said the service is very affordable and makes him feel more confident.

“It’s just an added security,” Sullivan said. “I keep a pretty clean gym but you wonder, ‘Is it enough?’ Now I know I’ve done everything I could. You always wonder — some products say they kill 90 percent [of germs]; what about the other 10 percent?”

LORI FORGAY can be reached at 940-566-6845. Her e-mail address is lforgay@dentonrc.com .