As employees return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic and operations resume in publicly accessible spaces, it is vital to reduce the potential for virus contamination in the workplace and community. Germs and virus particles can remain on surfaces for hours or even days. It’s possible for people who touch contaminated surfaces to spread infectious disease onto other surfaces or become infected themselves if they touch their eyes, mouth or nose.
Whether you run an office, public facility, retail business or educational institution, you should maintain standard protection measures against the cold and flu virus — encourage employees to wash their hands often, cover coughs and sneezes, and stay home from work when sick. Provide hand sanitizer for employee and customer use while they are inside your building. There are also plans you can implement to reduce your risk without relying on individual people’s actions, including cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
Professional Total Building Disinfection Services
In addition to your current virus prevention plans, consider professional cleaning and disinfecting to tackle areas that your janitorial staff may not be equipped or trained to handle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that all people who work with cleaning products and disinfectants be trained on their proper uses and how to read labels for hazards. This training protects workers from infection and the potentially life-threatening effects of handling hazardous chemicals.
When you disinfect for coronavirus, you can help slow the spread of COVID-19 and reduce your risk of other viruses and sicknesses. Professional total building disinfection services provide trained workers and the necessary equipment to ensure you benefit from proper cleaning and disinfecting.
The Difference Between Cleaning and Disinfecting
Understanding the difference between cleaning and disinfecting enables you to use both effectively to slow the spread of infectious disease:
- Cleaning surfaces removes germs and pathogens: Cleaning uses water and soap to physically remove germs, dirt and other impurities from a surface. This process will lower the number of germs and lessen your risk of infection. While cleaning products may weaken or damage pathogens, they do not necessarily kill the remaining germs on a surface.
- Disinfecting surfaces kills germs and pathogens: Disinfecting uses chemicals to kill germs on surfaces. This process does not necessarily remove germs or clean the surface of dirt and impurities. Shared spaces where there is an increased risk of infection from touching surfaces may need disinfecting in addition to being cleaned.
Use a combined approach of regular cleanings followed by disinfecting for the most effective virus prevention plan. Disinfectants will kill remaining germs on your freshly cleaned surfaces, further reducing the risk of infection.
How Professional Total Building Disinfection Can Help
Professional total building disinfection services will thoroughly disinfect your facility. You can feel confident when you hire trained workers who understand the instructions for safe and appropriate use for various cleaning products, disinfectants and advanced equipment. Commercial cleaning and total building disinfection services are meant to remove and kill germs and pathogens in every part of your building, including everything inside it — from walls, floors and shelves to wheelchairs and desks.
Consider a total building disinfection service that utilizes the Clorox Total 360 system to eliminate germs and pathogens, including COVID-19, cold and flu virus, MRSA, norovirus, E. coli and salmonella. The Clorox Total 360 disinfecting system quickly and effectively reduces infection risk for coronavirus, flu, colds, measles, foodborne illness and many other sicknesses. Maintain a safe and healthy environment for your employees and customers with total building disinfection.
Keep Employees and Customers Safe
Your cleaning and disinfecting plan may require added attention to effectively prevent the spread of germs in commercial facilities and businesses that see multiple people a day. It is crucial to determine what types of germs and pathogens you want to target to apply the proper cleaning and disinfecting program. Consider if you only want to remove germs with regular cleanings or if you will need to kill germs with disinfectants, too.
Start with a cleaning program that addresses seasonal outbreaks of cold and flu viruses. Flu viruses are relatively fragile, but they can remain on surfaces and potentially infect people for up to 48 hours after the initial transfer. Routine cleaning and disinfecting can sufficiently remove and kill pathogens of this type.
You can further develop your cleaning and disinfecting plan by addressing the specific exposure risks, sources of exposure and transmission routes unique to COVID-19. These additions may include the enforcement of social distancing, more frequent cleanings or help from professional cleaning services.
When you form your cleaning and disinfecting plans, the following high-touch surfaces should be a priority:
- Door and window handles
- Light switches
- Elevator buttons
- Countertops
- Bathroom surfaces, toilets and faucets
- Workstations, conference tables and desks
- Computer monitors, mice and keyboards
- Kitchen and food preparation areas
- Vending equipment
- Hands-on learning items and children’s toys
- Personal touch-screen devices
- Publicly used phones
Target these and other commonly used areas specific to your facility — such as cash registers or credit card machines — with frequent cleaning, as often as several times a day.
For total safety, ensure the disinfectants being used are registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to kill influenza or coronavirus and that any workers handling these chemicals are properly trained. These safety precautions are meant to protect your janitorial staff, who are already at increased exposure risk.
Ensure each party’s responsibilities and expectations are clearly understood so you address all areas of cleaning and disinfecting while protecting all people in contact with your building. Hire a trusted commercial cleaning service for situations that your janitorial staff is unequipped or untrained to handle safely.
The Importance of Regular Building Disinfection
Disinfection procedures kill germs and pathogens that your routine cleanings may leave behind. Maintaining a safe community space is an ongoing fight, as any number of new people and new germs can be introduced to an environment every day. Regular building disinfection reduces any risk of spreading infection — whether the threat is known or unknown within your office or facility.
Appropriately respond to the following conditions, as they can increase the risk of infection from touching surfaces:
- A low number of people wearing masks.
- Noticeably poor personal hygiene, such as infrequent hand hygiene and uncovered coughing or sneezing.
- High transmission of COVID-19 in your community.
- Occupants who are primarily at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
If you are aware of any of the above conditions, instate more frequent cleanings and regular building disinfections and consider more extreme measurements as needed. If you know your facility had a recent occupant who is sick or tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 24 hours, clean and disinfect the building.
Total Building Disinfection Year Round
You should practice routine cleaning and disinfecting of your building every season. Employees need to understand the importance that the cleaning and disinfecting process have on their well-being and safety. Various germs and pathogens can be transferred year-round. That’s why Corporate Clean Services provides our total building disinfection service all year round.
It is unnecessary to disinfect surfaces every time you clean and would be unrealistic and even discouraged due to the chemicals used. Regularly scheduled total building professional disinfection services can be a safe solution for offices and facilities that want to reduce their risk of infection further.
Different pathogens may be more prevalent in different seasons, so it’s essential to target organisms and choose a disinfectant that will neutralize them. We can disinfect your building for various target germs and pathogens throughout the seasons and make total building disinfection an effective, all-year process.
Trust Corporate Cleaning & Facility Services for Total Building Disinfection
As one of the top commercial cleaning companies in Michigan, Corporate Cleaning & Facility Services is dedicated to helping you keep your building in Grand Rapids clean and disinfected. We have been exceeding expectations with our fast and effective cleaning solutions for more than 40 years.
Our total building disinfection services keep your employees and customers safe by reducing the risk of infection with the Clorox Total 360 disinfecting system. If your building would benefit from professional cleaning services and total building disinfection, contact us today!
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