Tag Archives: Covid-19

Helpful Tips For Disinfecting Your Office

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As offices start to reopen in the midst of Covid-19, we all must do our part in slowing its spread. This all starts with safe and informed cleaning practices. Cleanliness has always been important to maintaining good health, job performance, and the satisfaction of employees in the office. Today, there is a more particular emphasis to this, showing that the transmission of disease in the workplace through surface contact is a real threat. In some more extreme cases, it can shut down an entire operation.


This blog will provide helpful tips for disinfecting your office. Following these tips and guidelines will help ensure you keep your business running smoothly, and more importantly your employees safe.


How and When to Clean
“Cleaning” is essentially referring to the use of detergent or soap mixed with water to remove germs from surfaces. This will reduce the risk of spreading infectious diseases. Yes, cleaning removes dirt, grime and debris as well as reducing germs, but it does not necessarily kill the germs.


Cleaning should take priority for everyday office use. Per the CDC guidelines, it is recommended for daily cleaning even when there are no potential instances of infection. Hight touch surfaces, which we will go more in depth below, should be cleaned regularly. If an office co-worker is sick, you may want to add a time to disinfect these surfaces as well.


Disinfect High Touch Surface Areas


Bacteria and viruses alike can live on surfaces on a number of different materials. For example, Covid can live on plastic for as long as 3 days! With this, comes a high risk of spreading infection on high touch surfaces by employees. If there is a sick employee, it is important to disinfect these high touch surface areas throughout the day:


-Doorknobs

-Desk, tables, and countertops

-Computer monitors, mice and keyboards

-Shared office equipment (fax machines, printers, phones)

-Light switches

-Elevator buttons

-Faucet handles and toilets

-Breakroom equipment (vending machines, coffee makers, etc.)


Maintain a Safe Office Space


Safe habits are essential in preventing the spread of Covid-19 or any disease for that matter. To keep the office running without exposure – or to limit exposure at the very least – make sure you remember 2 things: isolating and reacting to instances of illness. Below are a couple ways to maintain a safe and germ-free work space.


Hand washing is and will continue to be the best way to prevent the contraction and/or spread of germs. Regularly communicate what the best practices are to employees. As needed, employees should be washing their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.


It is also important to keep cleaning supplies and disinfecting wipes available. It is crucial to react quickly to sickness. Always maintain a log of your cleaning supplies so you have them properly stocked at all times. What has been seen more and more, and is a great idea as well is to install hand sanitizer stations in convenient locations along with disinfecting wipes to encourage their use.

The Importance of Schools Hiring Professional Cleaners Post Covid-19

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The Importance of School Cleaning Services for a Healthy Environment

At long last, summer is coming to a close and schools are reopening their doors and welcoming back the bright students of tomorrow. Thanks to Covid-19, there has been A LOT of hygiene changes on top of all the confusion on how to protect our schools the best we can. So, I ask you this, how clean are the schools that you and/or your family are attending? No need to fear since professional cleaners are here to save the day! With all of these increased practices for cleanliness, hygiene, etc., schools all across the country are having trouble keeping up with all of these new responsibilities. Thus, leaving copious amounts of added stress and anxiety on both students and staff members alike.


How exactly can professional/commercial cleaning services help protect against Covid-19? And what new cleaning rules are being applied to our schools? Below we will cover why schools NEED to hire professional cleaning services now, and when this pandemic is fully in the rear view.


How Professional Cleaners Protect Schools


Step 1 – the most important step – is to outsource and hire professional cleaning services if not done so already. The key to this before fully deciding on a service is to make sure that the school’s custodial and maintenance staff are thoroughly educated. Professional cleaners have been extensively trained for these tasks and are in compliance with CDC recommendations. Professional cleaning companies – for the most part – are able and willing to establish their own personal cleaning regimen that is uniquely fit to your school, facility along with the virus that was introduced to the school in the first place.


In short, school cleaners may not be fully aware of the proper things to use in certain areas.


Benefits of Using Professional Cleaning Services


Simply put, if there is a spike in Covid-19 cases, professional cleaning services should be the first to be contacted. We, as professional cleaning companies are capable of following all of the procedures and requirements needed to decontaminate the area. From start to finish this can be completed a lot faster than the school districts themselves, all while following the local and state CDC regulations. All of the sanitation equipment can and will be provided along with following procedures which allow for the ease of cleaning the entire school inside and out.


This will provide all of the parents of students with the peace of mind that they desperately need.


How to Take Care of Schools Without Disruption


All schools alike are very important institutions, so when it comes to management, there are going to be different rules for each school. If the funds for a school allows them to outsource their cleaning, they can assure that it is going to be clean and safe! Just like any facility or office manager, cleaning issues such as mold or allergens you should and will not ever have to deal with. On top of this, any schedule the school needs to be worked can be worked! This will avoid any disruptions during the school hours.


Any emergency that arises, professional cleaners are going to be prepared as they have additional training along with special equipment and most importantly, specialized equipment for mold. This is one of the main culprits that can make people ill if not properly taken care of.


These school cleaning services will come with high quality and reliable services, and may be more reasonable than you may think. The bottom line is that we all have to remain vigilant when it comes to keeping viruses and hygiene practices in check.

Disinfecting vs. Sanitizing: What To Know In A Covid-19 World

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Over the last 17+ months, our lives have been overtaken by this pandemic with safety and hygiene being the main concern for all of us. The nature of this virus plus ways to combat it have become very crucial, and with constant research it has been implanted into our daily work routines. Businesses around the globe now more than ever face what it means to be “clean” and has become one of the top priorities.


For the vast majority, “disinfecting” and “sanitizing” have always seemed interchangeable, but are very important to delineate. Looking at these two as cleaning strategies can be wildly consequential for the safety and well-being of your employees and customers if you are unaware of the similarities and differences amongst them. Below, we will take a look at what is sanitizing and what is disinfecting along with when to use one or the other.


Sanitizing


What is sanitizing? Sanitizing is the removal of germs from surfaces, and most times the safe levels of sanitation are determined by public health authorities. It essentially refers to reducing the number of germs rather than actually killing them all, and clears surfaces of visible contaminants as well as reducing the number of bacteria.


Cleaners need to be EPA-certified in order to carry the label of “sanitizer” or “disinfectant” by law. Yes, some can be qualified as both in certain cases. Sanitizers are defined by the EPA as being able to kill 99.9 percent of germs. However, this does NOT include most viruses, mold or fungi.


When to Sanitize


Sanitizers are very popular in the food industry mainly because of the fact that they are safer when we are in contact with them. Disinfectants are very powerful where it can cause serious harm to us if we come into bodily contact with them or ingesting any of its residue. An important consideration when cleaning countertops that will be used for food preparation is safe cleansers. It is very critical to follow use instructions on these food contact sanitizers for safety purposes. Always allow for the products to dry completely before using these surfaces.


Disinfecting


What is disinfecting then? Disinfecting refers to the killing of germs on surfaces. It lowers the risk of the spreading of infection by eliminating viruses, bacteria, mold and fungi through the usage of much stronger and more thorough chemicals.


Disinfectants do NOT kill all germs. Disinfectants kill 99.9 percent of microorganisms as defined by the EPA in which are labeled on the product that are actually targeted. One major difference between the two methods of cleaning is that disinfecting does not refer to the actual removal of any visible contaminants from surfaces.


When to Disinfect


Since these cleansers are the more powerful, disinfectants are used best in areas that are high-touch or used by a known sick person. Disinfectants should be used periodically in areas with constant contact and by many people. A common area where this is specifically important and prone to such contamination are bathrooms. Other common high touchpoints include: doorknobs/door handles, sinks, toilets, light switches, desks/tabletops, keyboards, phones. Now, with this there are many CDC guidelines with disinfecting in commercial facilities to follow for the most optimal safety.

In conclusion, using disinfectants are the most effective way to eliminate the spreading of pathogens such as Covid-19. While these products can eliminate such hazards, they can be highly hazardous to our body and health in general if overly exposed. Save this for high-touch or areas with heavy contamination that have potentially been exposed to infectious diseases. Sanitizers are a good go-to for everyday germ removal and good for cleaning spills and contaminated areas in mainly healthy workplaces.