Wash your hands ya’ filthy animal
We all know that washing our hands helps stop the spread of COVID-19, but clean hands get dirty quickly in businesses where ‘high-touch’ surfaces are contaminated. It’s important to adopt good COVID-19 cleaning procedures.
We’re all taking precautions. We relentlessly wash our hands several times throughout the day, we diligently wear our facemasks. When we go for groceries, we wipe our carts and use tap to pay. The debit machines are prominent high-touch surfaces, so obviously, we’re careful.
We want our families and employees to feel safe and comfortable, so it is essential to take an informed approach to the way we clean.
Essential COVID-19 considerations for effective cleaning
Have a plan. Good cleaning does not require fanatical scrubbing. You don’t need to scrub every surface with copious amounts of over scented cleaning chemicals. Great cleaning is more about being informed. As part of its reopen guidance to Americans, the CDC recommends cleaning plans be methodically developed, implemented, and maintained. Here in Canada, Public Health calls it a procedure, but it’s essentially the same thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s business or family; a plan will help, and sticking to the program saves lives.
Don’t assume anyone is clean. For example, just look at the home. Any parent knows that children are essentially downright disgusting when left to their own devices. We love them, but kids are bio hazardous fountains of bacterial/viral liquids and gas.
Kids don’t do ‘personal hygiene.’ They don’t bother themselves with germs, nor are they concerned about licking door handles or eating dirt. Yes, it’s not just your kid; we’ve all been there ‘finger scooping’ mud and dirt from their mouths.
Your cleaning plan should consider the entire family, so we need to get them all on board. With more and more time spent at home, we all need to address safety.
Recognize High Traffic Areas
Cleaning our hands is essential. Cleaning high touch surfaces is also important. Learn to recognize high touch surfaces.
Consider some of these often-missed hotspots: Front entrances and foyers are where we make first-contact with door handles, buzzers, and enclosed air spaces. Require masks and provide touchless hand sanitizer dispensers at the front entrance. Put up a sign reminding people to clean and disinfect their phones. And use clean cloths each time you clean – a pro tip is to line your laundry baskets with plastic. It’s a small thing, but it will encourage better laundry practices.
This is also a great visual reminder for businesses. While many currently offer hand sanitizer, having disinfectant on hand keeps a visual reminder and tools in easy reach to give high traffic areas extra attention.
Consider These High-touch Hotspots in Your COVID-19 Cleaning Plan
Not every high-touch surface is as obvious as the keypad at the grocery store
Consider some of these often-missed hotspots: Front entrances and foyers are where we make first-contact with door handles, buzzers, and enclosed air spaces. Require masks and provide touchless hand sanitizer dispensers at the front entrance. Put up a sign reminding people to clean and disinfect their phones. And use clean cloths each time you clean – a pro tip is to line your laundry baskets with plastic. It’s a small thing, but it will encourage better laundry practices.
These ‘hotspots’ require additional cleaning in the home:
- tables
- toilets
- faucets
- countertops
- light switches
- laundry hampers
- television remotes
- phones and electronics
- handles to doors, refrigerator, dishwasher, cabinets, faucets, etc.
These ‘hotspots’ require additional cleaning in commercial spaces:
- desks
- phones
- keypads
- handrails
- light switches
- work surfaces
- cash registers
- elevator buttons
- customer service counters
- credit/debit card machines
- restaurant tables and chairs
- door accessibility buttons, door handles and doorknobs
While it is not known how long the COVID-19 virus can live on surfaces, it is believed to live on surfaces for anywhere between a few hours and a few days.
Coordinate With Professional Cleaners, Workplace Colleagues, and Family Members
Teamwork makes the dream work
A great way to tackle these areas is to assign each family member or employee an area to clean at different times of the day. For example, one family member can be responsible for wiping down the kitchen sink and fridge door handle at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before bed. You could assign one employee to replace and sanitizer at the entrance and another to wipe door handles.
In the workplace, shared cleaning duties can contribute to mental health. Getting employees involved in regular cleaning of high-touch surfaces can help employees to feel more comfortable that their workplace is taking their safety seriously during this pandemic. Bringing everyone into the plan lets everyone know that there is a plan, improving office well-being.
Professional cleaning services, like us here at Star-Brite Janitorial, are known to clean offices and commercial spaces at night. However, during these unprecedented times, front line cleaners should be cleaning your public spaces much more often. Scheduled cleaning services during the day will improve the safety of your workplace. Together, your pro cleaners and your employees will communicate and work together. We need teamwork to battle COVID-19.
We don’t know how long the virus lives on surfaces, but it’s comforting to know which cleaning products can kill the virus. The Government of Canada encourages using products that both clean surfaces and disinfectant surfaces for public spaces.
If you can’t find a good disinfectant , here are some cleaning hacks to make your own:
Use disinfectant spray: As long as you follow the directions on the label, you can always choose to use a regular disinfectant.
Use diluted bleach: When using diluted bleach, be sure to discard any additional cleaner after use so it cannot be potentially mixed with any other household cleaner. Don’t mix bleach and chlorine.
To make diluted bleach simply add:
- 250 mL (1 cup) of water per 5 mL (1 teaspoon) bleach, or
- 1 litre of water (4 cups) per 20 mL (4 teaspoons) bleach
Of course, disinfecting hacks like these are to be used in addition to regular cleaning processes and good hygiene. By working together to stay informed and implement these approaches to cleaning we can stop COVID-19.
Written by Melissa Robertson
