The world has been affected by Coronavirus, and a lot of things have changed!
It’s essential to prepare now for the reopening of our workspace, schools, public spaces, and homes. Below are four ways to prepare for the reopening of America:
Hire a Professional Cleaner
The professional cleaning service is the frontline of defense against infection prevention and containment. It’s essential to have a professional cleaning service come in regularly to help with keeping your home, business, school, and public spaces safe! There are many reasons why hiring a cleaner is better than doing it yourself! Mostly when hiring a professional, they have the knowledge of processes to help BREAK THE CHAIN OF INFECTION!
Safe Up to Date Procedures
Professional cleaners should always be up to date on the safe, correct procedures and processes to keep you safe. It is vital that you, as the consumer, ask questions and do due diligence when hiring a service to disinfect your home, workplace, school, etc. by using a fogger or electrostatic sprayer. You also want to ensure that they will disinfect all the touchpoint areas in your home.
Some examples of frequently touched surfaces are:
- tables
- doorknobs both inside and out
- light switches
- countertops
- handles and cabinet pulls
- desks
- phones
- keyboards
- toilet handles
- faucets, and sinks
- touch screens
Another critical factor is to ensure that their processes and procedures are updated to the situation at hand and will protect you, your family and home against cross-contamination by either using your vacuum and/or sanitizing their vacuum between customers.
We feel that the best practice for our company is to use your vacuum and have the customer purchase the Maid For You kit through Microfiber Wholesale. Having your microfiber kit will ensure extra safety measures and help with your peace of mind that there will be no cross-contamination.
Certifications
Dependable professional cleaners believe it’s essential to take any courses or classes to get adequately certified to give their clients the safest, cleanest experience!
They will ensure that they are cleaning for your HEALTH!
During this time, we at Maid For You, have taken measures to continue our education and work towards certification with IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning Restoration Certification) and have become an Accredited Infection Prevention Exert through the Academy of Cleaning Excellence. We have also taken the Microbial Warrior Fundamentals Workshop through GBAC (Global Biorisk Advisory Council) to help prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological threats and biohazard situations in real-time crisis.
Professional Cleaning Products
Look for a cleaning company that is confident in cleaning with microfiber cloths because they have more than 200,000 fibers for every inch of fabric, and are very absorbent! These make these environmentally friendly cloths more effective than using regular ones!
It is important to note that microfiber alone will not disinfect a surface. Disinfecting involves the killing of the pathogens. That doesn’t mean microfiber can’t assist in the disinfecting process. In fact, in an article by Infection Control Today, “microfiber was both laboratory and clinically tested and proven to remove up to 98 percent of bacteria and 93 percent of viruses from a surface using only water (no chemicals).”
When paired with a disinfectant product, microfiber can be a great weapon against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. Please also note that Covid-19 is a virus and cannot be killed as it is not alive. Using microfiber and a disinfectant will help dismantle and prevent the Coronavirus.
When cleaning your own home, microfiber cloths save you time on cleaning and money because they last for a long time! We have partnered with our vendor Microfiber Wholesale to provide professional cleaning products, like microfiber cloths, to our customers. If interested, you can check them out and purchase them HERE.
We also recommend the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for approved products for cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing your home or office. Your cleaning products should say EPA certified.
Proper PPE should be worn, and LABELS MUST BE READ AND DIRECTIONS FOLLOWED!
It is against Federal law to use any disinfectant other than stated in the Safety Data Sheet. If you are unable to find an EPA approved disinfectant, alternate solutions can be used, such as bleach or 70% alcohol solutions.
NEVER MIX BLEACH OR OTHER CLEANING/DISINFECTING products as this can cause a dangerous and deadly gas/fumes.
For up to date information on COVID-19, visit the CDC website.
For more information on the recommended cleaning products, visit the EPA website.
Schedule Visits
The world’s learning that we take everything for granted. When we prepare to re-enter the world, we need to be careful not to continue doing this!
When you’re able, schedule visits with your grandparents, local elderly homes, your loved ones, and family. Be careful with how often, until we know that this virus is no longer imminent – but do visit!
Connect with People
Just as you plan to visit people you’ve missed, think of others who have had little to no connections during this time. Perhaps, medically unwell people, those who are disabled, elderly, etc. They need someone to reach out to them more than you realize – and they matter just as much!
Be Empathetic
Everyone’s been affected by this virus – people have lost their jobs, businesses forced to close, people suffer worse mental health. People are grieving, stressed, paranoid about the world, angry about government decisions, etc.
The next time you’re out in public and someone snaps at you – don’t take it personally – empathize that they may be having a rough time with this new world. Go out of your way to be there for others!
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
Think Cleaner
Important Reminders about Coronavirus and Breaking the Chain of Infection
We need to learn the lesson in safe cleanliness by using proper procedures when it comes to staying healthy and breaking the chain of infection! Even when this is all over!
Wash your hands often, lathering for 20 seconds, sanitize your touchpoint areas in your home, sanitize cart handles when shopping, cover your nose with your arm when you sneeze, stay home if you’re sick, etc.
- Coronavirus can live on surfaces for hours to days, depending on the surface material. Warmer temperatures and sunlight exposure reduce the time the virus can survive on surfaces and objects. Thankfully, we are starting to experience milder temperatures! Open the windows and air out rooms as much as possible.
- Routine cleaning with soap and water can remove germs and dirt from surfaces lowering the risk of spreading COVID-19.
- The use of disinfectants kills germs on surfaces. They must be appropriately used to do their job. Always make sure to read the label and follow instructions. A DWELL time is required and is usually up to 10 minutes. Merely spraying a disinfectant on a surface and instantly wiping it down is not the proper process. CLEAN first then disinfect. A rinse of surfaces is needed after the use of some disinfectants.
- Always store and use disinfectants as intended. Be sure to read the label. Also, never mix any cleaning products as they create toxic and sometimes deadly fumes. Always make sure all disinfectants are out of reach of children and pets.
- The use of disposable gloves is required as proper PPE, personal protective equipment when working with chemicals. Some even require more PPE as shoe covers, Tyvek suit, goggles, and face shield.
- Continuing to social distance, wearing face masks, and following proper hand hygiene procedures are still very much important.
Be Prepared and Have a Plan
It is crucial to continue following these steps and safety guidelines as the world, and the United States begin to reopen. As more states open and the stay at home orders lifted, everyone needs to realize that the daily life of most will not be the same as it was before this pandemic. Following safety precautions will still need to be followed to prevent the virus from further spreading. Hopefully, this will prevent another lockdown.
Before going out in public, wash your hands, reduce your risk as much as possible by touching as few surfaces as possible, wipe down surfaces before and after touching them along with washing your hands or using hand sanitizer frequently.
If working in a building for an eight (8) hour day, you must wash your hands ten times, once upon entry, one time every 8 hours and one time before your leave for the day.
All of these safety recommendations should reduce your risk significantly. Check out this CDC resource to Prevent Getting Sick.
Remember, Maid For You is here for you and the community. We are proud of our commitment to continuing education and being an Accredited Infection Prevention Expert. We are proud of our commitment to cleaning and disinfecting your home or business for health. We will continue to follow CDC/EPA for up to date recommendations when servicing your home or business.
Feel free to contact us today for a free consultation and quote and take a look at our Coronavirus and Flu Disinfecting Services!
Share in the comments below: What is ONE thing you can do today to prepare and plan for when we reopen the country?