The Difference Between Commercial and Medical Cleaning
A common question we often face is what is the difference between commercial and medical cleaning. There are of course many differences between commercial and medical cleaning. The most fundamental of them is that an office is usually a low traffic area with mostly healthy individuals, whereas, a hospital is a very high traffic area comprising primarily of people in need of medical attention.
When cleaning commercial, an important factor to consider is the appearance of the facility. Commercial cleaners need to make the place look presentable and professional while removing dust and maintaining the surfaces. The cleaning methods do not need to be as stringent and don’t need to be disinfected as frequently. Of course, the health and well being of individuals in the commercial facility is also important and therefore surfaces such as doors, phones need to be disinfected regularly, especially in the cold and flu season.
On the other hand, a medical facility serves sick people and therefore there is always an influx of a large number and variety of pathogens. Therefore the focus when cleaning a medical facility is to reduce the bio-load(dust, dirt, and grime), clean and disinfect the place instead of on the appearance. For example, patient care rooms are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected daily as well as every time a patient is discharged. Medical equipment and operating rooms need to be sterilized thoroughly.
Additionally, the housekeeping staff is constantly making the rounds throughout the day, picking up any trash or soiled linens and disinfecting common contact surfaces such as light switches, phones, keyboards, door handles, remote controls, nurse call buttons, amongst others.
The need for cleaning and sterilizing is even greater in units such as the ICU or isolation units where patients might already be dealing with a compromised immune system. The head of the housekeeping also needs to be in close contact with the infection control office to ensure that the products they are using are going to be effective against all the full range of pathogens that may be present in the facility.
At Service Master Elite Cleaning Services, we provide comprehensive training to our associates so that they are trained and experienced in meeting with the needs of the facility they are serving. They are also very familiar with all the health code regulations they need to comply with when serving a healthcare facility. Contact us today for any cleaning needs you might have, be it commercial cleaning or medical facility cleaning and let us provide you an effective plan to best serve your facility.
