Clean and Disinfect Your Facility When Someone Is Sick

Whether you own or manage a clinic, office building, manufacturing facility, hotel, restaurant, school, gym, or retail store in Raleigh, you must ensure safety and wellbeing at your commercial building. So what should you do if someone in your facility gets sick with COVID-19?

There are a few steps you can take to stop the spread of germs and protect others at your Raleigh facility from getting sick.

Effectiveness of cleaning and disinfection

SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) can survive on surfaces for up to 28 days. People are infected with this virus primarily through inhaling infectious respiratory droplets. However, it is also possible for people to catch the virus by coming into contact with contaminated surfaces — though the relative risk of surface transmission is generally low compared with direct contact, droplet transmission, or airborne transmission.

Washing hands with soap and water for about 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol is often enough to prevent infection from surfaces. However, using commercial building cleaning and disinfecting protocols is the most effective way to reduce the risk of surface transmission at your facility.

Cleaning (using soap or detergent) can reduce organic agents on surfaces, although the effectiveness varies depending on the type of cleaner used, cleaning process, and cleaning quality. Surfactants in most soaps and detergents can damage the membrane of viruses like SARS-CoV-2. Thus, surface cleaning can help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Disinfection can be used to render the virus inactive on surfaces — though it is important to use an EPA List N disinfectant.

Routine commercial cleaning with soap or detergent, performed at least once a day, can significantly lower virus levels on surfaces. In situations when there has not been a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 in your Raleigh facility, cleaning should be enough to further reduce the relatively minimal risk of surface transmission. However, if someone in your facility has been infected with COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the virus is likely still on surfaces. In this case, disinfecting the space would be a good idea.

Note: When using cleansers and disinfectants, use caution and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a rise in poisonings and injuries caused by the improper use of cleaners and disinfectants. Some disinfection methods — including fogging, fumigation, and wide-area or electrostatic spraying — can also pose health risks if they are not used properly.

Read this blog for more cleaning and disinfecting tips.

What needs to be cleaned?

Tables, doorknobs, light switches, stair rails, elevator buttons, doors, desktops, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, sinks, and other frequently touched surfaces will require more attention, more often. We recommend cleaning these high-touch surfaces at least once a day — however, more frequent cleaning may be necessary in some cases.

How to determine the frequency of cleaning?

If you have had a sick person or someone tested positive for COVID-19 at your store or commercial spaces in the last 24 hours, or if your facility spaces are being used by people who are more likely to get sick — such as the elderly or those with weakened immune systems — your retail cleaning routine may need to be more regular or thorough. You may need to disinfect the surfaces as well.

Similarly, if you manage a daycare or school, you may need to clean the space more frequently or establish disinfection processes because young children do not always cover their coughs or sneezes or wash their hands properly.

What types of surfaces are you cleaning and/or disinfecting?

Depending on the surface type, you may need to think about the most effective cleaning and disinfection method.

Cleaning and disinfecting hard and non-porous surfaces like stainless steel, plastic, and glass will necessitate the use of specific products and methods. Soft, porous surfaces, such as carpet, rugs, and drapes, are more difficult to disinfect since germs can lurk in the many microscopic holes and gaps in the material. Cleaning and disinfecting products for these surfaces will need to be tested extensively to ensure that they are safe to use. Cleaning and disinfecting electronics like computer displays and keyboards is not as difficult as it might sound. However, any electrical equipment you want to clean and disinfect should be covered with a wipeable cover first.

To learn more about the most effective cleaning and disinfecting solutions and processes for all types of surfaces, visit the CDC's website.

Tips to follow when cleaning or disinfecting

• When cleaning and disinfecting the facility, make sure there are no people with asthma around, as some cleaning and disinfection solutions can trigger asthma.

• Ensure safe and effective use of the cleaning and disinfecting product by reading the safety information and application instructions on the product label.

• Wear proper personal protective equipment (PPE) such as a mask and gloves.

• Wash your hands with soap and water after cleaning and disinfecting the space.

• Increase air circulation in the area by opening doors and windows and using fans or HVAC settings.

Allow ServiceMaster Clean to help you reduce the risk of infection in your facility.

Cleaning and disinfecting is a crucial component of your commercial building maintenance. But why try to do it yourself and worry about whether you are doing everything you can to protect your employees and customers when you can simply call in professionals? Professionals have access to the best cleaning supplies and know-how to get the job done.

If you own or manage a facility in Raleigh or surrounding areas, you can count on the team at ServiceMaster Clean to do everything possible to keep it clean and safe. We will assess the surfaces and areas that need attention, come up with a strategy that takes into account the unique needs of your facility and customers, then carry out the cleaning and disinfection procedures with minimal disruption to your operations.