The current pandemic has increased awareness around the globe of hygiene and the importance of sanitizing your business. This shouldn’t be news to most companies, hygiene and sanitizing are essential to any business as they prevent the spread of disease. The less disease there is fewer staff absences and the better your productivity.
The pandemic maybe highlighting the issue but the following tips to effectively sanitize your business should be implemented at all times.
Get The Professionals In
The starting point for any sanitization project is to get professional help. This may sound counter-productive. However, the professionals will establish the base level of cleanliness you need and you’ll find it easier to maintain that level.A professional firm will use an industrial steam clean machine. The best ones use dry steam and can be used in virtually any environment. Check your chosen firm has a dry steam clean machine as this is the most efficient and effective way of removing any bacterial contaminants.
The great news is that steam kills most viruses, including COVID-19, they can’t survive over 70° C.
Don’t forget to verify the reputation of your professional cleaning firm. Check with friends, colleagues, and even social media. You’ll find a good company that has mainly positive feedback. It’s unlikely to be all positive as it's difficult to keep everyone happy.
You should consider having the professionals and their steam clean machine regularly to sanitize your business and maintain the hygiene standards.
Adopt Good Daily Habits
With the base cleanliness set, you’ll need to adopt good daily habits.This starts with providing washing facilities for all staff. Make sure soap, water, and towels are available and that staff use them every time they visit the bathroom or if they have been handling potentially contaminated surfaces.
Consider where your current facilities are and the ease of access to them. You may need to add more sinks to ensure staff can always get to one easily.
The daily cleaning routine should be performed by trained staff. They’ll need to wear gloves and use soap and water first, followed by a disinfectant spray.
It’s a good idea to consider how frequently various surfaces are touched and set your cleaning schedule accordingly.
If things are touched by many different people during the day you’ll have to clean often, potentially even wiping down between uses. Decide what the best approach is and create your policy. Then make sure the relevant staff clean when required.
For example, surfaces like doorknobs, light switches, and trolleys, if you have them, will be frequently touched by many different people. That increases the chances of viruses being spread and is why you need to sanitize regularly.
Disinfectant
It’s important to note that disinfectant is more effective if the surface has been washed with soap and water first. Make sure this is part of the sanitization routine.You’ll also want to consider which disinfectant is best at killing potential viruses, make sure you use the right one.
Soft Furnishings
It’s more difficult to clean soft furnishings like the carpet or the couches in the staff room. You’ll need to purchase cleaners that are designed for those surfaces and are effective at killing bacteria. How often they need cleaning will depend on the level of traffic moving across them. It is advisable to sanitize them at least once a day.Anything that can be removed and washed should be. Use the hottest setting possible and, wherever possible, dry them on a hot cycle. Of course, you need to check the label to ensure you’re soft furnishings survive the wash.
Electronics
These items should be wiped down regularly with alcohol-based wipes. This will help to ensure any contaminants are neutralized.The steam clean machine used by your professional help can also be effective on electronics without damaging them. You should include professional steam cleaning as often as your company can afford, it is potentially the best way to sanitize your business.
