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Best Practices for Maintaining a Clean and Safe Business

More and more each day, employees and customers are raising their expectations for the conditions of the businesses where they work and consume products and services. To help keep your business open and safe, your best bet is to arrange professional commercial cleaning services. Cleaning professionals using the right products and the right protocols, at optimum frequency, can help you in your fight against germs, including the virus that causes COVID-19.
 
These are best practices you can implement in partnership with your commercial cleaning provider right now:

 

1. Follow CDC Guidelines for Cleaning and Disinfecting

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides guidance for cleaning and disinfecting public spaces. The first step, according to the CDC, in developing your cleaning plan is to evaluate all of the high-touch-point objects and surfaces in the business environment.  Your commercial cleaning service provider can also assist you in identifying any potential germ hotspots.
 
Next, the CDC recommends your business be cleaned using disinfectant products from its approved list, for the recommended kill times. These EPA-registered products have been shown effective against hard-to-kill viruses, which include not only the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 but also flu and cold viruses. A cleaning professional knows the most effective techniques for using these products. In addition, the CDC recommends that vacuum cleaners use HEPA filters, which remove 99.97% of allergens from the air.


2. Increase Your Workplace Cleaning Frequency

Research is ongoing into how long viruses remain on surfaces. Findings range from a few hours to days. Your city, county or state may set requirements for cleaning frequency, and some states require businesses to keep a log of cleaning and disinfecting. So how often should you be cleaning office surfaces?
 
To stay as safe and healthy as possible, have your workplace cleaned professionally as often as your budget and schedule allow. Once a day is ideal. Between professional cleanings, you can wipe down high-touch surfaces following CDC guidelines. If you need to, the CDC recommends keeping your own EPA-registered products on hand, and if you don’t have those, use a solution containing 70% alcohol.


3. Pay Attention to Germ Hot Spots

Speaking of high-touch surfaces, these are the germ hot spots that everyone must be aware of:

  • Door handles

  • Shared keyboards

  • Elevator buttons

  • Conference tables

  • Coffee makers and water coolers

 
Frequent disinfection of surfaces and objects touched by multiple people is important. Take an inventory of all the common areas and most frequently touched places in your workplace. A commercial cleaning professional knows these areas well and can help develop a cleaning plan tailored to your specific business needs.


4. Go Deeper Than Your Everyday Clean

While high-touch surfaces and common areas are highly important, remember to address the needs of your whole workspace. For example, the CDC has specific guidelines for cleaning soft surfaces, such as upholstery, rugs and drapes. A professional commercial cleaning service should be able to not only meet your everyday cleaning needs like mopping, wiping and trash removal, along with special requests. Don’t neglect your carpet, hard flooring, grout, or windows. Special cleaning services help to remove germs and can even make your assets last longer.


5. Remember Guests and Employees Can Only Do So Much

Many businesses are choosing to offer hand sanitizer at their front door and asking employees to pitch in with wiping down high-touch surfaces. While these actions can help in small ways, there is a limit to their effectiveness. It’s important to know that, if employees are handling hazardous chemicals, OSHA requires that they be trained in the safe use of cleaning chemicals in the workplace. Offering this type of training is not practical for all workplaces.
 
The most effective means of cleaning and disinfecting is by a professional. A commercial cleaning service, using the correct products and techniques at the right frequency, offers the most consistent and thorough results for a cleaner, safer place of business.


Partner with a Coverall Franchise Business Owner

Coverall provides training to its independent franchise business owners in its proprietary Core 4® Process, built on CDC and AORN guidelines. The process uses proper tools like HEPA filter vacuums and no-dip flat mops that prevent cross-contamination. It also follows the right techniques for using EPA-registered disinfectants for the recommended kill times to safely eliminate harmful germs.
 
These cleaning professionals are trained by Coverall to follow the proper protocols for cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing. Just contact your local Coverall representative to review the Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System® Program and allow them to help tailor a cleaning plan based on your business’ needs. Coverall is trusted by more than 50,000 businesses nationwide to help keep customers and employees healthy and safe.

Posted: 8/3/2020 12:30:00 PM by Stephen Massaro | with 0 comments