The COVID-19 pandemic made everyone much more acutely aware of the importance of proper disinfection and sanitization in commercial buildings and other public settings. While the worst of the pandemic is now behind us, maintaining strict disinfection and sanitization protocol at your commercial building is an important way to prevent the spread of disease caused by pathogens, viruses and bacteria.
When developing a disinfection and sanitization protocol for your business, it’s critical to adhere to the best practices and recommendations provided by public health and infectious disease experts. The protocol listed in the discussion below is based on CDC recommendations. Keep in mind that while they are good guidelines for most commercial facilities such as offices, retail businesses, restaurants, gyms and community centers, they are not intended for medical facilities. These buildings required stricter disinfection and sanitization protocol.
It’s important to understand that the recommendations below will help prevent the spread of harmful pathogens, viruses and bacteria, but they aren’t intended to be adequate in the event of a serious incident requiring blood-borne pathogen cleanup or biohazard cleanup. In those situations, you’ll need to work with a company that provides professional specialty cleaning services, such as Cousino Restoration & Environmental.
What Is the Difference Between Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting?
Cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting are all separate, but related processes. All three are important in keeping your business safe for employees, customers and other guests in the building. Cleaning should always be completed first, followed by sanitizing and/or disinfecting as needed.
Cleaning
Cleaning is performed to remove dirt, debris and other organic matter from surfaces. It involves scrubbing or washing with soap, detergent and water. Commercial cleaners containing soap or detergent will remove most types of harmful pathogens, including most viruses and bacteria, from surfaces. This will significantly reduce the risk of the spread of disease caused by these pathogens. However, it’s important to understand that while cleaning will effectively remove germs and pathogens from surfaces, it won’t kill these pathogens.
Sanitizing
Sanitizing is a secondary step performed after cleaning to reduce bacteria to levels considered safe by public health standards. For a sanitizer to meet CDC standards, it must remove 99.99% of bacteria within 30 seconds. Sanitizing is less thorough than disinfecting. While it kills most bacteria quickly, it doesn’t eliminate all viruses and pathogens. This is why disinfection is often an important third step in the process.
Sanitization is an important process in food service settings and ensures these businesses adhere to requirements associated with the cleanliness of food-contact surfaces. However, sanitization is also important for many other industries that require surfaces to maintain extremely low levels of germs and pathogens at all times.
Disinfecting
Disinfecting is the most thorough step and is used to kill harmful germs and pathogens that remain on surfaces after cleaning and sanitizing. It is effective in eliminating nearly 100% of germs and pathogens, including viruses and bacteria. Disinfecting requires longer contact time than sanitizing and must be performed using chemical products approved by the EPA.
The EPA has three different classifications of disinfectants:
- Limited Disinfectants – These target a specific major group of pathogens. They’re highly effective at killing the pathogens they target, but may not be effective addressing other types of pathogens.
- General Disinfectants – These are more broad-spectrum and are effective against most major groups of pathogens. General disinfectants are typically effective for most general-usage situations in homes and businesses.
- Hospital Disinfectants – These target an even wider range of pathogens and are specifically intended to be used in medical settings such as hospitals, healthcare clinics and dental offices where stricter disinfection regulations are required.
Cleaning Best Practices
High-touch surfaces at your business should be cleaned regularly. These include:
- Counters
- Shopping carts
- Desks
- Restroom fixtures
- Door handles
- Elevator buttons
- Stair rails
- Touchpads
Regular cleaning will typically be sufficient to prevent the spread of most germs. Make sure you wash your hands for at least 20 seconds using soap and water after cleaning surfaces at your business.
To clean hard surfaces such as desks, counters, floors and fixtures:
- Hard surfaces can be cleaned using soap and water, or with additional cleaning products that are appropriate for use on the specific type of surface you’re cleaning.
To clean soft surfaces such as rugs, carpets or drapes:
- Use a product containing soap, detergent, or another cleaning product appropriate for use on the specific surface you’re cleaning.
- Whenever possible, launder these items using the warmest water setting allowed for the material and dry items completely after washing.
- Vacuum carpets, rugs and other soft floor surfaces on a regular basis to remove dirt and other particles.
To clean laundry items such as clothing, linens or towels:
- Wash on the warmest water setting appropriate for the material and dry completely after washing.
- Clean laundry baskets or clothes hampers based on the recommendations for those surfaces.
To clean electronic devices:
- Place a wipeable cover on the device to make cleaning and disinfecting easier.
- Follow all manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning these devices.
To clean outdoor areas such as patios:
- Clean high-touch metal or plastic surfaces whenever they are visibly dirty.
- Cleaning and disinfecting wooden surfaces are not recommended.
Sanitizing Best Practices
Sanitizing is performed to quickly kill bacteria and other germs as part of your regular cleaning routine. It is usually performed using chlorine or ammonia-based solutions. Make sure to let the sanitizer sit on the surface for at least 30 seconds before wiping. Keep in mind that sanitizers may not eliminate viruses and should be used in conjunction with disinfecting if you’re concerned about the spread of disease from pathogens at your business.
Use sanitizers regularly on high-touch surfaces. They provide an important solution to reduce the number of germs and bacteria present in between disinfecting sessions. Keep in mind that sanitizing should be considered a supplement to disinfecting, not a replacement.
Disinfecting Best Practices
Disinfecting is an important third step to prevent the spread of harmful pathogens and infectious diseases. It should be performed in any areas of your building where someone has been visibly ill. In addition, high-traffic areas in non-healthcare-related businesses should be disinfected periodically, with additional disinfecting often required during times of disease outbreaks. Healthcare facilities will have stricter guidelines that require more frequent cleaning and disinfecting.
Always use EPA-registered disinfecting products. If you are trying to target a specific virus, bacteria or pathogen, make sure to use a product that is effective for that usage. Make sure you clean the surface with soap and water prior to disinfecting. In addition, check the disinfecting product’s label to make sure it can be used on the specific type of surface you’re trying to disinfect.
Whenever using chemical disinfectants, it’s important to adhere to the following safety guidelines:
- Increase air circulation in the space being disinfected by opening doors and windows or using fans.
- Wear any recommended protective equipment listed on the product’s label, such as gloves or goggles, to protect your skin and eyes while disinfecting.
- Make sure to leave the disinfectant on the surface for long enough to kill all germs, viruses and pathogens. The length of time the disinfectant must remain on the surface before wiping will depend on the specific application.
- If the product label says dilution with water is necessary, always use room temperature water unless a different temperature is specified on the label.
- Make sure all disinfecting solutions are clearly labeled prior to storage and are stored securely.
- Don’t mix different disinfecting products since this can change the chemical properties.
- Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds using soap and water immediately after using disinfecting products.
Just Right Cleaning & Construction Can Keep Your Commercial Facility Clean
While general cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting can be handled by your team, there are certain situations where professional specialty cleaning services are required. This may be necessary to address biohazard cleanup, virus and pathogen cleanup, crime scene cleanup, or any other situation where there is an increased risk of transmission of infectious diseases. At JRCC Damage Restoration Experts, we have you covered.
Our team provides expert specialty cleaning services throughout the greater Seattle & Spokane Metro Area. Our technicians use environmentally friendly cleaning and disinfecting solutions and cutting-edge technology to reduce the potential for the spread of infectious diseases. Our team has extensive experience providing these services in both healthcare and non-healthcare-related commercial facilities. Our comprehensive specialty cleaning services can address just about any situation, regardless of the complexity, giving you peace of mind that your building is safe for employees, customers and other guests.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment. JRCC Damage Restoration Experts provides specialty cleaning services throughout the greater Seattle & Spokane Metro Area.