How to be Confident Your Cleaning Provider is Disinfecting Correctly

Introduction

In the pandemic era, cleaning and disinfecting have become the norm. That’s why it’s difficult to keep up with frequent cleaning and disinfecting. If you want to hire professionals to do this tedious job, you can search for “home cleaning services near me” and hire people fit for the job. However, it’s also important to make sure that they are doing a good job. Here’s how you can be confident your cleaning provider is disinfecting correctly:

The Details

• Check if their disinfectants are EPA registered – A reputed cleaning provider would always use a decent disinfectant that actually works. Only the shadiest cleaning companies cheap out on disinfectants. To check if your cleaning provider is using the right disinfectant, make sure that they check their disinfectants are registered with the EPA.

Any disinfectant brand that makes claims about their disinfectant products killing 99 percent of viruses, bacteria, and fungi, need to pass EPA regulations to be sold in the US. These products need to clear the strict EPA standards for saying the things they claim on the label and for qualifying as a disinfectant. A subpar unregulated disinfectant that’s dirt cheap may not be able to kill all the germs in your home and at the office. That’s why you need to make sure that the used disinfectants are EPA registered.

• They arrive at the right time – It’s important that the cleaning professionals arrive and disinfect your property at the right time. If they come at random and start applying disinfectants, it’s not going to be very effective. A decent cleaning service would arrive at least three times a day to disinfect your property. If it’s for domestic disinfecting, they should be able to work according to your flexibility.

On the other hand, if they disinfect your office space, they should arrive at least an hour before the employees. The office or any other commercial space should be fully disinfected before the employees get on their desks. They should pay another visit during the afternoon for another round of disinfecting. Finally, they should disinfect the property one more time after all the employees leave.

• List of High Touch Points – Unless it’s an airborne disease, harmful viruses, bacteria, and other kinds of germs are usually transmitted at home and the workplace by humans. That’s why cleaning companies inspect your property and create a thorough list of high touch points that get the most human contact.

High touch points need to be thoroughly disinfected to reduce the spread of germs. A decent cleaning company would always create a list of such points and send it to you as well. Make sure your cleaning company does the same and disinfect all those points with high human traffic. These points include everything from personal electronic devices and doorknobs to switches, counters, and handles.

• Disinfectants aren’t mixed – Disinfectants are usually made from highly effective chemicals. These chemicals are pre-mixed in certain ratios before they go into the factory-packed container. After that, they need to be diluted or come as ready-to-use solutions. If you don’t know about the chemical composition of these disinfectants, you should never mix two products.

An experienced and cautious cleaning company knows this. They know that it may cause severe reactions and put everyone’s health at risk. That’s why they train their staff not to do so. If you see the cleaning provider at work or home mixing different disinfectants, it’s a big red flag.

• Disinfectant application – Disinfectants need to be applied properly to kill off all the germs. Yes, they are powerful enough to start killing surface germs as long as they come in contact. However, you need to apply them with the proper tools and in the right way for maximum effect. If you have hired a decent cleaning provider, they should have trained their staff properly to apply disinfectants to different surfaces.

Keep an eye on how the cleaning staff is using and applying the disinfectant. For windows and other small areas, they would fill up disinfectants in a spray bottle. However, for large areas like floors, they will use a bucket. Make sure that the disinfectant inside the bucket is changed often to avoid contamination.

The cleaning provider should also use microfiber instead of regular cloth for wiping and mopping surfaces. Unlike cotton and other types of fabric, microfiber doesn’t rapidly absorb the cleaning solution. Instead, it traps the cleaning solution in between fibers, and when you press it, most of the cleaning solution is released and spread evenly on the surface.

Your cleaning provider should also adhere to the “dwell times” of the disinfectants listed on the label. Dwell time is the period for which a surface needs to be kept wet with the disinfectant for maximum efficacy. The same holds for diluting the disinfectants. If the cleaning company uses disinfectants that need to be diluted with water, make sure that they stick to the ratio mentioned on the label. If they add too much water, the strength of the disinfectant decreases and it may not effectively kill all the germs.

Excellent cleaning providers would use ready-to-use disinfectants instead of those that need dilution. Diluted disinfectants are cheap since their strength can also be affected by the impurities of the local water. For instance, certain disinfectants lose their efficiency when diluted with hard water.

• Safety precautions – Your cleaning providers deal with a lot of chemicals and germs while disinfecting your space. That’s why they should wear proper safety gear for the job to prevent the transmission of diseases and other health risks. Make sure that the cleaning professionals are using proper PPE equipment like gloves, masks, gowns, and more.

Conclusion

Disinfecting your home, office or any other place isn’t a difficult job. However, it is a tedious one and you need to be thorough. That’s why most people prefer to hire pros by searching for “home cleaning services near me”. If they are doing the above-mentioned things, then you can be confident that they are doing a great job at disinfecting your space.