How to Effectively Disinfect Your Commercial or Industrial Facility

2020 has thrown everyone off course so far, with one thing taking center stage: COVID-19. People are sick around the world, businesses have been shuttered and the crisis has created a universal desire to “flatten the curve.” Individuals help by staying home and practicing social distancing. But how can essential businesses do their part keep employees and customers safe? One major way is to maintain clean spaces to prevent virus transmission. So many of our own customers are essential businesses, McLean compiled a guide on the best ways to disinfect your commercial or industrial facility.

Disinfect High-Touch Areas

One of the most important things in maintaining a safe facility right now is cleanliness, specifically for those items and areas people come into contact with the most. Each day, customers and/or workers open and close doors throughout your facility and touch counters and shelves to obtain goods or tools. These are your “high-touch” areas, or items and objects that folks regularly come into contact with. A few others include tables, light switches, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets and sinks.

The best thing to do is frequently disinfect these high-touch items. Remember that it’s OK to start with soap and water (i.e. something is legitimately “dirty” and the mess needs cleaning), but the safest option is to use a strong disinfectant to kill bacteria. The CDC recommends a few tried-and-true options to disinfect your commercial or industrial facility:

• EPA-Registered Disinfectants
• Diluted Bleach or Bleach Solutions (i.e. bleach + water)
• Alcohol Solutions (i.e. 70% alcohol)

Keep your employees and customers safe by regularly disinfecting high-touch areas and enjoy a cleaner facility at the same time.

Disinfect Soft Surfaces

Real talk: You’re probably not fussing with “soft” surfaces in your facility all that much, but they need regular cleaning all the same! Soft surfaces are things like carpeting, rugs, drapes and blinds. Folks carry germs in with them on their shoes, and particles land on window dressings, so these areas need more attention than you think.  

Your team should regularly disinfect these soft surfaces to eliminate bacteria on the floor and in the air. Just like high-touch areas, the best course of action with soft surfaces is to use disinfectant to kill bacteria. However, there are several other steps to take, depending on manufacturer cleaning guidelines. The CDC provides these guidelines to disinfect your commercial or industrial facility’s soft surfaces:

• Use Material- Specific Cleaning Products (i.e. carpet cleaner, detergent)
• Use EPA-Registered Disinfectants
• Launder Items (according to instructions, if possible)

It may seem harmless to let untouched soft surfaces go, but remember that they may harbor unsafe bacteria. Keep these spaces clean!

Best Practices When You Disinfect Your Commercial or Industrial Facility

You’re on board to keep a consistently clean facility, but what’s the best way to go about it? After all, you have daily operations to keep in mind, customer needs to answer and employee safety to remember. At the very least, be sure to take a few core steps when you disinfect your commercial or industrial facility:

• Wear gloves and gowns while cleaning and handling trash
• Ensure adequate airflow throughout your facility
• Wait 24 hours (or as long as possible) after foot traffic subsides before cleaning
• Disinfect all rooms and items sick persons could have come into contact with 
• Practice frequent hand washing

While some of these measures might be time-consuming or inconvenient, your team and customers will benefit from them in the end. Remember that safety is a high priority and these best practices will help to ensure it.

Keep Your Employees and Customers Safe by Disinfecting Your Facility

At McLean, we take facility cleanliness seriously, and you should too. Today especially, it’s not so much about making your location look “pretty” as it is about protecting everyone who walks through your doors. Keep your team and customers safe by disinfecting your commercial and industrial facility. Need a little help along the way? McLean offers comprehensive cleaning services. Talk to one of our experts about your cleaning needs and get a quote today.