COVID-19 Building Commercial Cleaning and Maintenance Needs

Whether your business has been fully functional throughout the COVID-19 pandemic or you are preparing to re-open, you need to think about a plan for cleaning and disinfecting your building. Proper cleaning and facility upkeep should be a part of everyone’s ongoing safety plan to minimize risk exposure to building occupants. According to the CDC, “Normal routine cleaning…lowers the risk of spreading COVID-19 infection.”

Why is cleaning important in the fight against Coronavirus?

• The physical benefits – The CDC states that, “The virus that causes COVID-19 can be killed if you use the right products.” The right process is also necessary. A facility should be properly cleaned and disinfected. This is a two-part process. Cleaning removes dirt and impurities. Disinfecting is a chemical process to kill germs on surfaces.
• The psychological benefits – The CDC states that a facility that “has been unoccupied for 7 days or more, it will only need your normal routine cleaning to reopen the area. This is because the virus that casus COVID-19 has not been shown to survive on surfaces longer than this time.” Even with this said, clients are still calling Soil-Away to clean and disinfect their building. Why? They openly admit that it is not so much for the physical benefit, but the psychological peace-of-mind for their building occupants. They want to say to their constituents that they have done everything in their power to minimize risk exposure, to go above-and-beyond the minimum recommendations.

Who should I hire to help with cleaning and disinfecting my commercial building?

There are a lot of companies jumping on the “Coronavirus cleaning” bandwagon. Buyers should exercise caution when hiring contractors. We put together a brief guide on “how to hire the right company for Coronavirus (COVID-19) deep cleaning.” This should be helpful for your research process.

In addition to figuring out which companies to hire, you should also take an assessment of your potential needs and goals. What are you hoping to accomplish by hiring a company? Can you adequately meet your needs by just increasing your current capacity? Are you willing to take on any potential liability by doing-it-yourself? Is this a good time to improve or add to your qualified vendors list?

What are my commercial cleaning needs due to COVID-19?

According to BOMA’s (Building Owners and Managers Association) guide to re-entry, it is wise to “increase frequency of cleaning in high-density and high-touch areas, and identify areas they may require more frequent or deeper cleaning.” The CDC lists frequently touched surfaced to concentrate on: tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, sinks, and touch screens. These recommendations are a great place to start for your ongoing cleaning maintenance needs.

In addition to cleaning maintenance, you also need an emergency plan and partner in the event a building occupant or visitor becomes ill or tests positive for COVID-19. BOMA advises to “schedule deep cleaning and disinfection in all affected building areas.” As you are planning out your cleaning needs, you may realize that two contractors are necessary. Your daily janitorial company may be able to handle the ongoing maintenance, but there is a chance you need to hire someone else, such as Soil-Away, for the emergency deep cleaning.

Understanding commercial cleaning and maintenance needs, at a time like this, can be confusing. Know that there are plenty of resources available to help you make the best decision. Soil-Away specializes in commercial disaster restoration, pre-disaster planning and serving business facility needs. If you have additional questions related to building cleanliness as it relates to COVID-19, please call our office at 603-641-6555.

Disclaimer:

This article was composed utilizing the most current information available at the time it was written by resources such as the CDC and EPA. The COVID-19 pandemic is a rapidly evolving situation. Please understand that information and best practices are constantly being updated by health and government officials. Everything in this article is subject to change. Soil-Away is making every effort to support your facility needs at this time and will continue to monitor changes and adjust its best practices as new information becomes available. At this time, Soil-Away is cleaning facilities by applying EPA List-N approved disinfectants. Clients who engage with Soil-Away understand that no guarantees can be made about cleaning and disinfecting results, and that any information provided is for the purpose of sharing information, and not for providing definitive advice.