Coronavirus (COVID-19) is spread person to person in the air on tiny droplets of saliva. It is also spread through touching unclean surfaces or equipment. To tackle surface contamination, COVID cleaning and disinfecting is vital in the home and the workplace.
Surfaces can become contaminated from a cough or sneeze of someone with Coronavirus. Surface contamination can also occur when an infected person touches their mouth, nose, or eyes and then touches an object. The virus can potentially survive on the object for several days, depending on the material, waiting for another person to touch it, and then their eyes, nose, or mouth.
Professional cleaning remains one of the most effective methods for reducing the risks of spreading Coronavirus.
Home cleaning is essential, and employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace, as stipulated in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. This means that the frequency of school cleaning and office cleaning should be increased, and using a professional cleaning contractor achieves the best results.
So, where should you be cleaning to prevent Coronavirus?
High Contact Surfaces
High contact surfaces pose the most significant risks, so regular COVID cleaning should focus on these surfaces, including door handles, cupboard doors, drawer handles, bathroom fixtures, and light switches at home.
In the workplace, COVID cleaning needs to include cleaning keyboards, touchscreen devices, and printer controls. In bathrooms, high contact surfaces include sinks, taps, toilet seats, and flush buttons or levers. In food preparation areas and break rooms, high contact surfaces include fridge doors and handles, microwaves, vending machines, bin lids, cutlery, cups, TV remotes, and magazines.
Tacking Coronavirus requires a multi-pronged approach, and your strategy should consider:
- Where possible, not sharing equipment or tools
- Maintaining regular high-level COVID cleaning
- Wearing a mask or cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
- Washing hands often throughout the day, including before and after putting on or taking off a face mask, using the toilet, or preparing and eating food
- Ensuring your home, office, or factory has good ventilation
- Maintaining social distancing
- Using screens or barriers between employees that work in close contact with one another
An Effective Deep Clean
An effective deep clean should include wiping surfaces, disinfecting them, and drying them because dampness helps any remaining traces of Coronavirus to survive and multiply.
You should ensure a deep clean takes place as soon as you become aware of a confirmed or symptomatic case of Coronavirus, by a cleaning technician using appropriate PPE.
According to the government’s advice on COVID-19: cleaning in non-healthcare settings outside the home, COVID cleaning of frequently touched surfaces should occur twice a day, with one of those cleans occurring before or after the working day. It would be best if you also increased this frequency further in environments with higher numbers of people or workers.
For further advice on COVID cleaning or to arrange contract or deep cleans, please call our team on 0800 086 9215.
