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COVID-19, Pro Tips

Disinfecting the Work Place From the COVID-19 Delta Variant

By now, we all know pretty much everything there is to know about COVID. We know how it spreads, what the symptoms of the virus are, and how the vaccine works to keep us safer. We’re a world of COVID experts!

But, what people still aren’t sure about is how they can clean workspaces to stay safe from the virus, especially with the Delta variant. As something that’s highly transmissible, how do you keep it out of your work place?

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COVID-19, Pro Tips

Best Disinfecting Services to Keep Your Business Safe during COVID-19

Do you own or manage a business? Are you wondering about disinfecting practices necessary for keeping your building safe while COVID-19 is still a concern?

Traditional facility cleaning services won’t get your building as clean as it needs to be when germs are such a serious threat. It’s critical to take every precaution possible in order to ensure the safety of your employees, clients, and customers.

Here are the disinfecting services you’ll need for your business.

Disinfecting Practices

Your regular disinfecting routine will need to get stepped up during these times. This is especially true if there are high rates of COVID-19 infections in your community, or if there are low vaccination numbers.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a list of disinfectants that are effective at removing the COVID-19 germs on surfaces. When using them, it’s critical to use any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) recommended on the label. These include goggles, masks, and plastic gloves.

Your label will also tell you how long a product needs to remain on a surface in order to be effective. Make sure to read it thoroughly.

It’s important to wipe down frequently touched surfaces regularly in your place of business. These could include door handles, keyboards, and light switches. Phones, countertops, and facuets will also require extra attention.

Public areas should get cleaned four times a day and meeting rooms should get disinfected after each meeting. Bathrooms and kitchens should get wiped down twice a day.

If necessary, hire a qualified cleaning service to make sure that your place of business is properly disinfected each day. This will give you and your staff a chance to focus on other business matters as they arise. 

Desktops

If you’re managing an office space, employees can be responsible for the wiping down of their own desktops at the end of the day. You can also hire a service to make sure everything is properly sanitized.

Employees should clean their desk surfaces, as well as any personal items on their desks that they touch frequently. These could include pens, tape dispensers, and staplers.

If your employees use individual phones, they should get unplugged and disinfected. This includes the chords and buttons.

Keyboards can get wiped down with disinfectant wipes that have been squeezed to wipe out excess moisture. The mouse should get unplugged and completely wiped down, including the scroll and sides. If your employees use laptops, they can swipe a disinfectant wipe across the touchpad as long as there is no excess moisture.

Computer screens should get wiped down with a microfiber cloth. You can also use a use a diluted solution of warm water and a mild dish soap. You’ll need to wipe off any soapy residue to avoid damaging the machine.

Floors and Carpets

Disinfect floors using an EPA-approved cleaner each day, and more often if someone has been sick. Be sure to use proper PPE.

If your place of work has hardwood floors, begin by using a vacuum with a soft-bristled floor brush attachment to clean up dust and debris. You can then mop using a disinfectant made specifically for hardwood floors since you don’t want to damage the surface.

If you have carpeting, make sure you vacuum slowly and pick up the dirt in all of the corners of the space. If necessary, lift furniture to make sure you don’t miss any dust or dirt.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms are a popular place for germs to hang out. And a global pandemic is a good reason to go beyond wiping down the surface.

Sinks should get sprayed with disinfectant spray and wiped out with a cloth or sponge. Spray down faucets and mirrors and be sure to leave disinfectants on for the appropriate amount of time.

Toilets should be cleaned out regularly with a generous amount of toilet bowl cleaner. This has to sit for at least five minutes before you clean out the toilet with a stiff-brustled brush. Wipe down the toilet seat and wipes with disinfectant spray.

Tiles around the bathroom should also be disinfected regularly. You can clean out the grout with a mix of clorine bleach and water. Scrub this away using a stiff brush or toothbrush.

In addition, dust may need to be removed from the grill of your bathroom fan. Be sure to remove it in sudsy water and replace it regularly.

Personal Hygiene Reminders

During such a sensitive time, it can help to have signs around that remind your employees and clients to use proper hygiene.

For example, hands should be scrubbed regularly for at least 20 seconds. Employees should lather their hands and be sure to scrub the backs of their hands as well as their fingernails. Everyone should be reminded to wash their hands after they cough, sneeze, and blow their nose.

In addition, you can make hand sanitizer available at various spots within your establishments, reminding staff members and patrons to sanitize whenever possible.

Some establishments also provide disposable masks to those who enter. These can help protect against droplets and sprays that may spread germs. It also lets others know that you’re taking measures to protect their health.

Disinfecting Services During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has made cleanliness and hygiene extremely important in our places of business. With the right disinfecting services, you could be keeping your building as healthy as possible in no time.

Don’t stop getting smart about your employee health now. For professionals who specialize in business disinfecting services, contact us today.

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COVID-19, Pro Tips

Caring About a Clean Campus

Interestingly, the cleanliness of a college campus has a significant impact on the experience that both students and employees have at the facility. In fact, an unclean campus could result in a handful of complications in the future.

In contrast, though, maintaining a high level of cleanliness comes with a large number of benefits. Let’s explore everything you should keep in mind about the positive effects of a clean campus.

Higher Productivity

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a college campus that isn’t properly maintained can lead to a lack of productivity for both the students and faculty.

To elaborate, things like clutter, trash, construction, etc. can all impede people from fulfilling their roles effectively. This is particularly true in classroom spaces, where are the negative effects become exacerbated.

Additionally, students who attend a poorly maintained university or campus are also liable to transfer to another campus that has more favorable conditions. If this occurs on a large enough scale, it could create a notably poor reputation for the school.

Minimized Health Risks

Of course, it’s essential that you don’t overlook the health risks associated with a lax sanitization policy. This is particularly true during the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as proper cleaning techniques must be exercised in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

This is particularly true for college campuses, which have a high level of person-to-person interaction throughout the entire facility.

The spread of bacteria is also a risk, as well. Unclean surfaces and common areas, tools in classrooms, etc. could all pose a health risk to the individuals that come in to contact with them.

Fortunately, taking the appropriate measures will help eliminate or greatly minimize the impact that these risks have.

A Solid Overall Impression

It’s highly common for prospective students to tour universities before making their decision. As you might expect, the cleanliness of the campus is a crucial factor that lets students help make their decision.

Even if the school has notable alumni, academic programs, etc., making a poor impression through the physical appearance of the facility will act as a strong deterrent for potential students.

Over time, this will result in the school receiving less money from tuition, which means that it will not be able to provide high-quality services and education to students who attended.

Conversely, a school that implements comprehensive cleaning and sanitization policies will be a highly attractive location for those who are enrolling in college. Additionally, students from other schools may choose to transfer to that location upon learning about how enjoyable the environment is.

Maintaining a Clean Campus is Essential

So, it’s a process that should never be overlooked.

From here, you’ll be able to ensure that you take full advantage of the utility that a clean campus provides and provide the best experience possible for your faculty and students. 

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to reach out to us today and see how we can help.

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COVID-19, Pro Tips

Is The Cleanliness of Your Stores Costing You Money

Maintaining a positive customer experience is an essential attribute to a successful business. But, this doesn’t always have to do with the product or service that you offer.

The cleanliness of your facility says a lot about your company and could cost you money in some circumstances. Fortunately, contracted janitorial services can quickly resolve any outstanding issues.

Let’s take a look at everything you should keep in mind.

Lower Productivity

When a workspace is cluttered or otherwise does not meet cleanliness standards, it creates an environment for your employees that is not conducive to peak productivity. After all, it’s difficult to perform your role when surrounded by grime, dust, and disarray.

Over time, this can cause your company to fall short of certain metrics. As a result, you might then find you don’t generate as much revenue as you intend to.

Customer Experience

It should come as no surprise that your customers won’t be fond of an unclean facility. This is particularly true for businesses that operate within direct customer-facing industries, as the spread of bacteria becomes a concern.

Even in relatively lax environments, such as retail facilities, cleanliness can be a deciding factor that determines whether or not a customer shops there in the future. In some cases, a customer that had a poor experience could leave a negative review online and damage your brand’s reputation.

Health Risks

Not only does an unclean environment lack aesthetic appeal, but they also pose significant health risks. This is especially true in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ushered in certain cleanliness standards to prevent the spread of the virus.

However, this doesn’t apply only to customers. If your employees become sick, there’s a strong chance they will need to take time off in order to recover.

If a large number of employees fall ill concurrently, it may be impossible for your company to operate as it should. Since even a short period of downtime could cost a business thousands of dollars, this is a crucial risk to keep in mind.

Brand Image

As previously mentioned, a poor customer experience could lead to people speaking negatively about your brand. But, having a lack of cleanliness at your facility could deter customers from engaging with your company entirely.

For example, it’s not uncommon for someone to check out a store, restaurant, etc. that they have never been to before. If the first thing they notice is how unclean the environment is, though, there’s a good chance they’ll leave and never come back.

Since the image your audience has of your brand strongly dictates the number of sales you make, you should do all that you can to preserve it.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to reach out to us today and see how we can help.

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COVID-19, Pro Tips

Clean Offices in the Age of COVID-19

With more than 7 million cases of COVID-19 in the United States, it has never been more important for employers to ensure a clean and hygienic work environment for their employees.

If you have multiple employees coming in to work on a regular basis, you must make keeping a clean office a priority. You can do this by following a strict cleaning schedule, and being diligent about including the following key elements of maintaining cleanliness during this pandemic.

Clean Frequently Touched Surfaces

Depending on the nature of the material, the virus can live for a few hours to several days on all kinds of surfaces. A single infected person inside your premises can put everyone at risk for contracting the virus. 

That’s why you need to ensure that all frequently touched surfaces are cleaned regularly. This includes doorknobs, handles, file cabinets, and countertops, and more.

Also do not forget about cleaning shared devices. Photocopying machines, shared computers, laptops, and other machinery must also go through a similar process to minimize the spread of the virus. 

Additionally, you can go a step further and set up special hygiene stations for employees around these areas. A hygiene station must be equipped with sanitizers and handwashing facilities. 

Disinfect and Sanitize

Cleaning isn’t as simple as it used to be. Now, you also need to pay attention to the kinds of products you use. 

It is generally advised to clean with soap and water before you disinfect. Wetting the surface is recommended before applying most CDC approved disinfectant products. You should also air out your office regularly to improve air quality and circulation. 

This is especially true of indoor areas that are in consistent use. If a room has not been in use for more than seven days, cleaning will do. Similarly, outdoor areas do not require the same kind of diligence your indoor premises do. 

Hire Professional Cleaning Services

When you have large business premises to look after, hiring professional COVID-19 disinfection services are a convenient way to ensure cleanliness at the workplace. 

These services make use of medical-grade disinfecting products. This helps keep your workspace safe without damaging your equipment.

Given the sometimes destructive effects of ordinary or toxic disinfectants, this should be a real concern for every employer. However, hiring experts to do the job is a good way of addressing this issue. 

Keeping a Clean Office During a Pandemic

It’s not that hard to keep a clean office when you have a good cleaning plan you implement regularly. Following the CDC guidelines and working with a professional cleaning service, is enough to minimize the risk of opening your office up for business again. 

At Blue Chip Pros, we’ve been helping businesses keep their spaces sanitized and safe since before, and during this pandemic. We can do the same for you. Learn more about our facility maintenance services here, and get in touch with us to get started on your own cleaning plan!

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