Proactive Cleaning in a Time of Virus

3/10/2020 (Permalink)

Our proactive cleaning service will clean and disinfect your home or business, giving you peace of mind in a time of uncertainty.

With the threat of a new coronavirus, which causes Covid-19 disease, circulating the globe, many homeowners and business owners are seeking extra reassurance that their homes and facilities are thoroughly clean and disinfected. In addition to our expertise in disaster recovery and cleanup for homes and businesses, SERVPRO also offers these professional cleaning services.

In response, SERVPRO is now offering proactive cleaning, sanitizing and disinfection of commercial and residential properties with the goal of minimizing the transmission of emergent viral pathogens, including the coronavirus. With SERVPRO’s proactive cleaning services, you’ll know you have done all you can to keep your family and friends, customers and employees safe from this new and uncertain threat.

Some Background on the Coronavirus and Covid-19

The coronavirus is believed to spread primarily through personal contact, between people who are within about six feet of one another, through airborne respiratory droplets that are produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It may also be possible to catch the virus by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.

Your very best source for the latest and most accurate information on the coronavirus and Covid-19 is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website. Because this outbreak is unfolding rapidly and unpredictably, we at SERVPRO encourage you to check back with the CDC frequently for updates.

Declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the coronavirus outbreak has focused the attention of nations, individuals, business and organizations on ways to fight the spread of the virus and minimize the impact of the disease. Along with avoiding large crowds and keeping a social (about six-foot) distance from others, the most common advice from experts is to wash hands frequently and avoid touching our faces. Beyond direct person-to-person transmission, the coronavirus can also be spread by contamination on objects, furniture and fixtures in the home or place of work.

According to the CDC, “Cleaning of visibly dirty surfaces followed by disinfection is a best practice measure for prevention of COVID-19 and other viral respiratory illnesses in households and community settings.”

And that’s where a skilled, equipped cleaning company, staffed with highly trained professionals, comes in: SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield is prepared—right now—to clean, sanitize and disinfect your home or business to eradicate traces of coronavirus or other pathogens.

Whether you seek strictly proactive cleaning, with no indication of existing contamination, or are aware that your structure may have been contaminated with coronavirus, SERVPRO’s crews stand ready to provide increased assurance that you, your family, your customers and your employees will not be exposed to coronavirus within your building.

An Important Caveat

While SERVPRO’s cleaning process will remove existing viral pathogens, including the coronavirus, please understand that structures we clean proactively will not be protected from future coronavirus contamination if an infected person is to enter the building.

Why SERVPRO for Proactive Cleaning?

SERVPRO is uniquely ready to provide proactive cleaning of viral pathogens for several reasons, all of which stem from the level of expertise and preparation that we maintain at any time, pandemic or no pandemic. We were ready for this.

Our Personnel

We are fully staffed and prepared for your most difficult job. Our employees are thoroughly trained in the use of all our equipment and cleaning products—and they are supported in their work by our rigorous safety training and procedures.

SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield is one of four SERVPRO franchises in the central Connecticut region owned and operated by Ralph and Noemi DiCristofaro (the others are SERVPRO of Bloomfield/Enfield, SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield and SERVPRO of West Hartford).

Being able to call on the resources of these other top-performing local SERVPRO franchises means we’re ready for just about anything! We can get to you faster, and we allocate staff and equipment as needed to tackle the really big, urgent jobs. Among the four franchises, we have at our disposal thousands of different pieces of equipment and dozens of trucks and other vehicles.

Our Protective Gear

SERVPRO professionals will enter your facility wearing the proper types of protective gear. For example, if there is no indication that your facility or home has been contaminated by coronavirus, our crew will wear a mid-grade protective suit, but if contamination is suspected or confirmed, all workers will wear a top-grade suit, which is thicker and has integrated boots and hoods. Not only do we wear an N-95 mask, but per our safety procedures and training, each mask is fit-tested to each employee to ensure complete coverage and protection.

Our Products

The cleaning and disinfecting products we use for coronavirus jobs are hospital-grade, which means they are both safe to use and effective at killing germs. These products are difficult, if not impossible, for other vendors to locate, especially in the midst of a virus outbreak, but SERVPRO was prepared and has access to a substantial supply of coronavirus-fighting cleaners and disinfectants.

Our Methods

We attack contamination in your home or place of business through two different modes of cleaning. First, we seal off your building and fog it using sprayers and misters, a process that allows our cleaning and disinfecting agents to reach deep into crevices that would otherwise remain untouched.

We follow that up with thorough cleaning and disinfecting of all the flat surfaces of your structure, furniture, fixtures and objects. No cutting corners here: our crews adhere to the correct amount of time to leaving the disinfectant in place to kill the germs that are present.

Our Coverage

Finally, SERVPRO provides this admittedly risky cleaning service at no potential liability to you. As a professional damage restoration and cleaning company, part of a network of more than 1,800 franchises across the United States, SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield is fully insured against any hazards we may encounter in our work. If you are concerned about potential or suspected coronavirus contamination in your home or business, you need not be worried about any additional liability.

Who Does SERVPRO Provide Proactive Cleaning For?

Homeowners (who suspect coronavirus contamination or not) hire SERVPRO for proactive cleaning. Especially when a family member has been diagnosed with Covid-19, our cleaning services are a way to regain peace of mind that other residents of the home will reduce their chances of exposure.

Likewise, business owners can keep their employees and customers safer with our proactive cleaning service. This has a two-fold benefit in a time of widespread worry: the direct benefit, of course, is knowing that you are doing everything you can to keep Americans healthy and reduce the spread of coronavirus.

The indirect benefit of this proactive action is that you reassure your customers that your place of business is a safe place to be. In the midst of this outbreak, we are all looking for reassurance and seeking places we can be safe—without cutting ourselves off from the outside world completely. Let your customers know that your business has taken all the precautions it can through proactive cleaning.

Many types of businesses can benefit from SERVPRO’s proactive cleaning that targets the coronavirus and other pathogens:

• Retail stores
• Restaurants
• Offices, especially medical offices
• Schools
• Senior centers
• Gyms
• Hotels, B&Bs and other hospitality sites

What We Clean and Disinfect

Cleaning removes the soil and dirt that harbors infectious agents, while disinfecting kills the remaining environmental pathogens. SERVPRO follows the CDC’s cleaning guidelines to clean, at a minimum, high-touch surfaces such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets and tables.

Areas of the home or office we clean include:

Kitchen/food areas

• tables and chairs
• countertops
• cabinets and pulls
• doorknobs
• floors: hard surfaces/wood
• mats
• food contact surfaces
• light switches
• paper towel/napkin dispensers
• push doors
• salt and pepper shakers
• sinks and sink hardware
• soap dispensers
• tabletops

Bathrooms

• bathroom stalls
• countertops
• cabinets/vanities and pulls
• doorknobs
• floors: hard surfaces/wood
• handrails
• light switches
• paper towel/napkin dispenser
• sinks and sink hardware
• soap dispensers
• toilets
• diaper-changing station

Classrooms

• book covers and binders
• carpets
• chairs
• computer equipment
• countertops
• doorknobs
• floors: hard surfaces/wood
• small hard-surface items
• light switches
• mats
• paper towel/napkin dispensers
• rugs
• sinks and sink hardware
• soap dispensers
• tabletops/desktops

Offices

• carpets
• chairs
• telephones
• computer equipment
• countertops
• doorknobs
• floors: hard surfaces/wood
• light switches
• rugs
• shared office equipment
• tabletops/desktops
• water fountains

Retail space

• shelving and racking
• displays
• mannequins
• packaged inventory
• carpets
• fitting room stalls
• chairs
• telephones
• computer equipment and registers
• sales counters
• doorknobs
• floors: hard surfaces/wood
• light switches
• rugs
• tables
• water fountains

Hallways

• carpets
• doorknobs
• floors: hard surfaces/wood
• handrails
• light switches
• rugs
• water fountains

Other

• fitness equipment
• lamps
• storage bins
• shelves and racking
• lockers
• playground equipment
• stair handrails
• elevator cars

How We Clean and Disinfect

Cleaning: Porous and Non-Porous Surfaces

We begin by cleaning porous and non-porous surfaces. The cleaning process lowers the numbers of germs, thus reducing the risk of infection.

The CDC describes cleaning as removing germs, dirt and impurities from surfaces or objects. Cleaning works by using a detergent and water to physically remove germs from surfaces. This process does not necessarily kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection.

Some materials cannot be cleaned with detergent and water without being damaged. For this reason, paper and paper products are not able to be cleaned and/or disinfected.

Cleaning methods typically used on water-sensitive materials, such as vacuuming or dry sponging, are not capable of removing enough soil and residue to be effective. Porous materials, like carpet, area rugs, upholstered items and draperies that are not water-sensitive, are wet-cleaned using a hot water extraction or preconditioner and rinse method.

Non-porous materials, like hard-surface floors, cabinets, countertops, doorknobs and plumbing fixtures, can be wet-cleaned using a variety of SERVPRO hard-surface cleaners (general purpose) and cleaning methods.

Disinfecting: Non-Porous Surfaces

Next, we disinfect non-porous surfaces by using hospital-grade chemicals to kill germs on surfaces or objects. While there are not yet any disinfectants that have been tested specifically for the coronavirus, we are following CDC recommendations that advise using a labeled hospital-grade disinfectant with claims against viruses similar to SARS (CoV-2).

(It is important to understand that not all surfaces can be disinfected. Because of the porosity of some materials, including carpet, area rugs, upholstered items and draperies, disinfection is not possible.)

We use a variety of disinfectants within the SERVPRO product line to disinfect non-porous materials, like hard-surface floors, cabinets, countertops, doorknobs and plumbing fixtures. We apply these disinfectants using a spray bottle, pump-up sprayer, electric sprayer or mister. Once thoroughly sprayed, we allow the disinfectant to remain on the surface for ten minutes, sufficient to kill germs.

The CDC encourages the use of disinfecting wipes on electronic items that are touched often, such as phones and computers. If necessary, we use more than one wipe to keep the surface wet for the recommended length of contact time.

Safety Measures

SERVPRO professionals are thoroughly trained and equipped to handle potentially contaminated areas and materials. Throughout the cleaning project, our workers wear personal protective equipment, including appropriate protective suit with integrated hood and boots, N-95 respirators, nitrile gloves and goggles.

As our crews work, we clean and disinfect our own tools and equipment to avoid spreading any contamination in your home or place of business.

Once the job is done, we bag, remove and dispose of all waste, including used gloves and disposable respirators, and bag and remove cleaning towels to the SERVPRO facility for laundering.

We’re Here for You in a Time of Crisis

In just about any disaster situation, the team at SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield has the training and experience to quickly clean up and restore your home or business. In our current time of virus, we are prepared to give you, your family, customers and employees an extra measure of reassurance that your safety and health will be protected. Call SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield (860.649.0836) any time.

If you need fire, smoke, water, storm, biohazard or mold remediation at your home or commercial building, call SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield today at 860.649.0836

Other Helpful Blog Posts

SERVPRO publishes educational articles on how to protect your home and business from disasters and how to deal with mold, fire, water, sewage, storm, biohazard and other damage.

SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield
53 Slater Street, Unit 2, Manchester, CT 06042
IICRC Certified
Noemi Garcia
Certified SERVPRO technicians
Call 860.649.0836
24-hour emergency service

If you need fire, smoke, water, storm, biohazard or mold remediation at your home or commercial building, call SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield today at 860.649.0836