How to Do a COVID Clean

Right off the bat, let me make this statement. There is not one way to properly do a COVID-19 clean and disinfect, but there is science that governs us to follow protocols and procedures to ensure best results. There are so many companies out there doing COVID disinfection. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell which are tried and true with years of disinfection and training from the ones that saw an opportunity in 2020 and short-cutted the system to make money. I would first like to give a shout out to a good friend who has become an expert in disinfection in the Washington D.C. area. Mark Lineberry of Universal Janitorial Services has an incredible article on COVID & Reopening Your Facilities (Guide) and another on properly doing Electostatic Disinfection Services. It will show you just how much training it takes to do this right and I HIGHLY recommend that you begin learning this science so you can help more families and businesses in your community. As you know, I've become a local expert in Philly on the same topic as I've been called to share to various audiences my "9 Mistakes in Disinfecting". I don't use a delivery system like fogging or UV or electrostatic spraying. These require a lot of training and expertise that I don't have. They also require a large equipment investment. I have companies that I refer when clients request this. My clients understand that I do "High Touch Point Disinfecting". The philosophy is simple. 80% of the pathogens lie on 20% of the surfaces. I don't need to kill 100% of the pathogens with a complicated delivery system. I kill 80% by hyper-focusing on the surfaces where pathogens are most likely to settle.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a weekly office client that one of their employees tested positive for COVID-19. They suspected it on Monday and everyone left the office to work from home. The positive test came in on Wednesday to confirm. The office remained closed until the following Monday. The office manager wanted my company to substitute a regular cleaning with a COVID clean. This was not the first time, so they knew I would do a good job. Here's the steps I took:

1. I found out which employee desk it was and where that employee spent time on her day in the office. I determined that her office, the owner's office, copy machines, and restrooms were all compromised.
2. I added the other high touch points like light switches, door knobs, common counter tops, break areas, and file cabinet handles. This gave me a map of WHERE to disinfect. I already knew WHAT to disinfect. It's corona virus and the EPA has a list of registered disinfectants (COVID-19 EPA list). I already have one of these chemicals in my cleaning tote.
3. Assess WHEN to disinfect. My friend Mark in his above-referenced article recommends a 7-day period to allow the pathogens to die-off from surfaces. Reports differ as I've seen 5 days. Nevertheless, this office was vacated on Monday afternoon and I was there on Saturday night. That's 5.5 days, which I deemed safe to go in..
4. The final step was to do the work that I already planned. I wore proper gloves, a mask, and disinfected all of my gear after leaving the office. While in the office, I made sure not touch my mask. The HOW was the easy part. I followed my 9 Mistakes Guide to disinfect properly and killed the potentially infected high-touch surfaces throughout the office. I threw away the PPE after leaving as well. This is obvious, but I wanted to cover it.

The client was relieved and thankful to have a qualified and professional company able to keep their office environment safe for their staff and clients..

This was not the only productive thing I did in my business this week. In a past update, I shared that I agreed to sharing my chamber of commerce experience as a new member with other new members. After my second testimony, I felt a connection to Justin Purcell. He is a manager at Bergey's Tires and a recent graduate of my friend Ken Byler's LEAD course. I suggested that we grab breakfast sometime. He agreed and the two of us met Monday morning before work. Justin is a man of many talents. We share a love for pencil and colored pencil drawing. I have always considered myself above average in this hobby, but Justin takes it to the next level. Here's his Facebook page with some pictures he's done. This is exactly how I grew my business in 2020. I went out of my way as an introvert to meet interesting people in the business community through various networking groups and met up with them for breakfast, coffee, or virtually. This creates friendships and points of trust around the community that refer me for cleaning. I cannot overstate how vital this really is