Category: Lifestyle

When using cleaning material or disinfecting chemicals, some normally wouldn’t think too much about the little dangers of mixing chemicals when cleaning different surfaces. It’s usually as simple as reading the instructions and following them to get the job done. Even after reading the instructions, there are some mistakes that can be made that are not noticeable and can cause danger.

Avoid Mixing Cleaning Chemicals

One big mistake that anyone could make is mixing chemicals incorrectly. For example, you should never mix bleach (chlorine) with acidic cleaner or ammonia. This hazardous mixture can create a toxic chloramine gas that is dangerous to inhale. You would think that mixing certain chemicals can help with boosting efficiency, but the wrong mixture can produce dangerous results. Sometimes, the chemicals have some of the ingredients that you may need, which makes reading the fine print on the cleaning products label very important to avoid those mistakes. It is also a good idea to avoid mixing bleach with any other cleaning chemical.

Be Sure To Ventilate

When cleaning in an enclosed space, make sure to keep the space ventilated by keeping the doors and windows open. Doing this will keep you safe and ensure that you are not trapped in the space with the overwhelming chemical fumes. These fumes can be detrimental to your health if you stay confined in it while working in the enclosed area. Opening the door or the windows will provide a path for fresh air to flow in and significantly reduce the risks of you succumbing to the dangers.

Think About Where You Store Cleaning Supplies

When you are putting away your cleaning supplies, you should think about where to keep them for a couple of reasons. Depending on the environment, you may want to consider the temperature. Some cleaning products have warnings and instructions about changes in different temperature so keep that in mind. You also want to consider placing cleaning products in higher, safer places if you have children around. In a household, you typically see these products under the kitchen sink and while it’s convenient it can be hazardous if children get their hands on them. It is also important to use the cleaning products for their intended purpose because they were created to clean that specific surface.

Need help disinfecting your facility in White Plains, NY or the greater tri-state area? Contact the disinfection experts at WOW! BMS today for a free consultation!

Cleaning is Essential to our Country’s Shift Toward Re-opening & Staying Open

As the world continues to reopen from pandemic closures, the challenge to develop & implement standards and guidelines is at the top of the priority list for facility managers. As a facility manager, it is very important to know and understand that; cleaning is not just for aesthetics or appearance. Cleaning is for health. It is also critical to know and understand the difference between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting. Cleaning physical removes soils from the surface, while sanitizing lowers the number of germs to a safe level, and disinfecting eliminates bacteria and viruses on a surface. Keep in mind that porous surfaces such as carpet, linen, couch, and other such fabricated surfaces cannot be disinfected, only sanitized.

Here are Five Questions to Consider for Your Disinfection Plan

1. Who is most at risk in your facility?

According to the CDC, older adults and other individuals with compromised immune systems have a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and other pathogens like Influenza. Facilities with high numbers of at-risk groups, such as nursing homes, will require heightened disinfection protocols than those with low-risk groups.

2. What products should be used to clean & disinfect?

Check that the products you select are listed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website and are proven to be effective against pathogens that can call illness, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

3. Where should your disinfection plan focus the most attention?

Focus on high touch points that everyone in the facility comes in contact with. This includes tabletops, counters, light switches, elevator buttons, door handles, remote controls, water fountains, and more. Other high-risk surfaces such as toilet handles, faucets in restrooms, or those that are in contact with raw food in food service areas should also be a priority.

4. When should you implement your re-opening plan?

While you may prefer for cleaning to be done at the end of the day or during after hours, pathogens are actively traveling between people and indoor spaces all day long. Using a targeted hygiene approach can help employees identify the most important times for cleaning and disinfecting without having to wait for cleaning teams to show up at the end of the day.

5. How are you going to execute your plan?

Whether you go with a Building Service Contractor (BSC )or prefer in house cleaning staff, these cleaning professionals should be trained on how to clean according to the best practices and CDC guidelines. When cleaning and disinfecting a surface, start by cleaning to remove any heavy or visible soil before applying disinfectant to achieve optimal results.

Encourage Hand Hygiene

According to the CDC, keeping our hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water. Why should you place emphasis on hand hygiene?

  • People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without realizing it. Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose, and mouth then make us sick.
  • Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of food or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.
  • Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, table tops, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hand.
  • Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin & eye infections.

Promoting hand hygiene in your facility will help you protect the health of your building occupants and the community. Hand washing helps your body defend against invasive pathogens and allows us to do our part in keeping ourselves and each other healthy and safe.