Month: February 2021

Cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting are often used as if they mean the same thing. In reality, each one does a different job. Knowing the difference helps you choose the right step for each surface and avoid the mistakes that make disinfection fail.

So here is what each term means, when to use it, and how to make sanitizing and disinfecting work in your facility.

Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Defined

The CDC explains the three steps this way:

  • Cleaning with soap or detergent decreases the number of germs on surfaces and removes dirt.
  • Sanitizing reduces the remaining germs on surfaces after cleaning.
  • Disinfecting kills harmful germs that remain on surfaces after cleaning.

In other words, cleaning comes first, while sanitizing and disinfecting build on it.

Always Clean First

Dirt and grime can keep sanitizing and disinfecting chemicals from killing germs effectively. For this reason, the CDC advises cleaning surfaces before you sanitize or disinfect them. Some products are labeled to clean and disinfect in one step, but check the label before you rely on that.

When to Use Sanitizing and Disinfecting

Not every surface needs disinfection every day. For example, the CDC recommends cleaning high touch surfaces regularly and disinfecting where people have clearly been sick. Meanwhile, sanitizing is common on surfaces such as food contact areas, where the product label allows it.

Common Mistakes That Stop Disinfection Working

Even the right product fails if it is used the wrong way. Watch for these mistakes:

  1. Skipping the cleaning step. Visible soil blocks the disinfectant.
  2. Ignoring contact time. The surface should stay wet for the full contact time on the label.
  3. Using the wrong product. Always confirm that the product suits the surface.
  4. Dirty tools. Cloths and mops can spread germs, so change them often and keep them separate by area.
  5. Mixing chemicals. Some combinations create dangerous fumes.

Training for Sanitizing and Disinfecting

Ultimately, sanitizing and disinfecting are only as good as the people doing them. So train crews on what each product does, how to apply it and how long to leave it. In addition, check the work regularly. For a step by step approach, see our guide to cleaning and disinfecting protocols.

How WOW! Handles Sanitizing and Disinfecting

WOW! Facility Services trains every team member on cleaning methodologies, equipment handling and chemical usage. Our Elevated Clean program includes integrated disinfection and high touch surface programs, with a premium tier that adds enhanced disinfection where a facility needs it.

Every program starts with a facility assessment. Then we build a customized scope of work around your building. Once service begins, account managers complete quality control inspections against that scope. Meanwhile, our integrated operational platform technology documents inspections, deficiencies and corrections.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one product clean and disinfect at the same time?
Some products are labeled for one step cleaning and disinfecting on surfaces without visible soil. Always check the label first, and clean dirty surfaces before disinfecting.

Do I have to switch vendors after a facility assessment?
No. WOW! offers facility assessments at no cost and with no obligation. In fact, you can use one simply to benchmark your current program.

Which areas does WOW! serve?
WOW! Facility Services has its headquarters in White Plains and serves New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, including Westchester County, Fairfield County, Rockland County and New York City.

Get Disinfection Right

WOW! Facility Services has its headquarters in White Plains and serves New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Book a facility assessment at no cost and with no obligation, or call 1-866-780-9966. Want a quick benchmark first? Then grade your current service with the Facility Assessment Scorecard.

Your floors take their hardest hit of the year between December and March. That is why winter floor care matters so much. Snow, ice melt, sand and slush ride in on every pair of shoes. As a result, finishes dull, salt lines appear, and the carpet near your entrance starts to look tired by February.

Good winter floor care is not about scrubbing harder in March. Instead, it is a plan that starts before the first storm. Here is what that plan should include, and how to tell whether your current program has one.

Why Winter Is So Hard on Your Floors

Most of the dirt inside a building does not start there. In fact, ISSA estimates that about 80 percent of the soil, dust and contaminants in a facility come in through the door, as reported by CleanLink.

In winter, that soil is also harder on surfaces. For example, sand acts like sandpaper on floor finish. Meanwhile, ice melt leaves a white residue that can dull hard floors and stiffen carpet if nobody removes it.

Your first impression suffers too. After all, the lobby floor is often the first thing your tenants, residents and visitors notice.

Winter Floor Care Starts at the Entrance

The easiest dirt to remove is the dirt that never gets past the door. That is why a matting program is the backbone of winter floor care.

  • Use more than one mat. First, a scraper mat outside knocks off snow and sand. Then a wiper mat inside the entrance catches moisture and fine grit.
  • Give mats enough length. Short mats fill up fast. So plan for enough matting that people take several steps on it before they reach your hard floors.
  • Maintain the mats themselves. A saturated mat stops working. As a result, it spreads water and salt instead of catching them. Vacuum, extract or swap mats on a set schedule, and more often during storms.

Daily Winter Floor Care Practices

Matting reduces the problem, but it does not remove it. Therefore, your daily program needs to change once the weather turns.

  • Mop entrances more often. Salt lines and puddles build up within hours on a busy day. For this reason, entrances, lobbies and elevator landings need extra passes during and after storms.
  • Change mop water often. Dirty water simply moves salt from one spot to another. Dual chamber buckets also help keep clean solution and dirty water apart.
  • Use the right cleaner for salt. Ice melt residue needs a cleaner suited to removing it. Otherwise, the white film comes back as soon as the floor dries.
  • Keep floors dry. Wet floors are a slip risk as well as a finish problem. Above all, wet floor signs and quick spot drying belong in every winter routine.

Plan Deep Cleaning Before and After Winter

Daily care protects your floors. However, it cannot restore them. That is the job of periodic floor care such as scrubbing, refinishing, stripping and waxing, and carpet extraction.

Timing matters here. A fresh coat of finish before the first storm gives hard floors a layer of protection. Then a deep clean in early spring removes the salt and grit that winter left behind. For more on building that calendar, see our guide to your floor care strategy.

Questions to Ask About Your Winter Floor Care Program

If you are not sure your floors are ready, start with a few simple questions:

  1. Who checks and changes the entrance mats during a storm?
  2. How often are entrances mopped on snowy days, and who confirms it?
  3. When were your hard floors last refinished?
  4. Is spring floor restoration already on the calendar?

If any answer is “I’m not sure,” your floors are probably paying for it. Equally important, you should not have to chase your vendor for those answers.

How WOW! Handles Winter Floor Care

At WOW! Facility Services, every program starts with a facility assessment. During that visit, we look at your entrances, traffic flow and floor types. Next, we build winter floor care into a customized scope of work, including matting, daily entrance care and periodic floor care services.

Once service begins, account managers complete quality control inspections against that scope. Meanwhile, our integrated operational platform technology documents inspections, deficiencies and corrections, so you can see what was done and when.

Get Your Floors Ready Before the First Storm

WOW! Facility Services has its headquarters in White Plains and serves New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Book a facility assessment at no cost and with no obligation, or call 1-866-780-9966. Want a quick benchmark first? Then grade your current service with the Facility Assessment Scorecard.