By Mike Holmes, The Cleaning Guy

With every business, organization and facility reeling in the face of COVID-19, we are all forced to slow down and create new life “rhythm’s” as we wait out what may well be the greatest disruption to our lives and lifestyles that any of us have ever experienced. We are learning to press “pause” on so many of our staples, as our minds and hearts are forced to consider others that find themselves more clearly in the “eye of the storm” than we are.

While it can seem to be somewhat self-absorbed to consider the micro elements of our lives when the macro screams for our attention, there are some things that we can do to make our homes cleaner and safer as we wage the war on COVID-19. I won’t repeat the WHO recommendations and the urging for all of us to “wash hands” and “social distance”, as I trust by now, that we have all got the message. Rather, I will add my voice as a cleaning professional to the other voices out there that are trying to help see us through this unexpected chapter. Here are 5 helpful steps to keep your home base as safe and clean as possible:

• As cleaning experts, we encourage people to first tackle common touch points, such as tables, doorknobs, handrails, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets and sinks. These surfaces typically harbour contaminants and so they require ongoing attention.
• We also recommend the use of stronger products that have higher concentrations of germ-killing substances. Homemade cleaning products are usually not as effective as chemical-based ones: as an example, basic “dish soap” and water are going to be 50- 100 times more effective than vinegar and water.
• Remember, cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting are not one and the same! We typically clean to remove visible soil and dust: we sanitize to remove certain amounts of disease-causing micro-organisms. We disinfect (using stronger, home-safe products like “ZEP” from Home Depot) to remove ALL micro-organisms. Disinfecting requires products to sit on the surface to “dwell” as per the labelled instructions, to effectively kill contaminants.
• When laundering your clothes, use the hottest possible water you can based on the labelled instructions. Consider adding disinfectant to the cycle. (Remember, we sneeze into our sleeves!)
• Finally, pay special attention to your electronics and carefully sanitize/disinfect them using cotton bud swabs dipped in product. Phones, remotes, car fobs are things we all handle constantly and unless cleaned, they quickly undo the impact of our hand-washing efforts.

People ask if our residential and cleaning processes for carpets, furniture and tile will help eradicate viruses. While we would never make that claim, most of our cleaning procedures involve high heat, and historically, bacteria do not survive under the temperatures that our equipment is able to produce. We continue to work a reduced crew during this crisis, but we do so with the utmost care and caution for both our valued clients and our trusted employees.

 

Mike Holmes is the founder of the Cleaning Guy, one of the GTA’s most respected cleaning companies. For more information, visit www.zebratruck.ca