Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Business if Someone is Sick

11/5/2020 (Permalink)

Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Business if Someone is Sick

As you can imagine; the ongoing pandemic is causing a great deal of stress in our business community.   Since the common goal is to open safely and remain sanitized; most businesses do not have the staff, products or experience to combat this invisible foe.  What we offer below is a description of what the EPA and CDC recommend is what we offer when you call SERVPRO of Sussex County and request the CSC Service.

• Close off areas used by the person who is sick.
• Open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in the area.
• Wait 24 hours before you clean or disinfect. If 24 hours is not feasible, wait as long as possible.
• Clean and disinfect all areas used by the person who is sick, such as offices, bathrooms, common areas, shared electronic equipment like tablets, touch screens, keyboards, remote controls, and ATM machines.
• Vacuum the space if needed. Use a vacuum equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, if available.
• Do not vacuum a room or space that has people in it. Wait until the room or space is empty to vacuum, such as at night, for common spaces, or during the day for private rooms.
• Wear disposable gloves to clean and disinfect. For soft (porous) surfaces such as carpeted floors or rugs, clean the surface with detergents or cleaners appropriate for use on these surfaces, according to the textile’s label. After cleaning, disinfect with an appropriate EPA-registered disinfectant on List N: Disinfectants for use against SARS-CoV-2external icon.
• Temporarily turn off in-room, window-mounted, or on-wall recirculation HVAC to avoid contamination of the HVAC units.
• Do NOT deactivate central HVAC systems. These systems tend to provide better filtration capabilities and introduce outdoor air into the areas that they serve.
• Consider temporarily turning off room fans and the central HVAC system that services the room or space, so that particles that escape from vacuuming will not circulate throughout the facility.
• Once area has been appropriately disinfected, it can be opened for use.
• Workers without close contact with the person who is sick can return to work immediately after disinfection.
• If more than 7 days since the person who is sick visited or used the facility, additional cleaning and disinfection is not necessary.