Let’s get the dialogue right
Dr Stefan Wagener, Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) Scientific Advisor & Trainer, talks to us about Coronavirus cleaning methodology.
As the Coronavirus has been identified as an enveloped virus, similar to influenza, we have proven cleaning methodologies and protocols which we can bring to bear as we try to combat its spread.
However, the amount of misinformation or misuse of industry terminology by official bodies and by many cleaning
customers is leading to greater confusion,
higher risk of spread and a higher potential for customer dissatisfaction. Here’s what you need to explain to end customers to ensure less risk and happier clientele.
Define cleaning, sanitising and
disinfecting What is cleaning? Cleaning is the removal of visible and invisible soiling. Cleaning prepares a surface or item for disinfection. Disinfection is a process that eliminates many or all pathogenic microorganisms, except bacterial spores, on inanimate objects. In contrast to disinfection which is done to kill and destroy bacteria and viruses, sanitising is gentler: it just lowers the level of biological agents on an object to a safe level.
At this time, we do not know what a safe level of sanitising for COVID-19 is. Therefore, disinfection will inactivate/ destroy the virus if the appropriate procedures and chemicals are used.
When a customer thinks they need a
‘deep clean’ What’s in a name? Deep cleaning means different things to
62 | INFECTION CONTROL & PREVENTION
different people. The dental industry uses it for your teeth, the household cleaning businesses use it for getting in all the nooks and crevices of your house, and others are now using it for COVID-19 cleaning. That is confusing, and since there’s no common definition, we need to focus on the ultimate outcome of any process to create clarity.
For the coronavirus, we need to disinfect surfaces and objects that are both potentially contaminated with the virus and are frequently touched and/or used. Customers need to understand and be able to articulate what they want to see at the end of any process.
During the current outbreak, for surfaces that are soiled, we need a two-stage process. First, surfaces are cleaned to remove soil. Secondly, they are disinfected with appropriate chemicals and processes. Some chemicals allow for the combination of these two processes, since they clean and disinfect at the same time.
Select what is most suitable and approved. Very carefully read the chemical product label and follow the application protocol. Most chemicals for disinfection require the surface to stay wet for a certain dwell time to be able to destroy the virus. Also, any chemical you use might require specific personal protective equipment (PPE) for the cleaning worker to be protected. This information is available on the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) available for all approved disinfectants – review this information carefully.
Requests are coming in like wildfire, with a host of different phrases that customers likely don’t fully understand what they’re really asking for – terms like deep clean, hazard clean, emergency clean, sanitisation clean, pandemic clean.
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