The pandemic has made everyone more mindful of potentially harmful germs and viruses all around us and doing everything we can to keep from getting sick. The terms disinfecting and sanitizing are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same. Here’s how they differ, and which process is best to prevent COVID-19.
The Difference Between Sanitizing and Disinfecting
When it comes to sanitizing vs. disinfecting, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has laid out clear guidelines.
• Sanitizing lowers the number of germs on surfaces or objects to a safe level, as judged by public health standards or requirements. At this time, there are no sanitizer-only products approved to kill viruses, including COVID-19.
• Disinfecting kills germs and viruses on surfaces, reducing the risk of spreading infection. Experts recommend using disinfection products and services to achieve the maximum level of protection from COVID-19 and other harmful illnesses.
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has released a list of approve disinfectants. Follow label directions, including wearing gloves when necessary and making sure surfaces remain wet for the recommended amount of time (usually several minutes). This will allow the product to work effectively and kill off the maximum bacteria.
Commonly Touched Surfaces
Use disinfecting sprays or pre-soaked disinfecting wipes to kill bacteria and viruses on high-touch surfaces. You probably know the biggest culprits in your business, including door handles, light switches, and restroom toilets and sinks. Employees should also be encouraged to disinfect their desks or personal workspaces on a regular basis. Desk phones, computer keyboards, and forgotten coffee cups can all contain and spread germs.
Some other commonly used objects you may be overlooking in your business may include, copy machines, chairs, coffee makers, and refrigerator door handles. Don’t forget to disinfect these surfaces on a regular basis.
As a business owner, you may not think personal cellphones are your responsibility to disinfect, but they are common germ carriers. Providing employees with disinfecting wipes that contain 70 percent isopropyl alcohol to clean their cellphones is another easy way to prevent the spread of illness.
Virus Vaporizer
To save time and disinfect larger areas throughout your business, you may want to partner with a commercial cleaning service, such as Enviro-Master Services. Our Virus Vaporizer™ electrostatic spraying service is food safe and can be used in every area of your business, including restrooms, breakrooms, offices and more. It’s completely safe and kills 99.999 percent of 47 different disease-causing pathogens, including COVID-19.
Here’s how it works. The electrostatic sprayer puts a positive charge on the EPA registered hospital-grade germicide. Everything on the earth has a negative charge and you know that opposites attract. So, when we spray the positively charged solution onto a negatively charged surface, the disinfectant is magnetically drawn to the surface, wrapping around every nook and cranny, to kill germs and viruses.
Electrostatic spaying is non-toxic and environmentally friendly. It uses oxygen along with the germicide to break down and kill bacteria and viruses. Using oxygen also means germs can’t build up a resistance to the product. This disinfecting process keeps working all week long, until the technician returns, and the disinfecting process is repeated.
Electrostatic spraying is a quick and efficient way to follow the business disinfecting guidelines you created for your workplace. The service is commonly used by offices, restaurants, schools, daycares, churches, restaurants, gyms and more.
Signs Your Customers and Employees Will Appreciate
The pandemic has made us all more observant of the steps business are taking to protect our health. We’re all washing our hands more often and are really appreciative when we walk into a business and they have public hand sanitizing stations for anyone to use.
Every step you take to disinfect your business is a sign to customers and employees and you’re taking their health seriously. A Certificate of Disinfection is another sign you can hang in your business to let everyone see that you’re partnering with a trusted company to kill the viruses and germs they can’t see. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you protect your business.
