Janitorial Services and Vaccinations
Janitorial services and vaccinations is an interesting topic. The individuals tasked with cleaning your building may not be following CDC protocols to keep your building properly cleaned. What happens if an infected cleaning technician cleans your building while infected with COVID-19? Here are some reasons to encourage your office cleaning service to get vaccinated.
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Does your commercial cleaning service wear masks while cleaning?
If your cleaning company wears a mask while cleaning, even if an asymptomatic cleaner were cleaning your building, the mask will prevent much of the virus from landing on the surfaces. COVID-19 cleaning procedures require the high-touch areas to be cleaned, then disinfected. If the cleaner properly cleaned and disinfected the high-touch areas, those areas would only be a concern after the disinfection occurred. Most cleaning companies will clean the surfaces before addressing the floors, so the opportunity for re-contamination should be minimal.
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Are any employees present while the janitorial service is cleaning?
Since the beginning of COVID-19, many offices require their staff to leave before the cleaning staff enters. This procedure helps with the janitorial services and vaccinations debate, as little to no person-to-person contact should occur if this policy is followed. In the even that an employee hasn’t left when the commercial cleaning company arrives, the employee can wear a mask while the cleaning occurs.
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What are the risks of COVID-19 transmission?
The CDC states that COVID-19 is difficult to catch from a surface (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html). If masks and gloves are worn during the cleaning, employee contact with the commercial cleaning company is minimized, and proper cleaning protocols are followed during each cleaning, the risk of cleaning technicians is very minimal. However, responsible janitorial services should encourage their technicians to get vaccinated, when available.
For additional information on commercial cleaning services education, visit ISSA at https://www.issa.com/. For information on janitorial services and vaccinations in Columbia, South Carolina, visit Palmetto Commercial Services at https://www.palmettocommercialservices.com.
