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Masks to be optional while people work at desks, CNESST says

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  1. Quebec
  2. Local News

The same goes for workers who have physical barriers separating them, Quebec’s workplace safety board has decided.

La Presse Canadienne

Lia Lévesque

Publishing date:

Feb 23, 2022  •  2 hours ago  •  1 minute read As of Feb. 28, those who can work from home will no longer be required to do so. As of Feb. 28, those who can work from home will no longer be required to do so. Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette

Full-time masking won’t be necessary in office buildings as of Feb. 28, Quebec’s workplace safety board has ruled.

The Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail said Wednesday morning that if workers can maintain two metres distance, they won’t need to wear masks.

The same goes for workers who have physical barriers separating them.

However, office workers will have to don masks when they walk through high-circulation areas like hallways and elevators. Those masks must be provided by the employer, the CNESST said.

Acceptable masks include medical masks meeting the ASTM F2100 or EN 14683 type IIR standards, those approved by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ), or any mask with an N95 or P100 filter, the CNESST said.

Offices will also have to ensure that surfaces are regularly disinfected and that employees wash or disinfect their hands regularly.

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Danfoss Invites HVACR Industry Personnel to EnVisioneering Connect!

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Danfoss Invites HVACR Industry Personnel to EnVisioneering Connect! | ACHR News

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Improving indoor ventilation ‘critical’ during cold weather, OSHA says | 2022-02-22

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Washington — Citing the increased circulation of airborne viruses when temperatures drop, “indoor air quality in the workplace during cold weather is especially critical,” OSHA says in a new alert.

“Improving ventilation is a key engineering control that can be used to increase the delivery of clean air and remove or reduce the concentration of viral particles or other contaminants,” the agency continues. “Building managers may perform some steps to improve indoor air, while others should be conducted by a qualified heating, ventilation and air conditioning professional.”

Those steps that employers can take include:

  • Inspect air intake and exhaust ports to ensure they’re clean and free of ice or snow.
  • Replace filters when necessary.
  • Add portable air cleaners with HEPA filters in spaces with high occupancy or limited ventilation.

 

Employers should have an HVAC professional perform regularly scheduled inspections and maintenance as well as:

  • Ensure all HVAC systems are operating in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and design specifications.
  • Clean HVAC system drain pans, heating and cooling coils, and supply/return registers to eliminate contaminants in areas where they tend to settle.
  • Maximize the amount of outdoor air supplied consistent with the heating capacity of the HVAC system.
  • Install air filters with a minimum efficiency reporting value of 13 or better where feasible.

“If MERV-13 filters are not compatible with the HVAC system, use filters with the highest compatible filtering efficiency for the HVAC system,” OSHA says.

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3 outdoor companies hit hard by climate disasters

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Fifteen years ago, Al Gore sounded the alarm about climate change, warning about melting ice caps, droughts, and rising sea levels. Some of us were seeing these changes firsthand in Alaska and other remote locations, but for most Americans the impacts of the crisis seemed awfully abstract.

Until now. According to The Washington Post, one in three Americans lived through a weather disaster in 2021. And the rise of megafires, superstorms, atmospheric rivers, and bomb cyclones is not just disrupting our summer adventures and ski seasons; it’s also presenting very serious challenges to our shops, supply chains, trail crews, and business futures.

Here are three outdoor companies facing these issues head on.

Shuttered in the dark

It took 12 days to reopen Massey’s Outfitters in New Orleans after Hurricane Ida smacked Louisiana with 150-mph winds and rain last summer.

That meant 12 days during which owner Bobby Johnson and others worked in the dark, cleaning up water that ran through a damaged roof and waiting for the internet and power to be restored. It was 12 days during which he had to turn away customers who needed generators, water filters, and other survival goods. Without power and internet, he says, the store just couldn’t operate.

Johnson’s father-in-law started Massey’s Outfitters in 1972, and he and his brother-in-law, Mike Massey, now own and operate three locations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Covington, Louisiana. They know the realities of owning businesses in a hurricane-prone region. But the old stormproofing methods are becoming insufficient as climate change fuels longer and longer hurricane seasons with ever-stronger storms. “When I started in ’93, we would have a storm scare every couple of years,” he says. “Now it’s a storm scare every year.”

Read more: Climate change poses an existential threat to outdoor recreation

And the setbacks keep getting worse. In addition to closing the New Orleans store for 12 days, Hurricane Ida shut the Baton Rouge store for three days and the Covington one for six. Johnson figures it cost his business $140,000 in lost sales—during a month that’s lean already.

“It’s frustrating,” he says. “And as a business owner, I worry about the staff and what they’re going through.”

The company’s operations staff was flung to hotels throughout the region during Ida, some working with spotty internet and cell service for three weeks. Many employees now worry every year about losing their homes or cars to the next monster storm.

Johnson is evolving. His stores established two more backup internet systems, and he’s looking into additional generators. He’s also stocking more disaster supplies. He sold almost $20,000 worth of solar panels and GoalZero power stations in the days before Ida. “Find me a rechargeable fan, because I could have sold 150 of them,” he says.

But the silver linings, he notes, don’t outweigh the costs. “Any hurricane could cause our business to be wiped off the map,” he says. “But the biggest worries are all the stuff that will keep us from being open and the additional costs after the storm—everything you have to do that isn’t normal.”

Smoked out

During the worst of the summer 2021 smoke season, the air quality index outdoors in Reno, Nevada, measured 400, well above the “hazardous” threshold of 300. Indoors, it surpassed 200: officially unsafe for working conditions.

As smoke rolled in from California’s Dixie and Caldor megafires, Patagonia’s major distribution center sent home hundreds of employees to protect them from the “stagnant, smoke-laden place,” says Chris Joyce, Patagonia’s head of distribution, logistics, people, and sustainability. Even public schools closed.

“Twenty-five years ago, when this building was built, it relied on the idea that you’d have nice, cold, clean mountain air to draw in at night in order to cool the building,” Joyce says. “We kept our energy usage low by not having air conditioning units to try to cool a 300,000-square-foot space. But that meant for the entire summer, we no longer could bring cool, clean air into the building.” Last summer was the center’s worst yet. Smoke season lasted 12 weeks in 2021 (up from six weeks in 2020), forcing the building to close for two full days and three partial days.

Patagonia took a bottom-line hit not only in employee wages for those days (paid out in full), but also in buying pallets of portable air-filtration systems for employees to take home at half price. The company noted losses from shipping delays to e-commerce and wholesalers: “Millions of dollars sitting on the dock,” Joyce says.

Read more: Competing ski resort operators join forces to fight climate change

Joyce is working through how much it will cost to retrofit some kind of energy-efficient cooling system into the main warehouse. Early estimates come in around $2 million, and that doesn’t include the other nearly 500,000 square feet of warehouse buildings the company has in Reno.

Moving elsewhere seems futile. “Because this is climate change, there’s nowhere in the West that isn’t being impacted by smoke or fires more and more heavily each year,” he says. The brand has felt the impact before: In 2017, when Patagonia’s leadership team waged war on the Trump administration’s decision to shrink Bears Ears National Monument, they worked from hotel rooms spread out across Southern California after being displaced from their main campus by the 281,000-acre Thomas wildfire.

Patagonia has spoken out about public lands and climate change issues for years. And every year, it gets more and more personal.

In hot water

Hilary Hutcheson saw climate change coming. When she started guiding anglers on rivers in Northern Montana in the 1990s, climate scientists were already warning of what would come.

“They correctly predicted earlier snowmelt, which would make trees grow sooner and soak up the water that we’d need come August,” she says. “We’re seeing unprecedented warming on classic trout streams, which leads to undue stress on fish, plus hybridization of native and non-native species that threaten ecosystem stability, wacky runoffs that can strip native trout beds, dried-up riverbeds, increased nutrient loads, and epic wildfires that wipe out habitat and erase shade.” For a fly-fishing guide and the owner of a fly shop (Lary’s Fly and Supply in Columbia Falls, Montana), that means working in a fundamentally different place from what she’s known since childhood.

Fly-fishing has seen a resurgence since the pandemic, so business is good right now. But Hutcheson knows it likely won’t last. “I’m aware we can have good seasons,” she says, “but the overall impact of climate change is not something we can recover from in the long run if we let it continue to do what it’s doing right now.”

In 2018, a fire ripped through Glacier National Park, forcing Hutcheson off the river for nine days. Similarly, she’s heard from other fly-fishing outfitters that they experience a dramatic drop in business during bad fire seasons.

Read more: What can the industry do to have a real impact on climate?

Already, many rivers face longer “hoot owl” restrictions, meaning anglers must stop fishing by 2 p.m. because hot water stresses fish (and angling makes it worse). Some rivers have closed completely, putting more pressure on other waterways. “And when we have wildfires, we get some cancelations because clients don’t want to breathe the smoke and they can’t see the mountain views,” she says. “For me, I don’t care about making money. I care about the people and the planet and the anglers coming. It is going to wreck the fishery overall.”

Hutcheson is using the opportunity to talk to clients about climate change and how they can make a difference. Her fly shop is carbon neutral: She’s reduced energy use from appliances and changed supply chain shipping patterns, and she buys carbon offsets. She recently produced a short film called DROP about the impacts of climate change and possible solutions.

“We’re focused on selling trips and fly rods, but our success gets the attention of policy makers who recognize the economic importance of the outdoor community,” she says. “So I hope we keep reminding them that we’re powerful and growing.”

This feature is a part of our “Code Red” series, a special report designed to help businesses make a real impact in the face of impending climate crisis. It first appeared in the Winter 2022 issue of our print magazine. Read the full issue here. 

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Bluezone Model 450 Air Cleaner Receives FDA 510(k) Class II Medical Device Clearance

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WOBURN, MA, USA, February 23, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Bluezone Products, Inc., a Massachusetts manufacturer of germicidal UV-C based air cleaning products, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared its Bluezone Model 450 air cleaner as a Class II medical device. The Bluezone Model 450 Air Purifier is a free standing, air purifying device utilizing ultraviolet light for the inactivation of viral aerosols in medical facilities and occupied spaces. With this clearance, the Bluezone Model 450 will now be offered as a medical device to hospitals, nursing homes, and medical and dental offices to mitigate risks associated with the coronavirus.

The FDA clearance was contingent on the extensive amount of testing conducted by Bluezone Products Inc. to quantify the high-level performance of the Bluezone Model 450 in killing airborne viruses, bacteria and mold. Independent third-party testing in large, room-sized chambers demonstrated that the Model 450 achieved a 99.9995% kill of MS2 Bacteriophage, an accepted SARS-CoV-2 surrogate, as well as a 99.99% kill of mold and bacterial spores. In addition, to achieve this clearance, Bluezone Products, Inc. needed to demonstrate that the Model 450 met stringent safety standards.

“We are very pleased to have successfully completed the 510(k) clearance process and to now offer a medical device to reduce viral load in the air,” said Karen Benedek, CEO of Bluezone Products Inc. “There are few options to decrease the risk associated with airborne viruses that do not create some discomfort and discord. Air cleaning with germicidal UV-C is a proven, effective virus reduction method for all occupied spaces. The process of FDA clearance is exhaustive, and we are very pleased that the Model 450 has achieved this milestone.”

The decision of Bluezone management to pursue and secure a Class II medical device clearance reflects the company’s commitment to produce only scientifically proven products. Currently available in the marketplace are the Bluezone highly effective, quiet, high-capacity air cleaners for K-12 schools, higher education, daycares, and office spaces.

Bluezone Products, Inc. partners with The Middleby Corporation to provide air cleaning products to restaurants and the food industry. Middleby is a world leader in innovative equipment solutions and is committed to offering advanced products that make the indoor spaces safer for customers and employees.
“The FDA clearance is important today, especially as mask mandates are ending and we all strive to maintain layers of virus protection in indoor spaces. Effectively and safely cleaning the indoor air at senior living sites and medical locations as well as restaurants could not be a more urgent.” said Scott Heim, Middleby Division President leading the Bluezone-by-Middleby effort.

“UV-C light technology is already recognized as the gold standard for air cleaning and virus destruction. The FDA clearance provides further confirmation of the safety and efficacy of the Bluezone air cleaners in any indoor application,” Heim continued.
The Bluezone Model 450 air cleaners are immediately available at www.bluezone.com
2

ABOUT BLUEZONE PRODUCTS, INC. Bluezone Products, Inc. is dedicated to helping people safely get back to work, school and recreation during the Covid-19 pandemic. We proudly create scientifically tested air purifiers that offer safety and fresh preservation solutions to our customers. Bluezone Products, Inc. is reinventing the science of fresh air. By applying our U.S. military-developed technology, Bluezone Products, Inc. creates clean and healthy spaces to live and work, grow crops, and store food. Our products for occupied spaces reduce the risk of spreading airborne viruses inside buildings. Our wide range of commercial and custom products keep every link of the global perishable supply chain Bluezone-fresh for maximum product quality, employee health, and financial return. For more information about Bluezone Products Inc please visit www.bluezonefresh.com

ABOUT THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION The Middleby Corporation is a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry. The company develops, manufactures, markets and services a broad line of equipment used in the commercial foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen equipment industries. For more information about The Middleby Corporation and the Bluezone by Middleby brand, please visit www.middleby.com and www.bluezone.com

Contacts:

LeAnne Williams
The Middleby Corporation
+1 503-208-7608
[email protected]

Michael Carbone
Bluezone Products
+1 781-937-0202
[email protected]

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MMSD to launch ‘phased approach’ for masks as Dane County mandate ends | Coronavirus

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MADISON (WKOW) — With the Dane County mask mandate set to expire March 1, the Madison Metropolitan School District will begin to relax mask rules on school grounds while retaining some protective measures.

According to a news release, the district has planned a two-phase approach to address masking in the district. As part of Phase One, MMSD will lift outdoor mask requirements on school grounds March 1, as well as allow athletes and extracurricular activity participants to unmask “when they are actively competing, exerting or performing.” Spectators and coaches will still be required to wear masks.

The district will still “strongly recommend” masks when outdoors on school grounds.

Phase Two of the plan addresses masks in school buildings, which will be required at least through spring break. According to the release, students and staff coming back to school from breaks has led to spikes in positive tests throughout the pandemic.

In an email to district staff and families, MMSD Superintendent Dr. Carlton Jenkins said this approach serves as a “safeguard” against another jump in cases.

“Historically, our return from breaks have fueled significant spikes in positive case counts throughout the pandemic. Therefore, we will continue with masking indoors through spring break with a commitment to provide an updated decision on indoor masking after spring break and no later than April 15, 2022,” Jenkins said in the email.

Jenkins said the goal of keeping the indoor mandate in place is to keep students in school buildings for class with a spike in cases potentially on the horizon following spring break.

In addition to the masking requirement, MMSD will continue to push for staff and students to get their vaccines, promote social distancing, encourage frequent testing, keep buildings ventilated, keep up handwashing protocols, encourage students and staff to stay home when sick, clean and disinfect school buildings and continue contract tracing programs.

“As a result of a steady, thoughtful, and meticulous approach to safety mitigation, we are in a much better position than we were only weeks ago,” Jenkins said.

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Tesla agrees to pay $275,000 penalty to EPA after violating Clean Air Act

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Tesla and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) settled the electric automaker’s Clean Air Act violation from April 2021. Tesla will pay a $275,000 penalty.

The EPA announced the terms of the settlement earlier today.

In April 2021, Tesla was accused by the EPA of violating the federal Clean Air Act regulations known as National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Surface Coating of Automobiles and Light-Duty Trucks from October 2016 through September 2019. Tesla violated the regulations by:

  • Failing to develop and/or implement a work practice plan to minimize hazardous air pollutants emissions from the storage and mixing of materials used in vehicle coating operations.
  • Failing to correctly perform required monthly emissions calculations needed to demonstrate that the facility’s coating operations complied with federal hazardous air pollutant standards.
  • Failing to collect and keep all required records associated with the calculation of the hazardous air pollutants emission rate for Tesla’s coating operations.

“Today’s enforcement action against Tesla reflects EPA’s continued commitment to ensure compliance with federal clean air laws,” the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said. “EPA takes seriously every company’s obligation to safeguard our environment and protect our most vulnerable communities.”

The EPA added that Tesla corrected the violations noted in both settlements and returned to compliance.

The agency also says that people living in communities close to sources of hazardous air pollutants can face significant risks to their health and environment. There are currently over 180 chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other health issues. Tesla’s facility was found to be using a coating that contained formaldehyde, ethylbenzene, naphthalene, and xylene.

Last year, Tesla also agreed to pay a $1 million fine and install solar panels on top of the Fremont Factory following a settlement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which found 33 violations at the facility. These violations included emissions exceeding Tesla’s permit limits, installing or modifying equipment without proper permits, failure to conduct required emissions testing, failure to maintain records, and failure to report information to the Air District in a timely manner.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at [email protected]. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at [email protected].

Tesla agrees to pay $275,000 penalty to EPA after violating Clean Air Act

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The hard truth about East Lansing’s harsh, drying water

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Are your showers getting you clean? 

Hard water may not be a term many are familiar with, but it’s something most MSU students have certainly experienced. The water, which is high in mineral content, can cause dry skin and weaken water pressure.

What is hard water?

Hard water is a non-harmful form of drinking water that comes from groundwater supplies and is determined by the milligrams of calcium per carbonate per liter. Hard water contains calcium carbonate and magnesium that reside inside the water molecules which can affect how water interacts with different surfaces. Water from the ground in Lansing is very hard, but through water treatments, groundwater can be softened. 

By pumping the groundwater into a conditioning plant, lime is added to the water to remove the calcium carbonate and magnesium before ferric chloride may be added to treat fine particles of minerals in the water. Then, the water goes through sand filters, much like the regular water cleaning process, to remove cloudiness that was not removed during the chemical treatment. In East Lansing, this method recycles and removes around 65% of the hardness of the water.

East Lansing Meridian Water and Sewer Authority, or ELMWSA, maintenance planner Joel Martinez said the cleaning process is integral to East Lansing’s water supply to maintain a moderately hard level. 

“We are a 24-hour-a-day staffed facility, 365 days a year,” Martinez said. “We do constant chemistry checks to the water as it comes through the plant. We’re doing multiple tests per hour to ensure we are putting out the correct quality. We want the correct amount of softening.”

The reason that water cannot be softened more in East Lansing is because of the negative effects soft water has on pipes, as soft water has a higher sodium content that could corrode the older pipes in the area. For that reason, the ELMWSA finds a middle ground between soft and hard water.

“It’s good for the pipes, and the pipes will last a long time, but we also want the water to be softened,“ Martinez said. “If you soften the water too much, it actually becomes corrosive to pipes, so that’s why we don’t remove all of the hardness.”

The form of measurement for water hardness is in parts-per-million, or ppm, that ranges from zero to 180 mg per liter. 

Up to 60 mg of calcium carbonate is considered soft water, 61 to 121 mg is listed as moderately hard and 121 up to 180 is ranked as hard. Anything above 180 mg of calcium carbonate is considered very hard.

In East Lansing, according to the annual water-quality report, total hardness sits at 110 ppm, just below hard levels, with a pH scale of nine units. Regular drinking water sits in the range of 6.5–8.5 pH, which makes the water in the area more alkaline. Alkaline water has positive benefits for the human body and pH level, which actually makes tap water better to drink than purified water.

While there are benefits to drinking hard alkaline water, there are certain differences for moderately hard water. It is more of an aesthetic issue than most should worry about, but when searching for an apartment, it is important to know if the complex treats their water independently with filters or not. 

Soft water can pick up minerals from the system which could be hazardous in older lead pipes. In December 2016, the Lansing Board of Water and Light removed the last lead pipe in Lansing. 

Ways to spot hard water when searching for rentals can be tricky. Well-maintained complexes will keep the buildup of minerals cleaned regularly. Unmaintained hard water faucets will have white build ups of calcium and lime around taps, lower water pressure, spots of residue on surfaces that come in contact with water and sediment buildup in pipes and appliances like washing machines and dishwashers. 

“One thing that I look for in an apartment is that they have a bathtub instead of just having a shower,” ​​journalism senior Demetria Bias said. “For some bathtubs, if the water is harsh enough, it’ll make the drain of it rust and make it unappealing to the buyer who wants to get a lease at the apartment.”

How hard water effects MSU students 

If you’ve ever wondered why your hair was on the fritz while living in your dorm, or why sensitive skin can become a nightmare to handle when you’re away from home, hard water is the answer. Hard water can strip naturally-occurring oils from the skin, and, in turn, can leave a buildup of minerals on the body. Soaps and detergents will not be as effective in lathering  when in contact with the water causing soap scum.

On campus, Michigan State is supplied water from their own pipeline which does not contribute to the greater East Lansing area. In 2019, the Michigan State Water Quality Report said the hardness of water averaged at 591 ppm, which blows East Lansing out of the pool. 

“When I lived on campus, I could tell it was hard because it smelled like pennies,” Bias said “It smelled like metal compared to having water back home. I didn’t wash my hair when I stayed on campus … because I lived in McDonel and it was too rough, so I said no. You always hear stories of it turning girls’ hair green and it stripping it of its nutrients.”

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Communications and journalism senior Brea Crawford spoke about how water on campus affected her hair and even body at times when living on campus. Choosing to live off-campus, the conditions of the water and treatment were an important part of the renting process.

“I was realizing as I was eating food on campus, I was having very bad stomach pains to the point where as soon as I would brush my teeth or eat food in the cafeteria, I would have to go to the bathroom,” Crawford said. “I did go to the doctor three months into me being on campus, and she did let me know it was due to the water on campus. … I knew from that moment forward I needed to move off-campus if I wanted to survive as a Michigan State student.”

A reverse-osmosis filter, or an RO filter, is one of the only ways at-home services can soften water. By asking apartment complexes if they offer RO filters for showers or faucets, moderately hard water can be softened to reduce the effect on drying skin and leaving residue on surfaces. As RO filters are expensive and hard to install, Martinez recommends point-of-use shower system filters, which are easier to install for in-unit applications. 

“If you’re up here by yourself with no parents, your health comes first,” Crawford said. “College is already so stressful, so something so simple as water — a necessity that we need — that could possibly take you out? It’s scary.”

This story is part of our 2022 spring housing guide. Read the full issue here.

Discussion

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XOi Collaborate to Enable Proactive Data-driven Decision Making for Aire Serv Franchises

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XOi Collaborate to Enable Proactive Data-driven Decision Making for Aire Serv Franchises | ACHR News

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Disinfection Protocols for Public Buildings

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Cleaning professionals often feel left out when it comes to general cleaning and disinfection guidance from federal authorities, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Advice from the CDC and other federal agencies is often geared more toward health care workers and environmental services (EVS) staff in medical facilities than cleaning specialists in general buildings. 

For instance, in health care settings, disinfection means killing 99.999% (5-log kill) of germs for some pathogens and 99.9999% (6-log kill) for others. However, the rule of thumb in the cleaning industry has been to use disinfectants that have a 5-log kill as most products that deliver a 6-log kill are not safe for use in a home or occupied public facility. 

As they cannot always follow guidelines specific to health care facilities, professional cleaners need general advice suitable for all the buildings they service. Consider the tips below when setting up a disinfection process at your facility. 

Choose biocidal products with caution

Take great care when choosing a biocidal product. Some disinfectants that offer a wide range of kill claims, such as glutaraldehyde, can cause potential serious health risks to the product users. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states there is no safe level of exposure to glutaraldehyde over an 8-hour day or 40-hour week. The antimicrobial product most cleaners who service the built environment use is a hospital-grade disinfectant with a tuberculosis kill claim.

Before choosing an antimicrobial biocide, perform a risk assessment to ensure you choose the correct product for specific hazards of the worksite. All disinfectants have a list of biologicals that they are proven to inactivate (kill). For example, when dealing with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, cleaners are expected to use a disinfectant that is on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) List N, as products on this list have demonstrated efficacy against the virus. 

Antimicrobial products used in the United States must have a label that includes an EPA registration number. Think of a disinfectant product label as a contract between the product manufacturer and the end-user. If you follow the label directions, you will get the promised kill claim.

Avoid these common disinfection mistakes

The key steps to successful cleaning and disinfecting are:

  • Preclean the area thoroughly (Porous surfaces such as concrete may require multiple cleanings.) 
  • Choose the appropriate disinfectant product
  • Allow the contact time or dwell time specified on the product label
  • After reaching the dwell time, remove disinfectant residues from the surface, if required.

Precleaning is the step most overlooked by professional cleaners. Most disinfectant products work best when applied to a clean surface. If these products touch a contaminated surface they become “inactivated” and do not penetrate past the first layer of germs. 

Another commonly overlooked step is not allowing the disinfectant to stay wet on the surface for the required contact time. Some products require up to a 10-minute dwell time, which can be challenging in a dry environment. To achieve proper dwell time, consider choosing disinfectant products that require shorter contact times such as those with a 1- to 5-minute range. For vertical surfaces, think about switching your cleaner/disinfectant solutions to foamers and using products that can be applied by electrostatic sprayers to maintain the contact time.

Use proper terminology

It’s good customer service to let your clients know their site is sanitary and safe to occupy. However, do not declare a site “fully disinfected,” even after you’ve used a disinfectant that inactivates the biological agent your customers are trying to eliminate. Instead, say that you have “applied the appropriate disinfectant” or “have performed a cleaning that has reduced the contaminants and have applied an approved disinfectant product to surfaces X, Y, and Z.” In high-risk situations, you may want to go a step further to have the site cleared and deemed safe via a post-remediation verification from an independent, third-party, indoor environmental professional. 

Remember, a freshly cleaned and disinfected building can become contaminated the moment a new person enters the site. Help your customers understand this. Use proper terminology for the services you have completed and follow the product’s label directions implicitly. Follow the law by applying antimicrobials according to the methods outlined on the label directions. If the directions do not say you can apply the product with a fogger or an electrostatic sprayer, then do not do it. 

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