COVID - 19
Coronavirus
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.
Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.
How to stop viruses like coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading:
wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
always wash your hands when you get home or into work
use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards
try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell
Do you know what is the difference between cleaning, sanitising, and disinfecting and how do these tasks help control infectious disease?
Before choosing a cleaning or antimicrobial product, you will first need to decide whether the surface needs to be cleaned, sanitized, or disinfected. In most cases, you will need to clean a surface before you sanitize or disinfect. But it doesn’t make sense to disinfect something that only needs to be cleaned. The products used to disinfect are more toxic than products used just to clean.
CLEANING
Reduces germs, dirt, and impurities by removing them from surfaces or objects. Dirt and organic material make some disinfectants less effective, so cleaning is necessary before disinfecting in most cases.
Works by using soap or detergent and water to physically remove germs from surfaces. This process does not necessarily kill germs.
Lowers the risk of spreading infection by washing germs down the drain.
Has been shown to remove up to 98% of bacteria and 93% of viruses from surfaces using microfiber and water in tests published by the EPA.
Removes the food and water that allow germs to survive and reproduce.
Removes dust, molds, irritants, and allergens that can trigger asthma symptoms.
SANITISING
Sanitizing is the use of a chemical product or device (like a dishwasher or a steam mop) that reduces the number of germs on surfaces or objects to a level considered safe by public health standards or requirements. Sanitizing kills most germs but not all of them.
For food service, a sanitiser should reduce the number of germs on a surface by 99.999% within 30 seconds.
For hard surfaces not used for food service the level should be at least 99.9%.
Sanitizing products should state on their label the surfaces they are intended to be used on.
Sanitising does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs. Most sanitizers, as well as disinfectants, require a clean surface in order to be effective at killing germs.
DISINFECTING
Disinfecting uses chemicals to kill 99.999% of germs on hard, non-porous surfaces or objects.
Does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs;
Kills germs on contact (when the disinfectant sits visibly wet, or “dwells,” on the surface for a specified length of time) after the surface has been cleaned;
Only works on hard, nonporous surfaces. Carpets and upholstery and other porous surfaces cannot be sanitised or disinfected with a chemical product;
Is temporary! As soon as a surface has been touched or coughed, sneezed or breathed on, germs start growing on it again.
Some germs are very hard to kill, while others are easily killed by many disinfectants, and even plain soap.
Also some devices can be used to disinfect; for example machines that apply steam to surfaces. These devices are very effective, work quickly, and use no chemicals. Some are mops and others look like a canister vacuum with attachments for use on different surfaces. They can also disinfect surfaces that chemical disinfectants cannot, such as upholstery and carpets.
Because disinfectants are pesticides designed to kill or inactivate germs, you should make sure you need them for the specific task. The overuse and misuse of these products is a growing public health and environmental concern.
Incorrectly using a disinfectant may kill the weaker germs, but the more resistant germs survive. Incorrect use includes:
Disinfecting a dirty surface;
Wiping or rinsing the disinfectant off the surface before the recommended dwell (contact) time is over;
Not using the recommended dilution ratio
Using a combination disinfectant/cleaner without first removing visible dirt from the surface.
When deciding on what products to use on a surface, there are several factors to consider:
Whether the surface is porous or nonporous.
Whether it is likely that the surface is touched by many people and will come in contact with broken skin or mucous membranes.
Whether the surface requires sanitising or disinfecting
Choosing safer products for cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting
If a product does not carry a third-party certification logo, look for the following:
Ingredients listed on the label
No signal word “Danger” on the label. “Signal words” on the label are used to indicate the product’s relative level of severity of hazard and alert the reader to a potential hazard.
Non-aerosol
No overwhelming chemical odour
Fragrance-free
Dye-free
Ingredients to avoid
If you can’t find third-party certified products, avoid the ingredients on this list. They can be harmful to our health or the environment.
2-butoxyethanol (or ethylene glycol monobutyl ether) and other glycol ethers
Alkylphenol ethoxylates (some common ones: nonylphenol and octylphenol ethoxylates, octoxynols)
Bisphenol Aud-Limoneneu Dyes (may be listed as FD&C or D&C)
Ethanolamines (common ones to look out for: monoethanolamine [MEA], diethanolamine [DEA], triethanolamine [TEA])
Fragrances
Parabens
Phthalates
Pine or citrus oil
Quaternary ammonium compounds
Triclocarban
Triclosan
For any information and quotation for CLEANING, SANITISING and DISINFECTING you can contact ACRA Exterior Cleaning Services LTD team.