Recent events have caused an increased demand for transparency and heightened quality from janitorial companies.
The need to have a deeper understanding of cleaning supplies, and a strong relationship with your suppliers, has never been more important. So, obviously, after the pandemic started, there was an immediate change in the way janitorial companies were asked to report their processes to their clients.
Swept Founder, Michael Brown and Dan Dillion Chairman & Founder of CleanItSupply.com had an eye-opening discussion about the journey of using the right supplies. From ascertaining needs, finding suppliers, training employees, and building trust with clients, the road to a reliable supply structure is a story worth hearing. And we must say, Dan gave incredible information on everything you could possibly want to know about the state of supplies during this pandemic, and after COVID isolation ends.
Want to see how Dan handled some heavy-hitting questions in this webinar? Of course you do! Check out the replay HERE.
Fogger vs Electrostatic Disinfection
One of the more interesting questions answered in the webinar:
Dan tackled a loaded question with a loaded answer, so we figured we’d put it in writing here, just in case you wanted to read it over. We know this is one a lot of our clients have been asking for clarification on!
Michael: What is the difference between foggers and electrostatic sprayers? Let’s get everyone on the same page, and then we can talk about some of the pros and cons.
Dan: In light of Covid-19, we are finding a lot of clients calling and asking…
“Hey, can you sanitize our office?” And it’s like, “well, we’ve kind of been sanitizing your office every single day, this isn’t new for us.” But, there’s an above and beyond expectation from the clients that we need to deliver, so that kind of segues into specialized equipment, specialized activity, which then requires more specialized equipment. And electrostatic vs. fogging vs. just power-spraying, whether it’s mechanical or deep-cleaning with microfibers.
Fogging, there’s thermal and non-thermal.
Thermal is great for smoke odors and situations, a lot of fire and restoration companies use thermal. It heats up to about 104-140 degrees, different settings on each different kind of machine. This is great for odors, the same way smoke penetrates, if you smoke cigarettes or cigars in your house, these guys bring in thermal foggers because you want to send out the same type of substance to grab on to the same way that the smoke damage happened that’s why it’s thermal, that’s why you heat it up, it’s foggy and smokey, it’s good for smoke situations, it’s good for sewage situations.
On the other side of fogging is non-thermal. Non-thermal is just cold, room-temperature, water and disinfectant. That’s best for antimicrobials, disinfectants for mold remediation, antibacterial applications, and if you’re spraying enzymes. So, live microorganisms like enzymes – you introduce heat into that and it’s no good, you’ll kill it.
So, thermal vs. non-thermal in fogging, that’s first.
Now, electrostatic, that’s a different animal. Why?
Electrostatic positively charges the ions, so that it magnetically grabs onto all surfaces, negatively charged surfaces, which most surfaces are. Electrostatic is also non-thermal, so still room-temperature, still dispersing your disinfectants, so it essentially provides a fine, even layer across the surfaces. And that’s what makes electrostatics so cool, is that it touches and gets things that most do not, and forms an even layer around it.
So for an example, picture if you will:
If I was trying to spray my hand with a trigger-spray, ok, so this side of my hand will get wet, but if it was electrostatic, it will actually gravitate around, actually surround my entire hand, all the way around, because of the positively charged ions. That’s the difference. So that’s why electrostatics is cool, that’s why it has full coverage- even, uniform coverage, and it’s very popular today.
Hopefully this leaves no questions left over the difference between these two types of disinfecting procedures.
Guidelines
Oh gosh, the things we have to share on supplies don’t end there.
Oh gosh, the things we have to share on supplies don’t end there.
We wouldn’t be very good friends if we didn’t use our industry knowledge and desire to make your lives easier if we didn’t give you some additional reading material to make your life easier.
Talking to the many experts and professionals within the commercial cleaning landscape has indicated one thing very strongly to us: There is a lot of concern from clients, janitorial company owners, and cleaners alike that the information they have, or the practices, or even equipment, are out of date, or not up-to-par with what will be standard practice once the world begins to open its doors again.
Our advice, go straight to the source. We could list off approved items, procedures, and CDC/WHO/US& CAD GOV approved and recommended quality standards, but we think everyone, including us, should get in the habit of going straight to the source. Firsthand information in the most reliable. And right now, reliability is a very high priority.
So let’s go to the source for you.
Are you American? Here are the CDC’s recommended guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting public spaces, workplaces, businesses, schools, and homes. All in a handy downloadable PDF, provided directly from the Government of the good ol’ US of A/CDC COVID website. This includes preferred supply types as well as standard practices and much more:
Download CDC Cleaning & Disinfecting Guidelines HERE.
Guidelines (Canadian Edition)
There is no way we are going to leave our Canadian janitorial companies out in the cold (see what we did there?). Being a company that was born in the Great White North, we found our government’s version of the same guidelines. Though these guides are fundamentally the same, if you live in a country other than Canada or the US, please refer to your country’s respective guides. There may be some variables, laws, or regulations that create unique rules and procedures for your nation. We are fans of doing due diligence.
Download Public Health Canada Factsheet on COVID-19 Environmental Cleaning HERE.
PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)
Q: What is a PPE? Where do I get them? How do I use and train my cleaners to use them?
A- We got you covered there too:
We’ve always known cleaners were undervalued heros, and finally, the rest of the world is seeing how important the work they do truly is. We want to continue to enable you and your teams to stay safe and keep our communities safe.
It is a time where it may be difficult to separate fact from fiction, but we all need to be dedicated, diligent, and believe that things will be changing in a positive direction soon.
In reaction to the global issue, the expected levels of sanitation have been raised across the board, and we’re guessing that these levels will stay elevated for years to come. The best move is to adjust to the changes now and to put long-term plans into place to make these practices your “new normal”. Again, we’ll be here throughout this journey to support you. We’ll also be making important changes in order to stay current, adapt easily, and be in a position to help. We have your back!
Swept is dedicated to highlighting stories that keep everyone in the janitorial industry as up to date on world events and in-the-know as possible. Having started as a commercial cleaning company ourselves, our hearts go well beyond the janitorial software we offer. Learn more about Swept’s cleaning company software here. And to keep up on all the trends in the janitorial services industry, subscribe to our blog!
Curious what actions your janitorial company can make toward adapting to this fast-changing market? How to improve your communication and message in times of hardship like this, and finding the right service to provide to meet the pain-points currently in high demand? We’ve got the right place to start your search right here!
