Disinfecting and Cleaning Public Restrooms

Covid-19 has changed the world. Janitor service companies are needed more now than ever. Prior to the current pandemic, the news media has talked about the possibility of a new “superbug” that will be resistant to current antibiotics. Unfortunately, that day has also come.  Doctors have recently uncovered a bacteria strain that is resistant to antibiotics in the United States.  A 49-year-old woman in Pennsylvania is the first recorded case in the U.S. This is an entirely new dilemma that everyone will have to deal with.  It is downright scary.  Our last resort antibiotics have no effectiveness against this new strain of bacteria.

The warning that antibiotics should have been used less is hindsight. The thinking was that overuse of antibiotics could create drug resistant bacteria. The question now is what can we do going forward to protect ourselves against this new strain.  We believe that Columbia commercial cleaning companies are on the front lines.  We have the power to help protect the public against cross contamination.  Cross contamination can easily be prevented and help keep the public safe.

Some of the cross contamination prevention practices are common sense. However, without proper training and supervision, janitorial service employees can easily cross contaminate multiple surfaces.  For example, we use different colored micro fiber cloths for different surfaces.  We use one color to wipe down restroom stalls and another color cloth to wipe sinks, counters, bright work and mirrors.  In addition, we require our associates to only use cleaning cloths one time before replacing them.  We also require each associate to change gloves after cleaning and sanitizing toilets and urinals. And, they are also required to change gloves after cleaning and sanitizing the sinks and counters.

Some of our customers provide both hand blowers and paper towels.  We feel that using less paper products is better for the environment. However, due to cross contamination issues, we support having paper towel dispensers in restrooms. This allows patrons to use a paper towel not only to thoroughly dry their hands, but to use it for opening the restroom door.  No one likes to wash their hands and then reach out and grab a door handle.  Using touch free soap dispensers, faucets and towel dispensers is an excellent way to reduce contact points within restrooms.  This helps to reduce the spread of dangerous germs and bacteria.  A special practice for Columbia commercial cleaning companies is to place a trash receptacle next to the door to encourage patrons to use paper towels to open the door. Spending more on paper products is much better than having your employees sick from contamination issues in your restrooms.

We spend time with our associates not only explaining what to do, but why we do it.  We feel that it is important to educate our staff members. Some companies have one or two ways of training. The first is to tell them to do this and that and do it because the manager told them.  Let me be the first to tell you that as soon as that manager is out of sight, the employee will resent them and do whatever they want.  The second common method is to tell your staff that they should not have to tell them how to clean.  This is common sense and that they just need to do it right.  Again, this is a terrible way to treat employees and no one is going to be happy.  We spend time with our associates getting to know their strengths and weaknesses.  We also engage them like people, not hired help.  We offer them a world class training program with management support.  We train, monitor and follow-up with each of our associates to ensure our customers receive the service they expect.  This has been one of our recipes for success in this industry. Staying ahead of trends and new janitorial cleaning methods positions us for long standing success.  Many of your current janitorial service providers still use a mop, paper towels and bleach.  They believe that this is good practice.  We strongly disagree and go above and beyond in staying current and educated.  We care about our customers and their employees.  It is about trust and dependability.  We are not the cheapest janitorial service company because we have a higher standard of service and we pay our associates a better wage than other service providers.  Our staff is better, our equipment is better, our cleaning solutions are better and we outperform most every other company in our area.  It’s the difference in buying a high performance car and one that is cheap and unreliable.  We pride ourselves in being the best and most reliable in Columbia’s commercial cleaning industry.