Fight The Flu: Clean Your Way To Prevention

Explore these cleaning strategies to prepare your facility for the flu season.

Offer flu shots to employees and their families, stock up on hand sanitizers, and let those infected stay home. There are many ways to protect your office or facility from this year’s flu season. Your cleaning program, however, may be the final line of defense. An effective and regular cleaning program helps limit exposure and prevent the spread of the disease. So make sure your cleaning team is ready this year with these tips below.

Find The Right Products

Not all cleaners are made equal. To remove the flu virus from surfaces, you need EPA-certified disinfectants confirmed to kill the virus on multiple surfaces. Common disinfectants may include environmentally harmful ingredients like chlorine bleach. However, there are greener ingredient alternatives that prove just as effective, like accelerated hydrogen peroxide. To find flu-fighting products that won’t compromise your green cleaning program, look for products approved by reliable third-party green certification programs like Green Seal, EcoLogo, Safer Choice and GREENGUARD.

Opt For Deep Cleaning

Maintaining a regular cleaning program is essential for keeping the flu at bay, but you should also consider scheduling a seasonal deep clean now, at the beginning of the flu season. Pay special attention to the germ-prone restroom area, and wipe down the floor, walls and stalls with disinfectant. For a rapid form of disinfectant that does not require major downtime for facilities, consider using electrostatic spraying systems. The spray technology allows access to difficult-to-reach places. It also adds a positive charge to your spray, which makes your cleaning products cling to surfaces for maximum coverage.

Disinfect High-Traffic Surfaces

Disinfecting every inch of your facility is neither practical nor necessary. Instead, focus on disinfecting high-touch objects, surfaces and areas. This includes desks, counter-tops, doorknobs, keyboards, faucets, and phones. During a serious outbreak, you may need to disinfect these areas at least once a day. For additional protection, also consider using electrostatic spraying systems, because this new technology will not only disinfect the high-touch areas, but will reach every single surface, to include monitors, keyboards, counters and everything above, below and around every item in your office. This combined with routine cleaning will provide the best combination for flu prevention.