Preventing the spread of COVID-19 is not only an important public health goal, it is imperative for avoiding future lockdowns that would threaten operations for retail stores and other businesses.  As such, it is vital that owners and operators of retail outlets take added precautions to keep their customers, their staff, and their businesses safe.  These COVID-19 best practices for retail stores are derived from a variety of sources including Health Canada, but retail owners are always encouraged to carefully review their sanitation practices to ensure they create a safe environment regardless of the nature of their business.

First, it is recommended that retail stores develop a regular sanitation schedule that includes thorough disinfection of high-touch surfaces and public spaces.  Cleaning surfaces with a Health Canada approved disinfectant or detergent that removes visible contaminants is paramount.  In many cases, once visible soil is removed from surfaces it is necessary to disinfect the surface again and allow it to dry completely.  Always follow manufacturer instructions on how to use disinfectants as different solvents may have different application recommendations.  For example, some disinfectant wipes require more contact time or dry more quickly than others – until the surface is completely cleaned and dry, it is not disinfected.

Additionally, it is important to understand the difference between disinfectants and sanitizers.  Disinfectants tend to be more highly concentrated, require more contact time than sanitizers, and may need to be rinsed from surfaces.  To add another layer of complexity, not all disinfectants and sanitizers are approved for use against COVID-19, so retailers are encouraged to verify with their suppliers whether the disinfectants and sanitizers in use are effective in eliminating COVID-19.

There are also different cleaning recommendations for food and non-food contact surfaces.  For food-contact surfaces, retailers must use products that are approved for such surfaces.  Most often these cleaners will be classified as sanitizers.  Non-food contact surfaces should be cleaned with disinfectants.  Regular disinfection of high-contact surfaces including debit/credit point-of-services machines, doorknobs and automatic door switches, bathroom surfaces including flush handles and faucets, fridge doors, etc. is paramount.

Depending on the nature of your retail outlet, you should also consider requiring staff and patrons to wear masks.  If maintaining 2m of physical distance between staff and patrons is not possible, masks provide an extra element of protection.  Plexiglass barriers at cash registers are also becoming commonplace and provide an effective droplet barrier between staff and customers.  Finally, all staff should be required to stay home whenever they are feeling ill.  Self-assessment tools provided by local governments should be reviewed before every work shift and staff that experience COVID-like symptoms must not report to work.

Following these recommendations cannot eliminate the potential for the spread of COVID-19, but they can significantly mitigate the risk. 

Taking care of your health is the most important thing you can do for yourself.  Maybe you mediate, eat a balanced diet, exercise daily or follow some other routines to keep your body and mind well, but there’s more to health than just our routines.  The fact of the matter in today’s society is that we are often exposed to pollutants and toxins that can have very serious consequences on our health – no matter how much effort we put unto taking care of ourselves.  Unfortunately, this is also true of many of the products used in cleaning.  Indeed, many chemicals in the cleaning industry have been shown to deleterious effects on our health from causing respiratory illness to cancer.  So what do you need to know about chemicals in the cleaning industry to be sure that your home and business are introducing us to health risks?

First, it’s important to understand that even though a company advertises its products as environmentally friendly and sustainable, does not mean their products are harm free.  Indeed, the majority of household cleaning products are likely to contain industrial chemicals such as formaldehyde or dioxane (known carcinogens), just as an example.  Some chemical ingredients in cleaning products have mild health effects such as skin or eye irritation, while other are associated with more serious effects including respiratory illness, central nervous system damage, and even cancer.  Moreover, not only are we exposed to these chemicals in the products we use, but when they are washed down drains they enter our water treatment systems and eventually may get into our ground water.

So, how can you protect the people you care about from dangerous chemicals in the cleaning industry?  First, seek out independent reviews of cleaning products to learn more about particular brands and their products.  For example, the Environmental Working Group independently reviews and rates cleaning products and their ingredients so that consumers can be more confident in their purchasing choices.  Avoid products that contain ingredients such as formaldehyde, 1-4 Dioxane, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethyelene, polyoxynolethylene, and other chemicals with “-eth” and “-oxynol” suffixes.  Finally, pay close attention to changes in your own health when using different products – for example, if you notice even mild skin irritation or irritation in your eyes or throat, discontinue using those products.

Ultimately, it can be very difficult to know which products are safe for cleaning when it comes to maintaining our health today and into the future.  It is our responsibility to be a conscious shopper and carefully research our cleaning products to ensure that we are not exposing ourselves, our families, and our friends and colleagues to dangerous chemicals that are all too often used in the cleaning industry.

In British Columbia, strata housing includes a wide range of housing varieties including condos, townhomes, duplexes, and sometimes even single family homes.  Some of the benefits of strata housing include improved security and shared housing maintenance that make home ownership more affordable and convenient.  As you might expect, strata janitorial services are cleaning services that are managed by the strata committee to ensure that common areas including gyms, elevators, stairwells, hallways, and outdoor spaces are maintained and sanitary.

In a nutshell, strata janitorial services include all the cleaning tasks required to care for common, open spaces of a strata property.  Strata owners benefit greatly from these services which are managed centrally by the strata committee.  In the long run, strata janitorial services improve the health and safety of a facility while also ensuring the property maintains its value today and into the future.  Indeed, without proper janitorial services, common spaces in strata properties can fall into disrepair rather quickly which presents not only as a health and safety issue, but also can hasten property damage and undermine property values.

There are many strata janitorial services provided by professional cleaning companies including floor care, window cleaning, pool cleaning, and lighting maintenance, not to mention general cleaning duties.

• Floor maintenance – from buffing, stripping and sealing floors to regular vacuuming, strata janitors will professional clean and maintain all the common floors in your property. Working with a professional cleaner also ensures the different types of floors are properly cleaned.  Indeed, not all floors can simply be vacuumed or mopped to keep them clean and sanitary.  Strata janitorial service providers know the best treatments and cleaning procedures for different floor types and they have the equipment, cleaners, and skills to handle them all.  That means that even in a property with several different types of floors, your janitor will be able to effectively clean them all.
• Window cleaning – interior and exterior windows require regular cleaning to maintain the appearance of your building. Once again, strata janitors have the equipment and cleaning materials to keep your windows clear and squeaky clean.
• Pool cleaning – if your strata property has a gym or pool facility, strata janitors ensure effective and thorough cleaning of these facilities. Make no mistake, effective pool maintenance requires specialized skills and knowledge so should always be managed by professional cleaners.  Regular testing of the water ensures a safe and sanitary swimming experience for all strata residents.
• Lighting maintenance – strata cleaners are trained to inspect and change emergency lights whenever they require replacement. This is incredibly important for ensuring the safety of your building, common areas, and residents alike.

These are just a few of the tasks that professional strata cleaners can manage so that your home and its property are always clean and well-maintained in common areas.

A clean, sanitary, and organized office is fundamental to the success of any business.  While we cannot always control the cleanliness of individual employees – some of us are messier than others, maintaining a clean office is important for the health and safety of employees, the impression we make on potential employees, and even for efficiency and productivity.  Even for small businesses, working with a professional janitorial company can help employees focus on their most important tasks while creating an environment that is conducive to success.  So when is it time to hire a new janitorial company?

Your Office is Chaotic

Dust and dirt on surfaces, grime on windows, overflowing trash cans, and other signs of a chaotic office are key indicators that it is time to hire a new janitorial company.  When you can easily see that things have gotten out of hand, you have little time to waste.  Working with a professional cleaner helps keep your office sanitary so that your employees keep their sanity!  Ultimately, when employees and potential clients are met with chaos in the office, your business is likely suffering.

High Rates of Sick Leave

Are your employees regularly sick with the common cold or flu viruses?  Bacteria and viruses can spread through contact with office surfaces; so, if you have high rates of sick leave, it’s probably time to consider hiring a qualified janitor.  In fact, even when bacterial and viral infections are not the culprit, your business can lose valuable work hours simply because employees can be stressed out, frustrated, and easily distracted by an unclean office environment.  Finally, allergens that live in dust and debris can wreak havoc on your employees’ respiratory tracts which will also certainly contribute to unnecessary sick leaves.

Poor Productivity

When you want to support an efficient and productive work environment, one of the best things you can do is keep things clean and organized.  Not only can a disorganized and dirty work environment create unnecessary lulls in focus which limits productivity, but the time spent on maintaining the cleanliness of their workstation and shared offices spaces is usually time that could be better spent on growing your business.

A Book and Its Cover

As much as you want to tell yourself that clients will judge the quality of the work you provide, the reality is that if clients see your office as messy and disorganized, they are likely to apply those judgements to the work that you do.  It’s hard to imagine that a successful business can operate in the midst of clutter and disorder.  If you want to impress your clients, you must know that their initial impressions will almost always be based on what they see.

Remember, working with a professional janitorial company can help you keep your office clean and sanitary so that your staff can focus on their most important tasks and clients can see an office that reflects the hard work you do.

As the world is universally entrenched in the most significant health crisis of the last 20 years, businesses, institutions, and individuals alike are rapidly adapting to living and working in a new environment. 

Every industry and sector is faced with the challenge of incorporating new procedures and policies in order to protect staff, clients, and the population at large from COVID-19.
While there is still so much to learn about this novel coronavirus, we know enough to start implementing commercial cleaning practices that prevent its spread.  Whether you’re cleaning schools, offices, warehouses, or everything in between, proper cleaning practices are essential right now.

Indeed, commercial cleaning in the age of COVID extends beyond removing dirt and debris.  Today, businesses are stepping up to the challenge of disinfecting their facilities through the use of disinfectant chemicals that kill germs and reduce the risk of infection.  Further, if you are cleaning an area where a person with a confirmed case of COVID-19 has recently been in the facility, there are specific procedures that must be followed.

For example, the Centre for Disease Control recommends closing off areas visited by a person with COVID-19 for at least 24 hours.  During this time, you need to ensure adequate ventilation to this area by increasing air circulation and opening doors and windows.  Cleaners then need to thoroughly disinfect all areas of the facility including bathrooms, workstations, break areas or other shared spaces while paying particular attention to high-touch areas like door knobs, elevator buttons, telephone pads, etc.

Additionally, disinfecting practices will depend on the surface being disinfected.  Hard, non-porous surfaces need to be cleaned with soap and water first.  Next, an EPA-registered disinfectant or diluted household bleach can be used to disinfect these surfaces.  Always follow manufacturer’s instructions for proper disinfection which will include details on how to apply the disinfectant, contact time for the disinfectant, and even the concentration of the disinfectant.  If you’re cleaning soft, porous surfaces including carpet, curtains, or clothing, you’ll need to rely on appropriate cleaning practices.  For items that can be laundered, follow manufacturer’s instructions and use the hottest possible water for cleaning.  Carpeted flooring, upholstery, and larger soft surfaces should be cleaned with an appropriate solution indicated for these surfaces.  Again, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Ultimately, there is always new information becoming available about how to best manage the spread of COVID-19.  As you have probably already experienced, protocols and recommendations seem to change almost daily.  Consider working with a professional cleaning company so you can rest easy knowing your commercial facility is cleaned using the most up-to-date practices.  And remember, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask your cleaner what they are doing to keep abreast of all the latest guidelines.