Infectious disease disinfection
Infectious disease cleaning and disinfection in High Point
Someone has been seriously ill in the room, or a place that many hands touch has been soiled with body fluids. You want it cleaned by people who know the difference between wiping a surface and disinfecting it.
Phone picked up day and night, every day of the week
Cleaning first, then disinfecting
Disinfectant does little on a dirty surface. A company doing this properly removes visible soil first, then applies a disinfectant and leaves it wet for as long as the label requires. The EPA makes a related point in its notes on registered disinfectants: use the product according to its directions, and keep the surface visibly wet for the whole contact time.
The EPA also keeps lists of products registered against particular germs, and each product carries a registration number on its label. That number is the sure way to identify a product, which gives you something concrete to ask for.
On the phone
Ask the company these
- Which disinfectant will you use, and what is its EPA registration number?
- Is it registered for the illness or germ I am worried about?
- Which surfaces will be treated, and which can't be, such as some fabrics and electronics?
- How long before the room can be used again?
- Will I get a written record of what was done and with what?
Be wary of anyone who promises that a room will be sterile or rid of every germ. A home or an office can't be made sterile, and a careful company won't say so.
When people ask for it
After a relative with a contagious illness has been nursed at home. After a tenant or guest who was ill has moved out. After vomit or diarrhea in a daycare, a restaurant, a gym or a waiting room. After someone was sick in a vehicle used for work.
For an everyday cold or a stomach bug that has run its course, ordinary household cleaning is normally enough, and the company will say so if that is your case.
Workplaces
If blood or body fluids are involved at a place of work, the employer's duties under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard come into play, including a written exposure control plan. Using an outside company keeps untrained staff out of contact and gives you a record that the area was dealt with.
Disinfection questions
Is fogging a room enough?
Not as the only step. Surfaces people touch have to be cleaned by hand first. Ask what the fog or spray is, and whether its label allows it to be used that way.
Can they give me a certificate that the room is safe?
Expect a record of the work: areas treated, products and dates. That is honest. A guarantee that no germ remains is not something anyone can truthfully sign.
Do soft furnishings have to be thrown away?
Not always. Some can be laundered or steam-treated. Items soaked with body fluids usually can't be saved.
High Point and the Triad towns nearby
Nobody in the family should have to clean that room
Give them the address and one sentence about what took place. They will want to know if the officers and the medical examiner are done there, and then they will describe their approach.
When you are ready, call.
Whoever picks up is with a separately owned local firm that does biohazard and trauma cleaning around High Point. Listen to their plan and their price. Whether you hire them is up to you.
Call (743) 256-4780Phone picked up day and night, every day of the week
Your conversation may be recorded. The referral disclosure says who pays for this service, and the privacy policy covers what is kept.