How Facility Managers and Building Service Contractors Can Meet the Increased Demand for Cleaning

As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world, some facilities are closing to the public indefinitely, others remain open to sell essential goods like food and medicine, and still others remain open but are struggling to attract customers as much of the general population stays home. Regardless of a facility’s situation in the middle of the pandemic, businesses need to meet the increased demand for cleaning during the COVID-19 outbreak and after it.

Cleaning During and After a Pandemic

Facility managers and building service contractors (BSCs) bear much of the responsibility to maintain a clean environment for guests and staff as the outbreak continues. These decision-makers should consider the following when revamping their cleaning programs.

Produce cleaner and disinfectant on-site. Cleaning more regularly requires a greater volume of cleaning solutions to adequately disinfect all surfaces during a pandemic. This does not require ordering a large amount of cleaning chemicals to do so and may eliminate the need to order any at all with the right system in place. There are on-site generation systems that use electrochemical activation to produce both a soil-eliminating surface cleaner and a germ-killing disinfectant right in the facility.

It is important to make sure the system produces a disinfectant that has demonstrated efficacy against human coronavirus or pathogens even more resistant to disinfection. Using only water, salt and electricity, on-site generation systems help facilities and BSCs easily scale-up to meet increased demand and mitigate the risk of supply chain disruptions and disinfectant shortages. For the foreseeable future, especially for properties remaining open to the public, the pandemic means cleaning and disinfecting surfaces more frequently, both visibly and behind-the-scenes. To illustrate this point, a number of large hotel chains released statements listing actions they plan to take in the face of the outbreak, and nearly all of them included cleaning more frequently.

Protect employees and guests. The COVID-19 pandemic demands facility managers and BSCs do all they can to ensure the well-being of employees who are already putting their health at risk just by showing up to work. Increased exposure to conventional cleaning chemicals that may contain harmful compounds, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may seem inevitable. However, there is an alternative.  Use of an on-site generator that produces two solutions suitable for cleaning and disinfecting most surfaces is another option.  The solutions produced using electrochemical activation technology are non-irritating to eyes and skin and contain no added fragrances.

Increased Cleaning Demand Requires A New Approach

The challenge of cleaning more frequently and thoroughly requires operational changes.  Facility managers and BSCs should consider taking advantage of on-site generation systems that produce cleaning and disinfecting solutions on-site and on-demand to ensure rapid response to increase disinfection needs. Use of on-site generation system not only helps meet demand, it enables workers to use non-irritating cleaning solutions and minimize or eliminate exposure to harsh chemicals.