Call the Professionals

6/3/2024 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Industries, LLC has been dealing with biological hazards such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi for over 50 years.  However, not with this much urgency! Nonetheless, we are ready and our awareness is heightened. Here at SERVPRO of Limestone and Lawrence Counties, we have highly trained technicians that are equipped to help your business during this time.     

Cleaning - Sanitizing - Disinfecting

It is important for all parties to understand the different levels of cleaning that may or may not be possible for each surface. All surfaces can be cleaned, many surfaces can be sanitized, and some surfaces can be disinfected.

1. General Surface Cleaning – physically removes visible dirt, organic matter, viruses, fungi, and bacteria. General surface cleaning is accomplished with water, detergent, and physical scrubbing of the surface. The guiding principal is to remove microbes if possible, rather than kill them (with a sanitizer or disinfectant). In addition, thoroughly cleaning a surface can reduce the need to disinfect because without the nutrients and moisture needed to survive and multiply, most microbes cannot live on a clean and dry surface for very long.
2. Sanitizing – reduces but does not necessarily eliminates all the bacteria on a treated surface. Sanitizers do not have claims for viruses or fungi. To be a registered sanitizer, the test results for a product must show a reduction of at least a. 99.9% in the number of each type of bacteria tested on non-food-contact surfaces. Examples of non-food-contact sanitizers include carpet sanitizers, air sanitizers, laundry additives, and in-tank toilet bowl sanitizers.
3. Disinfecting – works by using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs. Disinfecting destroys or irreversibly inactivates infectious or other undesirable microbes, but not necessarily the spores of bacteria and fungi. The number of microbes killed during a disinfecting process will vary, depending on the specific chemical and how it is used.

Definitions of cleaning involving the COVID-19 virus:

1. General Cleaning- Proactive cleaning to minimize the transmission of Emerging Viral Pathogens (NO potential or actual exposure has occurred). 

2. High-Touch or Enhanced Cleanup- Request for Cleaning and Disinfection to Limit the Survival of Emerging Viral Pathogens (Confirmed or suspected exposure).

If your business has a confirmed case, someone has potentially been exposed, or you would like a proactive cleaning to limit exposure, give SERVPRO of Limestone and Lawrence Counties/Decatur a call today (256) 233-4033