If a COVID exposure enters your business, immediate action is needed. One of the first things you'll need to do is disinfect. But, who do you call and who can you trust? In this month's Client Spotlight, Sarah Brown interviews Dutch and Judy Myers, owners of Absolutely Clean, Inc., a local janitorial business that has been busy disinfecting buildings of local organizations since March 2020.
As much as COVID has dominated the news since March, it is still alarming when an exposure comes into your organization. Contact tracing, following CDC guidelines, quarantining, and disinfecting are necessary steps. Who do you turn to if you need to disinfect? Stop what you're doing, get out your smartphone, and add Absolutely Clean to your phone as a first responder: 717-646-1021. I'll let Dutch and Judy take it from here.
Sarah: Tell me a little about Absolutely Clean, and how you were positioned to help area businesses, schools, and organizations respond as COVID-19 encroached?
Dutch: Absolutely Clean is a family-owned janitorial cleaning business serving South-Central PA and Northern Maryland since 1992. My wife, Judy, and I decided to open our cleaning business to provide more job opportunities with flexible full-time and part-time hours for the people in our community. Along the way, we've built secure relationships with our customers.
All of our floor care and cleaning techs are trained to meet company-set expectations. Customer satisfaction and communication with facility managers are our top priorities. We are proud to say we have great employees working for us, as they take pride in the cleaning that they do in our customers' facilities.
Judy: When COVID came to America, we knew we would have a role in responding to help the community. We had to get the right equipment, with the right products. Those products had to be safe for our customers. Of utmost concern was the safety of our employees. We also knew demand would be high, so we had to find the right suppliers who could deliver when our customers needed us. A lot of due diligence went into our action plan.
Dutch: Our customers trust us, and we had to find a product we could trust to take care of them. We bought a fleet of Victory battery-powered backpack electrostatic sprayers. We also did a lot of research into which cleaning products and tools are the best. There are so many options out there, and many make claims that aren't tested or backed by science. After a lot of investigation, we settled on Clorox Total 360.
Several factors led to this decision. The disinfectant is applied through an electrostatic sprayer. We also use compressors which are more powerful. Disinfectant applied with electrostatic sprayers and compressors are more effective than hand pumps. Also, Clorox Total 360 was tested in a third-party lab which verified the claims of efficacy. Finally, the product is on the EPA's List N. The EPA expects all products on the List N to kill the coronavirus (when used according to the label directions). For preventative sprays, we use BotaniClean. It's an incredibly safe spray with low toxicity. Two other important factors are that the products are ready to use and the product we apply is coming straight from the manufacturer.
Sarah: When a business owner or facilities manager first learns of a COVID exposure, what should they do?
Dutch: Before there's an exposure, it's so important that employers and employees are diligent about self-checking before leaving the home. That means taking temperatures and being aware of symptoms. Don't get lax, especially now!
Judy: Once you learn of a positive exposure in your building, the best thing to do is look at the CDC guidelines for information on guidance for business owners and their office buildings. Current guidance says to isolate the area for 24 hours until it is cleaned. During the waiting period, open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in these areas. Trace contact and quarantine.
But, it's very important to remember that the guidelines change frequently, so check the CDC first. You'll need to get the area disinfected. Call someone, like us, who uses products that are on the EPA's List N.
Sarah: How quickly do they need to call a professional cleaner, like you? How quickly can you respond?
Dutch: As soon as possible, but certainly within the first 24 hours. Again, the CDC guidelines change so check the CDC to be sure.
Judy: Our employees have the equipment in their vehicles, and we can respond within 30 minutes to an hour, 7 days a week.
Sarah: What should an employer know before you come to clean?
Dutch: Backtrack where the exposed employee was within the building. These areas will need to be cleaned, as well as any high-touch surface. It's best if you know this before our arrival.
Judy: You should meet us at the door when we arrive. The owner/facilities manager will need to walk us through the building to show all areas that have been exposed.
Sarah: How long after application before you can re-enter the building?
Dutch: Depending on the product, it can be immediately or within 10 minutes. Out of caution, we typically advise after 20 minutes.
Sarah: What has business been like in the past month? Have you seen an uptick in demand for your service? Do you have the staff to meet the demand?
Judy: We've been spraying like crazy! We're literally receiving calls around the clock, even at 3:00 am.
Dutch: And, we're hiring!
Sarah: Tell me about your employees.
Judy: They've been wonderful. When the shutdown happened in March, there was so much uncertainty everywhere. We met with our employees and discussed the possibility of a shutdown, or the opposite - being on call to respond to the needs of our customers. All 34 of them said they wanted to do their part to keep the economy running. It was inspiring. They knew that organizations would have a need to keep their buildings clean and they wanted to do their part to keep things safely open. A lot of attention has gone to first responders, as it should. But praise should go to our crew who has been spraying around the clock, helping businesses stay open, and helping them open quickly after an exposure. They've been absolutely fantastic.
Dutch: They're also really well trained because safety is so important. One of our employees recently went through the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) process, and then trained our staff. This training covered microbial spraying and included what equipment to use, how long to spray, etc. We enforce that they follow OSHA guidelines and use proper PPE. They take their job seriously and are professionals.
Sarah: What are some final takeaways? Is there anything else you want our audience to know?
Dutch: We're starting to see larger organizations, like schools and manufacturers, contact us for contingency planning. They already have an in-house cleaning crew, but if one of their own tests positive for COVID, the whole crew may need to quarantine. And yet, in order to stay open, the building must be kept clean to certain standards. So, we're working with them to be their back-up cleaning crew until their employees can return. We've found this is a creative and preventative way to ensure that operations can keep running even if there is a positive case.
Judy: We get calls to clean once a positive case has entered the building. But I think the most impressive thing is that for all the organizations we preventatively spray, none have had a positive COVID-19 case!
Sarah: None?!
Dutch: Zero, zilch, 0, nada.
Sarah: Well, that's all the proof you need that you're doing something right.
To learn more about Absolutely Clean:
Website: https://www.abscleaninc.com/
Phone: 717-646-1021
Address: 877 York Street, Hanover PA 17331
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Abscleaninc/