Corona Cleaning Services: Keeping Your Business Safe

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been over 14.8 million cases and 285,000 deaths. The country is currently experiencing a rising wave of infections, with all-time highs in both infections and hospitalizations. Unfortunately, small to medium-sized businesses have had to deal with the brunt of the consequences.

Businesses of all sizes have several responsibilities during these challenging times. The safety of customers and employees are a top priority, as is the survival of the business. Luckily, corona cleaning services can help you keep your business open and help you serve your community.

In this article, we’ll look at what a COVID-19 cleaning service can do for your business. We’ll discuss what it is, why you need specialized services, and what we can do for you.

What Are Corona Cleaning Services?

To understand what these cleaning services do, it’s important to know more about the virus itself. Coronaviruses are RNA viruses that can cause diseases in mammals and birds of varying severity. These diseases can cause mild symptoms, like the common cold, or can cause severe illness and death, like MERS-CoV and COVID-19. Before the pandemic of 2020, there weren’t any vaccines specifically for these viruses.

What Makes COVID-19 Effective?

For a virus to spread enough to cause a pandemic, there’s a sweet spot that it needs to fall into. First, they have to spread easily enough to infect many people. The symptoms they cause also have to remain mild enough to allow the carrier to infect other people.

If a virus can spread easily but makes someone too sick, the carrier will know that they are sick and isolate themselves. If the virus has a mortality rate that’s too high, the host will pass away before they can spread the disease. This is, in part, what caused the MERS-CoV outbreak to fade away. With a mortality rate of 30% and severe symptoms, governments could easily detect and isolate cases.

Ways To Stop The Spread

COVID-19 can stay in someone’s system for weeks without the person knowing that they are a carrier. When it does present symptoms, they range from mild (similar to the common cold) to severe. Since millions of people can walk around without realizing they’re sick, they can infect others without knowing what they’re doing.

Coronaviruses are very similar in genetic structure, meaning we already know what works against them. We know that when the outer shell of the virus breaks, the virus deactivates, which is why handwashing is so effective at stopping the spread. There are other steps that your business should take to stop the spread of the virus in your building or office space.

Encourage Everyone To Wear A Mask

Despite what someone may see on their Facebook feed, the evidence is clear and indisputable: masks save lives and help stop the spread of respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. Both government agencies and independent peer-reviewed scientific studies show that masks protect people from coronaviruses.

Coronaviruses spread through the air in droplets, making masks an effective tool in stopping the spread. Since many people may not know that they have the virus, they could spread it through a sneeze or cough. Masks block the droplets before they can reach others and also provide the wearer with some (albeit limited) protection.

Have your employees wear masks in the office. In a small office, they should wear them at all times. In a larger office that allows for social distancing, they should wear them when in common areas (restrooms, break rooms, etc), when distancing isn’t possible, and when in any size room with another person.

Social Distancing

Social distancing is another effective tool, as in most cases, the virus can only travel between 6-9 feet in the air before falling. The virus travels via particles that spread through coughing, sneezing, and talking.

If you work in a larger office, you can spread desks between six and nine feet apart and limit the number of people in the restroom at one time. You can also stagger breaks to limit the number of people in break rooms.

In a smaller office, this may be more difficult to do, making masks wearing the most effective method of controlling the spread of the virus.

Offer Employees the Option to Work From Home

With high-speed internet, apps that allow teams to meet from around the world on their computer, Slack, and apps that allow management to assign tasks and track them (like Hubstaff and Trello), it’s easier than ever for employees to work from home.

A two-year study from Stanford also showed that working from home increases productivity. You can also attract more talent to your team by allowing new employees the flexibility of not having to leave their living room for work.

Right now, the best benefit of people working from home is that you have more control over who comes into your business. The fewer people you have in your office at one time, the lower the chances are of COVID-19 spreading.

Protect High Risk Employees

The elderly and those with underlying health conditions are at a higher risk of severe symptoms from COVID-19. As such, it’s important that businesses determine which of their employees may need extra support during this time.

If you have these workers in your office, offer them options to work at home. You should also have information available to them about the virus, be it through email or an online meeting so they understand the risks.

You should also consider giving them additional space around their work area so that they limit their chance of exposure. If possible, the CDC recommends giving them duties that limits their contact with other employees and customers.

Communication is Vital

One of the best ways to protect your employees and customers is to communicate your standards and protocols for COVID-19. Use multiple channels to keep everyone informed of changes.

Email any policy changes and require the recipients to acknowledge that they’ve read and understand the information. Communicate via Slack as well, even if you’re sending information out to others inside of your office. You should also make it clear that anyone who violates these new policies and puts others at risk will face consequences.

While no one wants to play the role of whistleblower, it’s important to understand that the health of your employees is at stake. You should create a way for employees to report concerns anonymously. These concerns can cover a number of things.

If someone frequently goes into public areas without a mask, employees should have a way to inform management without worrying about repercussions. On the other hand, if someone has an issue with management’s response to the virus, whether they believe it’s too heavy-handed or doesn’t go far enough, their voice should also count. Remember, this is a unique situation. No one's solution is perfect, so we should acknowledge feedback and consider it with an open mind.

What are Corona Cleaning Services

The information above shows us that COVID-19 spreads easily, can stay hidden in a host for days or weeks, travels through the air, and can’t survive without its outer shell, which breaks down with proper cleaning procedures.

Using this information, corona cleaning services protects your employees, customers, and business from coronaviruses.

There are three basic protocols that businesses should have in place to stop the spread of COVID-19.

First, a business must stop the spread from occurring in direct contact situations. Encourage employees and customers to wear masks. In Southern California, there are mandates in place that require both employees and customers to do so. Businesses must also, by mandate, provide adequate spacing so that social distancing of at least six feet takes place and ensure that if someone is sick, they stay home.

Next, businesses should have a testing and tracing process in place. First, businesses should routinely use tests to check their high-traffic areas for traces of Corona. Next, they should have a plan when someone becomes sick. Find out who the person has contact with at work and have them stay home for two weeks for a mandatory quarantine. Make sure that those people have a negative test before they come back to work.

Finally, businesses should use professional corona cleaning services anytime the virus infects someone in the office or it’s detected on a surface. They should also use the cleaning service regularly to help prevent it from infecting someone in the first place.

We offer both testing and cleaning services to businesses in the Southern California area. Let’s look at these two services to see what they are and why you need them.

Testing For Coronavirus in Your Business

HCI provides COVID-19 solid surface testing kits to help you detect the virus and determine what areas of your business need special attention.

You can use our affordable tests in conjunction with your cleaning crews to protect yourself from both liability and to keep your employees and visitors safe. By regularly testing commonly touched surfaces, you’ll know immediately if you need deep cleaning services.

By keeping track of your testing, you can narrow down possible exposures for reporting purposes and protect yourself if someone tries to file a negligence claim against you.

We’ve developed these tests specifically for businesses in the Southern California area and have a 24-48 hour turnaround time from the time they reach our labs for fast results.

We’ve done everything possible to make the process as simple as possible. First, we overnight you prepared test kits. The number of kits you need depends on the size of your building, the number of people that work there, and the number of sensitive high-traffic surfaces. If you’re unsure how many kits you need, we’re always available to help you figure it out.

We provide easy to follow instructions so that your in-house team can easily collect samples. Each kit contains sampling swabs, disposable nitrile gloves, sanitizing pads, and return packaging so you can overnight the tests back to us.

Some common areas that you’ll want to test for thorough results include:

• Tables and desks

• Toilets, faucets, and sinks

• Phones and Keyboards

• Handles and doorknobs

• Light switches

• Door knobs

Once you finish taking samples, you only have to send them back to us and we’ll post them within 24-48 hours of receiving them.

Professional Help

When you use HCI for your coronavirus testing, you’ll have expert help with you every step of the way. We have certified chemists that analyze the results of your testing kits, meaning you’ll get results that you can trust.

We can also send a professional to your business to perform the collection of samples for you. Call us and we will give you a fair and fast quote on our services.

Coronavirus Cleaning Services

Once we get your test results back, we can determine the best course of action for your business. We tailor everything that we do to meet the individual needs of our clients. We have three levels of service that we can provide depending on what you need and what your testing kits reveal.

Level One: Precautionary

Now that California is in the midst of a new wave of infections, it’s more important than ever to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Businesses not only have a responsibility to their customers, stakeholders, and employees, but also to the community at large.

Even if your testing kits don’t show the presence of COVID-19, it’s still recommended to have deep cleaning services performed.

Our level one precautionary cleaning services will help keep your workplace safe by cleaning frequently used surfaces and places where common exposure takes place. We’ll create a detailed cleaning plan based on best practices to keep your business both safe and in compliance with local and state-wide ordinances.

Level Two: Potential Exposure

Even if your testing kits come back negative, you may still believe that someone in your building had coronavirus. This level is for a business that has a suspected, but not confirmed, case.

We’ll use our state of the art cleaning methods to perform a 10 foot down disinfection. Our professionally trained team uses CDC protocols and best practices to ensure that your business remains safe.

This is an essential service if you believe that you may have had someone with COVID-19 in your building. Not only does it meet California’s reopening policies, but it will also give your employees and customers the peace of mind they need.

Level Three: Confirmed Exposure

This level of service is for a business that has confirmation of exposure to the novel coronavirus. When this occurs, there are a few steps you’ll need to take.

First, you’ll want to notify your employees and anyone that’s been inside of your business and come into contact with the infected person or persons. This will let people know that they should get a test and watch for symptoms over the next 14 days.

If it was an employee, you’ll need to either make accommodations for that person to work from home and figure out whether you need to close your business.

After determining this, your business will need a complete and customized response. You’ll need a company with the experience, tools, and manpower to complete a thorough cleaning and decontamination.

This process will get rid of the coronavirus on any surfaces and allow you to get back to work quicker. Our process meets all California and CDC recommendations. We’ll work with you to determine the best course of action and give you a full report of what we will do.

What Cleaning Service is Right for Me?

Depending on your industry and the amount of traffic your business sees every week, you may be alright with regular level one cleanings. However, if you have high foot traffic and have customers or vendors in your work place regularly, start with a level two and then move to level one.

The spread of coronavirus has become so prevalent that it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you call us, we’ll find out more information about your specific business and help you determine the best way to keep your business operational and safe.

Of course, level three is if you’ve had exposure to the virus inside of your business. Afterwards, it’s still recommended that you have regular cleanings to ensure that you don’t have to deal with another potential closure.

Why You Should Test Your Business Regularly

One mistake that businesses make is that they assume they’re fine if an employee doesn’t test positive for coronavirus. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Many cases of the virus go undetected, meaning carriers are symptom free.

If a business doesn’t take mitigation steps early and often, the virus can take hold in an office and infect people within hours. This can cripple your business for weeks and cause issues with state and local authorities. Remember, California has strict coronavirus policies. If they believe that your business isn’t taking it seriously, they can and will shut you down.

We recommend that every business uses solid surface testing kits regularly. Depending on the amount of people in your office and how often other people come in, you should do a round of testing every 2-4 weeks.

It’s also important to use corona cleaning services often. These services will help you keep COVID-19 out of your office. You can also keep records of this service and use it to ensure customers and employees that you take their health seriously. These records also protect you if your local government has any questions about your COVID policies.

Why HCI is Southern California’s Best Choice For COVID-19  Testing and Cleaning

When dealing with a pandemic, you want to work with a company that has the experience and knowledge you need. You don’t want to pick the first company you find when searching for ‘cleaning service near me’ on Google. You want a company with an established track record of providing exceptional service.

We often work with government agencies, law enforcement, and manufacturers in the area, so we have experience in handling their unique needs. We’re able to help any business, no matter how large or small.

We have decades of experience helping in environmental cleanup in the Southern California area. While the pandemic itself is a unique circumstance, the fight against coronavirus requires many of the same skills that we’ve used in the past.

Attention to detail, thoroughness, an understanding of our customer’s needs, and industry leading training and equipment continue to serve us well during these troubling times.

We’re one of the few companies in the region that can do everything from the testing to sanitizing and deep cleaning for your business. We work hard to make the process as easy for you as possible.

We’re also fully licensed, have all the permits necessary, and ensure that our staff remains fully trained. We’re dedicated to providing you professional service and world-class customer service.

HCI Can Keep Your Employees Safe and Business Operational

COVID-19 has already caused a significant amount of tragedy in 2020. With the disease spreading at rapid rates, it’s more important than ever to stay vigilant. Without the proper precautions, your employees and business are at risk.

Here at HCI, we’ve dedicated our lives to helping businesses, government entities, manufacturers, and first responders in Southern California manage their environmental issues. Our COVID-19 cleaning service offers your customers peace of mind and confidence in your business.

Do you want to take pre-emptive measures against COVID-19? Do you suspect or know that someone in your business has been exposed? We’re here to help you. Contact us today for solid surface testing kits and corona cleaning services!