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We all have probably memorized the COVID safety guidelines by now – wash hands with soap for 20 seconds, wear a face mask, don’t touch your face especially when outside, and practice physical distancing by at least one meter.
Proper sanitation has also never been more important than during this pandemic, and this applies to our homes and offices.
Just wiping dirt and debris away won’t do; keeping your space safe from COVID requires you to do more. This is especially important as studies show that the coronavirus can stay on surfaces like plastic and stainless steel for up to three days. Here are some cleaning and disinfecting tips for a COVID-free home or workplace:
- Clean thoroughly first before disinfecting. The World Health Organization (WHO) advises cleaning surfaces first, usually with a solution of water and detergent. Wipe, brush, or scrub – whatever it takes to remove the dirt, debris, and other organic matter on the surface.
Cleaning first is important, as dirt and other debris can weaken the effectiveness of disinfectants. Any dirt can impede disinfectants from making 100% contact on the surface. - Use proven disinfectants, with prescribed solutions. Disinfectants can inactivate pathogens, including those causing COVID. In general, WHO recommends using bleach or chlorine, with a solution of one part of 5% strength household bleach to 49 parts of water. Alcohol with 70-90% solution can also be used to disinfect surfaces.
WHO also advises reading specific product instructions carefully to ensure that your disinfecting solution is not too weak and diluted on one hand that it won’t be effective, and not too strong that it can damage surfaces. - Disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly. Identify high-touch surfaces in your home and office. Examples are door knobs, switches, tables, chairs, faucets, kitchen counters, bathroom counters, and toilet seats and handles.
At home, disinfect high-touch surfaces at least daily, or more often, especially after people come back from work or errands outside.
How often you clean high-touch surfaces in the office depends on how many people use them and how many times a day. Some places would clean them every hour. - Use proper protective gear. Doing this protects both you and the people around you. As disinfectants can be irritating to the respiratory system, protective gear like masks can help you as you disinfect. On the off-chance that you or the person doing the cleaning and disinfecting is an asymptomatic carrier of the virus, the protective gear will help prevent the spread of the virus.
Entrego, a technology-driven end-to-end fulfillment and logistics solutions provider in the Philippines, observes not just the proper cleaning and disinfecting of its offices and warehouses, but also ensures proper hygiene and sanitation in providing services to clients like parcel deliveries.
Should you need help in logistics and fulfillment for your office or small business, Entrego can deliver (pun intended) on your needs, with a high level of sanitation and safety to boot. Entrego's safety procedures help ensure the health and safety of its riders and customers. Find out more here.
Let us clean and disinfect our spaces well and stay safe and healthy amid COVID.