Hey Will. Hey Jeff. Welcome everyone to Cleaning with Purpose. You know, today Will and I want to talk about germfree living as much as that's possible. You know, the reality is as we get out and about, uh we're going to be put in places where there's germs and there's viruses and some scary things. That's right. And today we're going to kind of dive into some of these topics and we're going to get into the weeds on sanitizing and disinfecting surfaces and killing germs and protecting ourselves not only against everyday illnesses but serious threats like COVID-19, hantavirus, Ebola and so forth. Every one of those has made the news and it can't help but capture our attention that there is a possibility where any of us could accidentally come across those things and maybe even uh catch it and we we worry about those things for our family. I want to start with the basics. you mentioned, you know, knowing the difference between just simple cleaning and sanitizing and disinfecting. And I'll illustrate it. You know, if we're working around the sink in our kitchen, uh we might grab a wash rag and just knock off some crumbs and wash loosely our counter. And that's cleaning. But if we're going to sanitize now, we're probably getting some soap involved, some some type of a cleaner so that we know that we're actually bringing in an active ingredient, something that could kill things that we don't want to have around in our house. Leave it cleaner. Disinfecting goes to the next level where we very intentionally use chemicals that are going to kill what we often see labeled as 99.9% of the viruses and germs that are around us. So, as cleaners and our commercial cleaning company, we make sure our cleaners understand that we need to go beyond just a little bit of light cleaning. People want to know that they've been sanitized and disinfected.

Absolutely, Jeff. And and you know, it's not one or the other, it's all. You can't have one without all three. So cleaning first of course and then sanitizing which is a little bit of a mid-grade step. But today we're going to talk a little bit more about disinfecting and and what the key aspects and key kind of directions on how to properly disinfect the facility. So it's really all about the dwell time. And what that is is once you spray a surface, you need to let that disinfectant do its thing and actually kill the bacteria and the germs that are on that said surface before you start wiping. If you just spray and wipe it right away, you're kind of defeating the purpose and not letting that EPA registered disinfectant do its thing.

Yeah. You know, and sometimes, uh, we go through a day and we touch so many things, we don't even think about it between our phones, uh, the door knobs, the tabletop surfaces, if we're in and out of common areas, like so many communities that we take care of, you know, they come and go to a gym, they come and go through a lobby, a public restroom, so many surfaces. Sometimes that can overwhelm us as well and worry what are we able to do, right? And I mean and every day we go through it. We are always touching opening doors, getting things off the microwave, opening refrigerators, light switches, what have you. And what the reality is, Jeff, is they're only as clean as the next person who touches it. So, what can we do to kind of protect ourselves in addition to some of the cleaning precautions that a janitorial company might provide? Well, it starts with washing your hands. very common courtesy, common sense thing. But the more you wash your hands, the more you're freeing the bacteria and germs from you and preventing the transmission of those germs on other surfaces.

Yeah. You know, as we come and go, sometimes we go to a national cleaning show, ISSA, and there have been products brought out where they're like, "Hey, if if you use our disinfectant, it'll stay on the surface for an extended period of time, weeks and months, and make sure that those germs and viruses aren't a problem." But we know that's not a reality. As you mentioned, we have to continually clean. It's it's only as clean as we last leave it. So that's why the consistency of what we do is so important. And I'm going to bump us into uh kind of what started this conversation. You know, our I think it was our marketing person brought to us the hantavirus. Like yeah, it's it's big news. I want to back up a little bit and we'll start talking about pandemics because they do scare us. COVID-19. What did we learn from that?

Yeah. So as we all know, the whole world was impacted by the COVID-19 virus. It was a worldwide global pandemic that started right about early 2020 and carried on for about a year or so on on high terms and many were affected. There were deaths because of it. And while it is um a respiratory and airborne pathogen uh as well as a droplet pathogen so it can come out of the saliva or airborne it can also be spread through touch touching surfaces. If if someone was sick and touched that surface that could also uh transmit the virus of COVID-19. So, you know, we talk about in addition to disinfecting, just use those personal hygiene is wash your hands. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it is the truth. If you do that, in addition to having a a very clean, sanitary, and disinfectant environment, you're going to reduce that exposure to a COVID-19.

Yeah. And I think there's there's the fine point right there. Let's reduce our risk. You know, COVID-19 impacted all of us where we started to learn we could wear masks, we wear gloves. So, I'm going to move into another one that's been on the news and this one is really scary and I, you know, speaking to our particular audience, hopefully we never even come close to it, but Ebola, it's been on people's mind. It's another one that when people get infected with Ebola, the bodily fluids, uh, they can contaminate anyone around them through their surfaces or bodily fluid contact. And that's why it's so scary. We've seen what it can do. again in our precautions and minimizing our own risk. First of all, we never want to go into harm's way if we can help it. And in this case, we know it surrounds a certain area, but also anytime we get around anything, no matter if it's Ebola or not, don't be afraid to stop and wash the hands. Don't be afraid to wear gloves if that if that's what it takes or to wear a mask. Do what you can to minimize your risk.

Well said, Jeff. Absolutely. You know, the third kind of serious risk and one that's really been coming into the news a lot lately that you may have seen is the hantavirus. So, this has been something that actually plagued a cruise ship not too long ago that I think we're all familiar with. And, you know, people are exposed through contact with, you know, rodent droppings and saliva. So, it's real important when trying to clean up after after that if you're cleaning for hantavirus never to sweep up the rodent droppings dry. That's key because just like vacuuming, you're kind of moving it around. You have to actually wet it with disinfectant, have the dwell time on those said rodent droppings, and then sweep them up to greatly reduce the exposure of them getting onto another area and possibly affecting or contaminating someone else.

Yeah. And we can't control what other people do. You know, you get on a cruise ship, you have to rely on the cleaning team to take care of these things, right? But in our own room and whatever area that we have control over, again, we want to make the smart play and make sure none of us contract any of these things that we are talking about. Uh the last one typically is associated with getting when you're in the hospital is C. diff, right?

So commonly known as C. diff and this is one that's kind of tricky because the typical sanitizing and disinfecting that happens in a hospital uh won't won't kill C. diff. So typically what has always been the cure is bleach. So in a in a diluted bleach, we can we can kill C. diff which is easy enough. If you would happen to bring it into your home, don't be afraid to do that. There are other other cleaners and chemicals now that we could use, but the diluted bleach has been the main stay for C. diff. And so even hospitals typically when we do like a terminal clean, which is an extensive clean of like maybe a surgical area, we don't typically use bleach at all. But C. diff is the exception and that's why we highlight it. Some people have come home with C. diff from a hospital and they're not quite sure how to handle it, but it can be as easy as a diluted bleach and just clean all surfaces.

Yes, that's the way to take care of C. diff. Most definitely. So, you know, we talk about common areas where germs and bacteria and virus can spread. So, obviously the high-traffic touch points. We're talking kitchens, light switches, door knobs, door handles, where all our hands naturally go to take care of daily and weekly things, functions. So, you know, always make sure if you can that those are disinfected. But again, back to the handwashing, if you if you can combine both together, it can really set you up for success when it comes to avoiding the contamination and and reducing germ spread. Yeah, I think this is where we advocate somewhat of a hygiene kit. So, if travel is involved, you may throw a few extra things into a hygiene kit that include the mask and the gloves and the disinfectant wipes and the tissues. Uh things that can help you stay as germfree as possible.

Yeah, Jeff, I mean, those disinfectant wipes, they're in my travel bag anytime I go out of town because when I get on the plane, you know, I know they come in and do a cleaning in between flights, but how deep is that cleaning? Right. So, you know, the the tray table, the the seat rests, I'm always using my disinfectant wipes to take care of that. And uh you know, hotel remotes are another big one. Those are heavily touched by how many people? We don't know. So, we always try to keep those uh clean, sanitized, and disinfected to the best of our abilities.

Yeah. You know, well, this has been a good session. In closing, we just want to remind everybody we're not here to scare anyone. Germs and viruses are always around us. They're ever present. It's part of why we practice ongoing cleaning. Hopefully some of the tips that we've talked about today are helpful to you in your daily life, in your common areas, in your travels. Definitely. Well, thanks for listening. Stay healthy and also stay tuned for the next Cleaning with a Purpose. See you soon. Bye.