People are increasingly weary of potential buzzwords being thrown around, especially when it comes to their health and well-being in the current climate. And a term like “electrostatic spraying” can appear to be just another frivolous description in a litany of similar sounding, scientific jargon. But electrostatic spraying has substance, and is an especially effective method of dispersing disinfectant solutions.

What is Electrostatic Spraying?

At the most basic level, electrostatic spraying is the dispersal of charged particles to coat a surface. Using a specialized solution, combined with air and an electrode within the sprayer, the solution is able to be positively charged as the mist is dispersed from the sprayer. Additionally, the solution itself contains positively charged particles.

As these particles are misted, they are attracted to negatively charged particles on surfaces and objects, clinging to and forming a molecularly bonded barrier against the surface. This also means surfaces already coated with the mist will repel any additional spray, making electrostatic spraying an extremely efficient dispersal method.

What are the Benefits of Electrostatic Spraying?

Let’s consider the standard method for applying disinfectants. Usually, disinfectants are applied by wet dusting using less sophisticated spray bottles and equipment. This method is extremely labor intensive, requiring crews to physically interact with each surface they’re trying to treat, while ultimately being less precise than electrostatic spraying. This method is also more costly, as it requires a larger crew to complete a thorough disinfection, and which needs to be repeated on a regular daily, or even hourly, basis to ensure that the chemical cleaners are continuously applied to be able to do their job.

Coating surfaces using electrostatic spraying allows the disinfectant solution to be applied evenly and thoroughly throughout a space — including cracks, corners, and hard to reach areas. This is because the positively charged spray wraps and evenly coats the surfaces it is sprayed against, being attracted to the naturally negative charges of the particles on those surfaces. The times it takes to apply solutions such as MicrobeCare^TM through electrostatic spraying is also dramatically reduced versus other methods, allowing for increased cost effectiveness through reduced labor and material costs.

Compare this to the traditional method of dispersing other disinfectants, which must remain liquid to work properly. When applied, they are unable to fully coat surfaces as easily, pooling and creating pockets where pathogens and microbes are allowed to remain. Using liquid applications tend to need to over-spray in an effort to combat this less precise mode of application. Then the disinfectants need to sit for anywhere from 5-to-15 minutes to allow them enough time to effectively kill the bacterial and fungal spores they are working against, and are only effective so long as they are wet, adding time on top of the time already taken to apply the disinfectants in the first place. Furthermore, as soon as the substances dry, the surfaces once again become vulnerable to open-air microbes, requiring continuous, regular visits to ensure airborne pathogens can be stopped from settling on surfaces.

Utilizing electrostatic spraying also ensures that the barrier coating provided by antimicrobial barriers will last. Due to the chemical bond, the solution stays present and activated for up to 6 months, allowing for much longer periods of time between additional applications. Because of the unique make-up of MicrobeCare^TM, treated surfaces are dry to the touch with no leaching onto clothes, fabrics, or equipment, and treated surfaces can be interacted with in as little as 15 minutes after application, without worrying that those interacting with the surfaces will be exposed to the harsh side effects of chemical cleaners, such as inhalation issues or skin irritation.

Conclusion

Overall, utilizing electrostatic spraying to disperse an antimicrobial agent provides a more thorough disinfection than traditional methods, in a way that is also faster and more efficient. Using electrostatic spraying in conjunction with thesesubstances ensures the highest level of disinfection of the surfaces within a facility, and placing the safety and well-being of those within the facility at a higher level of importance.

Reduce the frequency and increase the effectiveness of disinfection for your needs, while safe-guarding the health of clients and employees. Reach out to Clean Technologies today to see how our service could help protect your areas, surfaces, and equipment from germs, mold, mildew, and bacteria. Visit our website, or contact Clean Technologies today!

The unique sanitization needs for senior care facilities extends beyond just the needs of the primary residents, though. These communities comprise a number of highly specialized areas — health services, recreation facilities, food services, communal areas, private residencies, administrative offices, etc. — that each see frequent use. And with increased use comes increased levels of touching, interaction, and potential to spread germs and microbes. As these germs, bacteria, and microbes are spread around the area, they can increasingly threaten the health of residents, as well as spread beyond the walls of the facility by faculty entering and leaving for scheduled shifts, or to the visiting family and friends of residents.

Dangers of Commercial Disinfectant in Senior Care Cleaning Services

Commercial chemical cleaners can eliminate bacteria and microbes spread on surfaces where the cleaner is applied directly, but residue and harsh fumes from the cleaner also remain on the surfaces and hang in the air where cleaners have been sprayed.

Because many of these common cleaners are applied using an aerosol application, it’s easy for particles to be dispersed in the surrounding area after the cleaners have been applied to surfaces. Additionally, because the chemicals generally work by only eliminating elements on contact immediately after the application of the cleaning chemicals, repeated exposure — such as from guests and faculty moving between rooms — allows surfaces to quickly become re-contaminated in a short amount of time.

The residual elements of these chemicals can be just as harmful, if not potentially more harmful, than the microbes and bacteria the cleaners are being used to eliminate. This is particularly true for members of the living and care facility that are more vulnerable or sensitive, such as those with pre-existing conditions. Rather than putting the most vulnerable within the community at risk with aerosolized, harsh chemical cleaners, employ a safer antimicrobial care solution such as MicrobeCare™ that protects surfaces without endangering family, staff, and visitors.

Electrostatic Senior Care Cleaning Services

A major alternative to ensure surfaces and touchpoints remain free of microbes and bacteria for longer is an antimicrobial coating through electrostatic application. This treatment works differently from standard chemical cleaners, to provide a more effective level of maintaining cleanliness within shared spaces within care facilities.

Other cleaning agents are generally aerosolized using electrostatic sprayers, to speed up the distribution of the agents. But this can cause major health issues, such as potential respiratory issues, in addition to the side effects of the cleaning agents themselves, such as eye irritation or rashes, if the chemicals are inhaled or come in contact with skin. Our electrostatic cleaning solution uses a unique application process that works by bonding directly to the surface the treatment is applied, creating a layer on the surface, without potential for leaching onto clothing or skin via contact.

This allows the treatment’s molecules to link with the adjacent molecules, coating the surface and forming a barrier on the treated surface. Once this barrier is formed, MicrobeCare™ draws in microbes with positively-charged nitrogen, and ruptures the pathogens with a long carbon chain.

Because of the specific type of bonding our product is able to achieve with the treated surface, the treatment remains effective for longer periods of time. Once an antimicrobial agent has bonded to a surface, it will not come off – disinfectants, by contrast, come off of a surface and re-aerosolize. This allows care facility managers and supervisors to use less frequent application cycles while ensuring greater levels of protection from microbes and germs, applying it once every year instead of multiple times per day or week, such as other antimicrobial chemical solutions.

The Clean Technologies Solution

Senior residents, family, visitors, and facility staff can enjoy a greater peace of mind knowing they are able to live, work, and interact safely without being exposed to potentially harmful disinfectants on frequent, disruptive schedules. Additionally, senior residents can work out, play games, visit friends, and enjoy each other’s company without worry that some chemical substance will transfer to their personal clothes or belongings, as MicrobeCare™ is non-leaching, and will not transfer from surfaces to clothes, food, or skin.

Reduce application frequency and feel empowered with an increase in the effectiveness of disinfecting surface areas and touchpoints with Clean Technologies. Safe-guard the health of our most vulnerable, as well as those that strive to provide our seniors with continued comfort and care. Visit our website, or contact Clean Technologies today to see how we can help protect your workplace from germs, mold, mildew, and bacteria.

There isn’t a single, easy answer to this question. Bacteria, microbes, and viruses each carry their own levels of transmissibility. Some viruses only last a couple of hours on a surface, while others can last weeks.

While person-to-person contact remains the largest factor in virus transmission, many illnesses spread through touching infected surfaces. How long do germs live on surfaces, and what options are available for managing illness in different settings?

How Long Does the Common Cold Live on Surfaces?

Given recent headlines, the common cold may seem a relatively mild threat compared to other illnesses. Yet colds are a virus, and like many illnesses can be transmitted through aerosol transmission or by touching surfaces. It can be a nuisance to customers, as well as having a measurable impact on your business.

According to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, each employee in a business who experiences a cold loses an average of 8.7 work hours. Calculate that against the level of contagion in an office, and you could be losing thousands of hours of productive work between on-site productivity loss and absenteeism. The true economic cost of productivity lost due to the common cold is estimated to be somewhere around $25 billion per year.

While the common cold may seem inconsequential, it can have a measurable impact on your bottom line. Depending on where droplets fall, they can be active from anywhere between a few hours and a day. The average lifetime of the cold virus is extended on hard surfaces like stainless steel, making door handles and elevator buttons ground zero for this illness.

How Long Does the Flu Live on Surfaces?

Influenza, or the flu virus, is the bane of human resource departments across the country. Not only is this illness extremely contagious, but it can also keep employees out of the office for an entire week if not managed carefully. The CDC recommends that anyone with a confirmed case of the flu should stay at home for at least 4-5 days after the onset of symptoms. Even with more relaxed work-from-home policies now widely available, the flu can knock an office on its feet if not properly managed.

Not only is the flu transmissible through droplets – it has a long lifetime on hard surfaces. While common knowledge places the viability of the virus on hard surfaces anywhere between one and two days, a 2016 study confirmed that influenza can remain active for an entire week on stainless steel.

Managing this illness in the office is a struggle that often requires a multi-pronged approach. Beyond extended surface cleaning efforts,

How Long Does the Norovirus Live on Surfaces?

While the norovirus is often referred to as the “stomach flu”, it has no relation to influenza whatsoever. More, it only takes a small amount of particulate matter to contract the illness.

Unlike the common cold or the flu, norovirus has a much longer lifespan on surfaces, making it extremely transmissible. It is also notoriously difficult to kill the virus, with a greater resistance to hand sanitizer. It is a constant threat to the cruise line industry, which can result in quarantining passengers, compounding frustration on top of the illness.

Aside from its resistance to common sanitizers, the norovirus can also last on surfaces for two weeks. The extreme symptoms of the virus, compounded with its resilience, make it not only dangerous but damaging to the bottom line of businesses everywhere.

How Long Do Germs Live on Surfaces? With Antimicrobial Treatment, Only Seconds

Most businesses have two options for managing the lifetime of bacteria, viruses, and microbes on surfaces. One option is boosting wellness initiatives and awareness. In-office vaccinations, posting handwashing messaging in bathrooms, and announcements in the office are three steps that a company can take to ensure the well-being of their employees.

This option, while beneficial to the overall health of your business, is limited in its efficacy. A second approach should focus on enhanced cleaning methods. This doesn’t just mean cleaning your office more regularly, but utilizing antimicrobial barriers to kill viruses as soon as they make contact with a surface.

At Clean Technologies, we offer antimicrobial treatment services to every kind of business. With a simple and swift application, our treatment is effective against bacteria and viruses on the molecular level, ensuring surfaces stay cleaner for longer. We use the same products used in surgical settings – while our treatment is hard on bacteria, it is harmless to customers and employees alike.

How can you ensure the health of your business? Contact us today for more information about our services!

Professional gyms have such specific setups, services, and equipment offerings that they are one of the most difficult experiences to replicate from home. At-home workout routines exist in spades, but few consumers can capture the full equipment and space spread of a fully stocked gym. Which is exactly why so many are ready to return in person, but want to be certain that the space they’re returning too is free from microbes and germs.

And it’s part of the nature of having such a unique space that makes it so important that the gym remains clean and free from microbial growth, because the primary purpose of the gym as a space is the regular, communal utilization of their specialized equipment. This means the vast majority of items and areas within the gym are high-touch surfaces by design, which leads to these having a higher potential to collect germs and bacteria.

Furthermore, as gym-goers work out and complete rep-after-rep, session-after-session, the equipment that’s used becomes covered in perspiration. Most gyms have a “wipe after use” policy, but the quick swab applied by a worn-out gym-goer isn’t enough to fully disinfect and protect that used surface from microbial invasion.

With Gym Cleaning Services, Disinfectant Falls Short

Many business owners have turned to using commercial chemical disinfectants to clean their surfaces in masse. But while these chemical cleaners may kill bacteria and germs on surfaces if used correctly, the potent chemical mixtures can also pose serious risk to human health.

Many of the chemicals used in commercial disinfectants have not been fully tested and vetted in human trials. However, a limited number of studies conducted on animal subjects has found that exposure to one of the major ingredients in chemical cleaners induced lung disease, shortness of breath, nasal bleeding, and other respiratory issues in the short-term. The long-term effects of exposure are less documented.

If gym owners continue to use harsh chemical cleaners to disinfect their equipment and spaces, it could pose a health risk to their employees and members, as well as damage the equipment. And for a space dedicated to fitness and wellness, this exposure becomes particularly troubling.

Antimicrobial Coating as an Effective Cleaning Agent for Gym Equipment

One alternative is an antimicrobial coating that lasts longer, and works differently, to provide a more effective level of disinfection for gym equipment and shared spaces.

Other cleaning agents are generally aerosolized using electrostatic sprayers, to speed up the distribution of the agents. But this can cause potential respiratory issues in addition to the side effects of the cleaning agents themselves if the chemicals are inhaled. Our treatment method uses a unique application process that works by bonding directly to the surface the treatment is applied to through a mechanical mode of action.

This allows the treatment’s molecules to link with the adjacent molecules, coating the surface and forming a barrier on the treated surface. Once this barrier is formed, MicrobeCare™ draws in microbes with positively-charged nitrogen, and ruptures the pathogens with a long carbon chain.

Because of the specific type of bonding we use, the treatment remains effective for longer periods of time. This allows gym owners to employ less frequent applications while still achieving greater levels of protection from bacteria and germs — once every six months, rather than every few hours or days for other antimicrobial solutions.

Gym Cleaning Services Start with Clean Technologies LLC

Businesses owners, employees, and gym members can feel calmer and safer knowing they are able to participate in their regular routines without being exposed to potentially harmful disinfectants on a frequent, disruptive schedule. Instead, gym-goers are able to interact with weights, equipment, and surfaces they know have been treated. Additionally, gym goers can work out without worry that some chemical substance will transfer to their personal clothes or belongings, as our treatment method is non-leaching, and will not transfer from surfaces to clothes, food, or skin.

Reduce the frequency and increase the effectiveness of disinfecting gym equipment and work out spaces while safe-guarding the health of clients and employees. Reach out to Clean Technologies today to see how our antimicrobial coating can help protect your workplace from germs, mold, mildew, and bacteria. Visit our website, or contact Clean Technologies today!

They are a number of measures employers can consider, each with its benefits, to instill a sense of safety and health-centered mindfulness in employees who re-enter the office environment, and employers should start preparing as soon as possible to stay up to the speed with the rapid pace of the reopening economy. For the best ways to bring employees back into the office, consider implementing these standards, adjustments, and cleaning updates to the old routines.

Commercial Office Cleaning Starts in the Physical Space

Prior to the pandemic, most employers were focused on implementing open-office concepts that cut down on individual offices and grouped employees close together in tight coworking spaces. Now, employers need to take a step back and reconsider if these configurations are the best choice for employees.

Particularly to address employees more hesitant to return, employers need to consider reconfiguring their desk and table layouts and assignments to be more mindful of social distancing standards. Providing adequate space in between office seating will encourage employees to maintain the same safe distance standards that have become so commonplace over the last year. Installing physical barriers between spaces may be helpful, as well, though this should be balanced against the need for employee interaction, as a sight barrier will discourage employee in-person collaboration.

Signage and Information

Open communication is key to gaining and retaining employee confidence. Management should align on messaging, and be transparent in their communications about reopening efforts, and measures being taken to prepare the office space. This helps both set and temper employee expectations, and cuts down on potential for rumors and misinformation.

Employers should also ensure proper signage outlining safety and health guidelines in the office are hung in common, easily-accessible areas around the office space. This way, employees will be well-informed about the expectations within the workspace and will have a direct resource to reference should they ever be confused about or forget one of the in-office policies.

Don’t Forget the Masks

An extension of open communication is addressing whether employees will be expected to wear masks throughout the working day while in the office, or not. Guidance on the subject is still rapidly changing, and individual workplaces and stores are still choosing whether or not to direct both employees and customers to wear masks before entering or conducting business indoors. Whichever direction is chosen, the choice should be consistent and communicated early on, so employees are informed well in advance of showing up to the office in person and being surprised. 

Scheduled Cleaning and Disinfection is Only Part of Commercial Office Cleaning

No matter what, employers should be stepping-up their commercial office cleaning routines to ensure that their office and working spaces are consistently clean, disinfected, and free from bacterial and viral agents. However, as we have addressed before, there is such a thing as too much cleaning. To avoid falling into the routine of dousing an office in harsh chemicals that could end doing more harm than good, consider an alternative disinfection solution that leads to protection from bacteria for longer — MicrobeCare™.

A proprietary agent that is applied using a unique process, MicrobeCare™ bonds to the surface it is treating, creating a longer lasting barrier as it coats the surface it is applied to, forming a molecular link through a mechanical mode of action. Once this barrier is formed, it draws in microbes and pathogens using positively-charged nitrogen, puncturing and rupturing the offending microbes with a long carbon chain. Because of the unique bonding process, antimicrobial coatings are effective for much longer than typical disinfectants, lasting for 6 months rather than a few hours or days from typical commercial cleaning cycles.

Provide employees with a thoroughly cleaned, prepped, and prepared office as they ease back into the routine of in-person work. Increase the effectiveness of commercial office cleaning while reducing the frequency and invasiveness of cleaning, and lowering the risk of greater exposure to chemical cleaners. Reach out to Clean Technologies today to see how our services can help protect your workplace from germs, mold, mildew, and bacteria. Visit our website, or contact Clean Technologies today!

With so many people passing through any given location, surfaces need to be constantly cleaned to prevent the transmission of microbial contaminants. More, airports are the nexus of global commutes – they become hotbeds for disease transmission.

With so much space for bacteria to grow and limited resources to clean everything in a consistent manner, janitorial services seem at constant odds with bacteria and viruses. There are plenty of obvious places where microbes can grow, like TSA stops and bathrooms. But other surfaces, like seating and boarding gates, are also highly trafficked.

Commonly touched surfaces are the most likely areas to get sprayed down, but germs thrive in hard-to-reach areas. Keyboards, phones, and desks are likely to contain tough-to-reach areas that are often overlooked. Bacteria thrives in these conditions, and can grow faster than janitorial staff can clean them.

In the stalemate between disinfectants and germs, antimicrobial treatments exist that can strongly reduce the growth rates of microbes. However, not all of these treatments are made equal.

Overuse of Disinfectant in 2020

If you’ve been to an airport any time in the past year, you may have noticed the strong odor of disinfectants. In the past year, chemical disinfectants have been used nearly four times as much as recommended.

It has been estimated that the overuse of chemical disinfectants affects roughly 10% of people, most notably those who suffer from asthma, migraines, and those who are immunocompromised. Immediate symptoms include memory loss, mood swings, nausea, and trouble concentrating. Long-term effects have not been fully studied, but open the door to long-term litigation from those who have had consistent contact with these chemicals.

Cleaners contain toxic chemicals to kill germs and bacteria on contact. Yet the potency of these disinfectants also makes them particularly hazardous to human health. As a result, many airports are making the switch to cleaning methods that are being deployed in industries such as healthcare, cruise lines, and food manufacturing.

Antimicrobial Coating: A Shield Against Harmful Microbes

Highly trafficked areas like airports and airplanes are the perfect breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Yet the overapplication of disinfectant, while well intentioned, can pose a health risk in itself. Thankfully, large organizations have found a new weapon in their arsenal to combat the health risks of microbes: antimicrobial coating.

Antimicrobial coating provides a long-lasting shield against common health risks, mitigating the use of common cleaners. With EPA and FDA approval, antimicrobial coatings like those used at Clean Technologies LLC are favored in public areas that are at risk of becoming quickly contaminated. Because these substances are sprayed rather than applied by hand, large facilities can be cleaned quickly, and quick dry times allow workers to get back to these spaces in as little as 15 minutes.

Airports are large facilities that require extensive janitorial efforts to maintain cleanliness.

How Airports are Leveraging Antimicrobial Coating

For too long, airports have depended upon a reactive approach to cleaning their facilities. The past year has shown this methodology to be flawed: it is difficult to scale with impending health threats, and in the process of using too much disinfectant, can become a health risk.

More airports are now choosing proactive approaches to cleaning their facilities with antimicrobial coating. With a quick spray, these substances can be applied very quickly and require less application over a longer period of time. Antimicrobial coating is covalently bonded to a surface, ensuring that microbes that come in contact with these substances are killed without shortening its six-month life span.

Clean Technologies: Your Partner in Long-Term Cleaning Solutions

Antimicrobial coating is a powerful solution for maintaining the long-term health of patrons passing through an airport – but requires a special application process to achieve the maximum results. You need a partner who can quickly provide results to your organization.

Clean Technologies LLC is a leading provider in antimicrobial coating solutions. Our technicians are available 24/7, and are able to apply a quick clean with no special site preparation required. We’re here on your time, not ours – contact us today to learn more about our services.

While virtual and outdoor services have become regular staples during the last year of socially distanced interactions, the inability to meet in person within houses of worship has been difficult on congregations. Fortunately, increased cleaning and safety precautions, spearheaded by a new antimicrobial cleaning treatment, are driving a return to in-person services within churches and faith-based organizations, as congregations feel safer while meeting inside and in groups.

Providing Thorough Antimicrobial Care with MicrobeCare™

One of the most effective ways to combat disease-carrying organisms and allow groups to be able to meet in public while still feeling safe is by thoroughly cleaning and treating the surfaces where people interact. As members meet and interact, sharing spaces and worship materials, surfaces can quickly become cross-contaminated. Keeping track of every point of interaction and potential area can be difficult, particularly for churches with limited or primarily volunteer staff-members.

To provide peace of mind for congregations meeting in churches for services, community groups, and day-to-day activities, our unique antimicrobial solution can be used to coat common surfaces — such as pews, high-traffic hallways, and shared books. With the experienced team at Clean Technologies available 24/7, and because the treatment doesn’t require any pre-cleaning or additional preparation before being applied, all areas and points of concern can be treated with the antimicrobial care solution more quickly and thoroughly than traditional disinfection solutions.

Once applied, our treatment uses a mechanical mode of action to form a molecular bond with the surface, creating a durable barrier that guards against mold, mildew, fungus, and microbial pathogens. The unique application process remains effective for a longer period of time when compared to other applicators and chemical cleaners, providing protection to surfaces for six months and beyond.

A Safer Solution for Safer Services

It’s important to remember that churches serve the entire family — young and old, those in need, and members from all walks of life. Because of this, specific members of the congregation can potentially be more susceptible to certain pathogens and microbes than others, and special care should be taken to ensure they’re able to safely attend services without issue. This is also why it’s important to be mindful about which solutions are used to disinfect and protect shared spaces.

With chemical disinfectants, bacteria and microbes will be eliminated on surfaces immediately upon application, but exposure allows the surfaces to quickly become contaminated once more and leave residual chemical elements behind

These residual elements can be just as harmful, if not more, than the microbes and bacteria the cleaners are being employed to. Rather than putting the most vulnerable within the community at risk with harsh chemical cleaners, employing a safer antimicrobial protects surfaces providing a long lasting, less toxic solution.

Our treatment bonds to surfaces in as little as 15 minutes, without leaving behind residual aerosolized particles, and the solution is non-leaching, meaning it will not transfer from the applied surface to clothes, skin, or food. It works by forming a covalent bond with the surface it’s applied to and drawing in microbes using positively-charged nitrogen atoms and a linked carbon chain to rupture pathogens. This specific type of chemical bonding, combined with the unique application process, allows us to more effectively coat surfaces without producing potentially harmful residual elements.

Provide greater peace of mind for returning members of the congregation, with a more effective, long-lasting antimicrobial care solution. Reach out to today to see how Clean Technologies could help protect your church or place of worship from germs, mold, mildew, and bacteria. Visit our website, or contact Clean Technologies today!

Like any business, we have certain expectations about how a retail store looks before we enter. We expect an organized inventory, a polite staff, and exceptional service. But in the wake of COVID-19, customers expect service that goes beyond what we see on the shelf.

This means antimicrobial care – treating microscopic organisms like viruses and bacteria that are invisible to the human eye, but still matter to your customers and employees alike. Because we can’t see contamination on surfaces, communicating proven cleaning measures like those used in hospital settings are often the best choice for businesses.

Antimicrobial care for retail can be applied to surfaces like door handles, touchpads, and counters to eliminate the spread of contagions in highly trafficked areas such as retail stores, providing a clean that lasts for months rather than hours. The same long-lasting clean used in surgical settings can now be used anywhere. With a single application, you can keep customers happy every time they visit your store.

Why is a Long-Lasting Antimicrobial Treatment Important for Retail?

As more Americans begin to exit their homes and return to stores, they continue to err on the side of caution. We all want to get back to a state of normalcy, and the retail experience has been sorely missed – yet even after we reach herd immunity, increased scrutiny about overall cleanliness is likely to be a common trend among your customers.

Just as important is maintaining trust and openness with your employees. Employee absenteeism is an issue that all industries struggle with, but for a retail store in our current climate illness can spark paranoia and fear among your entire staff, halting business operations. Retail depends on in-person employee-customer interactions more than just about any kind of business, and your staff is relying on you to keep them well.

Happy employees equal happy customers. By investing in a solution that keeps surfaces clean for extended periods of time, you are investing in the health of your team as well as the long-term relationships formed between your business and the public.

Retail Surfaces That Can Benefit from Antimicrobial Care

MicrobeCare™ can be applied to virtually any surface – it’s why more and more hospitals are relying on it to maintain the health of their patients. This same antimicrobial cleaner can be applied to common areas shared by customers and employees in your retail location.

Displays and Shelving

Customers aren’t just looking to browse your shelves – they want to pick up and look at the things they’re about to purchase. By coating retail surfaces, customers can rest assured that even as they make decisions about their purchases, cleanliness is taken as the top priority.

Counters

Every sale in a retail space ends at the point of purchase. For the cautionary retail business owner, keeping this location clean should be priority number one. Cleaning counter space ensures minimal transmission risk of pathogens between your customers and employees – and promotes the wellness of both!

Restrooms

Public restrooms have largely been shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet remain critical for the happiness of your customers. We can treat the surface of toilets, sinks, stall doors, and other surfaces.

Break Rooms

Break rooms offer your employees a space to get away from the hustle and bustle. Applying ant–microbial care to the surfaces of your break room can put them at peace of mind while they recuperate from their daily tasks.

Clean Technologies Provides Results for Retail Antimicrobial Solutions

During the global pandemic, common household cleaners have seen nearly four times as much suggested usage in offices, restaurants, public spaces, and retail settings. Overuse of these products can be dangerous in and of itself.

At Clean Technologies, we are experts at swift and worry-free long lasting anti-microbial application. With minimal workplace disruption, employees can get back to work only 15 minutes after surfaces have been treated. Our 24/7 service ensures that companies like yours can stop worrying about germs and focus on customer satisfaction first.

How can Clean Technologies help your business? Contact us today to learn more about our service and offerings!

At first, many celebrated working from home – rather than having to take the daily commute, workers have set up home offices. While there are benefits to this lifestyle, the level of communication between workers has stifled as it has moved from in-person communication to video calls and teleconferencing.

A year later, many companies are taking the first steps in moving back to office spaces. But doing this incurs risk of its own: how can companies convince workers to come back without reaching herd immunity? Is it worth it? What are the best strategies for keeping my employees safe?

MicrobeCare™ in the Office: Antimicrobial Solutions for Business Problems

Surfaces have long been known to carry dangerous microorganisms and spread illness throughout schools, offices, and restaurants. MicrobeCare™ is an EPA registered antimicrobial solution that has been successfully leveraged in healthcare to stop the spread of contaminants with minimal application needed. This same solution can be used in office spaces to build confidence in going back to work.

While special technology is required to apply MicrobeCare™ to an office, downtime is minimal. Employees can begin working as quickly as 15 minutes after surfaces have been coated, which has made it an ideal option for those working in facilities where operations may be running throughout the day and night. Using a MicrobeCare™ partner like Clean Technologies is the best way to approach this.

Why Apply Antimicrobial Solutions to Your Office?

According to Forbes, teleworking has decreased from 35% of workers to 21.2% of workers since the pandemic began. Even as COVID rates spiked towards the end of fall, workers continued to go back to the office, largely out of necessity. Not every industry can afford to be purely remote.

Bringing workers back into the office after a year spent at home can be a tough sell – antimicrobial solutions like MicrobeCare™ can not only convince them that you’re taking the best available measures to protect their health, but also improve their work performance.

Absenteeism

In the first days of the pandemic, many offices were still open while waiting for more information. During this period, absenteeism became a massive, if not anticipated, problem for business owners. Americans were preparing for the worst, and mitigating their risk by staying at home.

As offices begin to open, the same issue is likely to reemerge. While some offices are using a hybrid model to bring back their workforce, your company will have to build trust in order to convince employees to return. Antimicrobial care ensures that you are doing everything in your power to keep them safe as they return to the office, and can be used in tandem with other strategies to keep their morale high.

Presenteeism

An employee who spends all of their time in an office worrying about illness will be less attentive, efficient, and motivated. They will spend their time avoiding contact with others, and be more focused on avoiding others rather than meeting the bottom line.

This response isn’t a sign of a bad worker – it’s a sign of being human. Absenteeism and presenteeism go hand in hand. You’ll only be able to convince these workers that it is safe to return to the office when their fears have been acknowledged and responded to. Ensuring best practices are maintained in the office to promote health will ease the move back into office work.

Health and Wellness

Did you know that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the usage of common cleaners is four times higher than suggested?

Most of the germs that antibacterial chemicals remove are harmless to our health – when you overuse disinfectants beyond the guidelines, the cleaner can actually do more damage to your health than most common bacteria. While many common cleaners have shown to be effective against COVID-19, the overuse of these can lead to health problems, and the possibility of costly litigation.

In a recent study involving an ICU, MicrobeCare™ has been shown to be extremely effective in keeping surfaces clean over a long period of time. 95.5% of ICU surfaces that were coated with MicrobeCare™ tested culture-negative 6 weeks after treatment, and the surfaces that tested positive showed a radically decreased mean colony count compared to untreated surfaces. MicrobeCare™ only has to be applied occasionally, rather than consistently. It is non-toxic, and removes the need to frequently apply harsh disinfectants.

MicrobeCare™ Gives Businesses Peace of Mind

Antimicrobial cleaners can provide long-term health benefits over a long period of time – MicrobeCare™ is a simple solution that requires minimal application with maximum results.

In the era of the coronavirus, your business needs every tool in its arsenal to not only combat illness, but the mental stress that follows suit. Clean Technologies is a national provider with the equipment to quickly treat your office with MicrobeCare™ so your team can get back to work. Contact us today for more information about our services.

In a troubling development to many experts, business-owners may be cleaning their offices too frequently. The notion may seem preposterous to some, particularly considering the year-long battle with the novel coronavirus, but the old adage does seem to hold true in this case: there can be too much of a good thing. 

How Often is Too Often for Disinfecting my Office?

Near the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, it was common for businesses and offices to do a thorough deep-clean every few hours as a precaution, some as often as 6–8 times a day, according to Bloomberg. Time and further research into the spread of the virus and the virus composition has led to cleaning cycles that are less frequent, and more subjective.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), high-use spots, such as door handles, light switches, desks, phones, and faucets, should all be cleaned and disinfected more frequently, but the approximate amount is up to individual businesses. In general, for most offices, all high-use spots should be cleaned at least daily. For unoccupied spaces that see more low usage, the CDC recommends they be cleaned at least once a week. This is because the COVID-19 virus does not have an extended lifespan on surfaces, lasting anywhere from a few hours to a day, with warm weather and exposure to sunlight shorting that lifespan even further.

Why is Cleaning Frequently a Bad Thing?

As mentioned, frequent cleaning is being performed to help safeguard employees, customers, and the public from the spread of germs and bacteria — so what makes disinfecting an office so often bad?

The reason frequent cleaning is frowned upon has as much to do with the products being utilized as it does with the spread of the diseases and germs being targeted. While there are several products on the market that claim to be effective disinfectants, many of the products currently being used in offices have not been fully cleared as being safe in relation to human health. This is primarily due to a lack of thorough research on the chemicals being employed, though there have been a number of limited studies that have shown some of the chemicals used can have particularly dangerous side effects on animal test subjects.

Increasing the frequency with which these chemical disinfectants are spread on the most common surfaces within an office could lead to major health concerns for the same employees business-owners are trying to protect. Yet, the surfaces do need to be cleaned to help reduce the potential spread of additional bacteria and pathogens. So what choice do businesses have to turn to when considering how best to keep their employees safe when returning to work?

A Non-Toxic, More Effective Cleaning Agent for Disinfecting Your Office

One alternative is a cleaning agent that lasts longer, and works differently, to provide a more effective level of disinfection — MicrobeCare™. Other cleaning agents are generally aerosolized using electrostatic sprayers, to speed up the distribution of the agents, but causing potential respiratory issues in addition to the side effects of the cleaning agents themselves. MicrobeCare™ uses a unique application process that works by bonding directly to the surface the treatment is applied to through a mechanical mode of action, allowing the treatment’s molecules to link with the adjacent molecules, coating the surface and forming a barrier on the treated surface. Once this barrier is formed, MicrobeCare™ draws in microbes with positively-charged nitrogen, and ruptures the pathogens with a long carbon chain.

Because of the specific type of bonding MicrobeCare™ is able to achieve with the treated surface, the treatment is able to remain effective for longer periods of time, leading to less frequent applications — once every six months, rather than every few hours or days for other antimicrobial solutions.

This provides greater peace of mind to businesses and employees as they are able to go about their work without being exposed to potentially harmful disinfects on a frequent, disruptive schedule. Instead, employees are able to interact with surfaces they know have been treated, and are able maintain their efficacy, without feeling exposed to chemical antimicrobial disinfectants, as MicrobeCare™ is non-leaching, and will not transfer from surfaces to clothes, food, or skin.

Reduce the frequency and increase the effectiveness of office disinfection without risking greater exposure or gambling with employee health. Reach out to Clean Technologies today to see how their MicrobeCare™ could help protect your workplace from germs, mold, mildew, and bacteria. Visit our website, or contact Clean Technologies today!