COVID-19 EMPLOYEE TRAINING CLEANING AND DISINFECTION ENHANCED

Make COVID-19 employee training cleaning and disinfection a routine.

COVID-19 employee training cleaning and disinfection must be in your control plan. When COVID-19 infected people cough or sneeze, droplets land on surfaces. If you touch a contaminated surface then your face, you infect yourself. The actions described relate how easily COVID-19 spreads at work.

COVID-19’s lifespan on surfaces makes containment a challenge. Moreover, lower temperatures, higher humidity, and material matter too. Coronavirus lives longest on stainless steel, plastic, and surgical masks. Worthy of note, the last item is a concern. If you reuse disposable masks, clean inside and out after every use.

COVID-19 ON SURFACES

To state the problem, COVID-19 lives hours to days on various surfaces. Experiments conducted on plastic, stainless steel, copper, and cardboard show COVID-19’s resistance. With shiny surfaces, coronavirus stays on plastic and stainless steel for 3-days. It remains infectious up to 24-hours on cardboard. Curiously, coronavirus lives shortest on copper where it remains for four hours.

In another study, coronavirus disappeared from print and tissue paper after three hours. For wood and cloth fabric, it takes two days. After four days, it was no longer detectable on glass and paper money. COVID-19 lasted longest, seven days, on stainless steel, plastics, and surgical masks.

The report confirmed COVID-19 survives longest on smooth, nonporous surfaces. Doorknobs, handles, tables, tools and phones serve as virus hot spots. The results emphasize the importance of frequent disinfection procedures. COVID-19 disinfection controls are straightforward. Before you touch, disinfect and when you’re done disinfect. When you’re home, apply the same cleaning and disinfection procedures too.

COVID-19 CLEANING AND DISINFECTION PROCEDURES

To begin disinfection, properly wash your hands. During the process, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. When you can, use an EPA approved cleaner. This allows you to look up the disinfectants contact time. Many over-the-counter household cleaners are EPA approved. Before applying, read the label for PPE and face masks. Most importantly, follow the instruction.

With COVID-19 employee training cleaning and disinfection, assume no one knows how. Moreover, make cleaning and disinfection part of your regular industrial hygiene program. Generally, disinfection does not kill all germs on a surface. Instead, disinfectants lower a virus population so it’s insufficient for causing infection. When you use the proper cleaning solution, COVID-19 can be deactivated in a minute or longer.

Some commercial products may take ten minutes or longer for removal. For one-minute application, use one of following solutions: 62% to 71% ethanol alcohol; 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, or 0.1% sodium hypochlorite.

DISINFECTING IS PART OF YOUR JOB

On the job, employees need to routinely clean frequently touched surfaces. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets, and sinks. It also includes phones, copiers, microwaves, coffee pots, vending machines and electronics. When using a commercial cleaning product, follow the instructions.

When disinfecting equipment, not all cleaners are appropriate for all surfaces. Screens and electronics are particularly vulnerable to damage from the wrong cleaner. For monitors and touch screens, use 70% alcohol-based wipes or spray.

COVID-19 ENHANCED CLEANING AND DISINFECTION

COVID-19 enhanced cleaning and disinfection requires everyone to participate in workplace disinfection. For your COVID-19 employee training, cover the products to use. In addition, include where to find EAP approved products. The right product is as important as the act of disinfecting itself. Prior to disinfecting, you must clean surface first with soap and water.

After applying a disinfectant, let it lay on the surface wet. Wait for the EPA’s recommended contact time before wiping off. This critical step is often skipped. It is necessary for removing COVID-19 from surfaces. Remember every disinfectant has a contact time for killing the virus. For COVID-19 containment, make cleaning and disinfection part of daily operations.