Tips for Hiring the Best Commercial Disinfection Company

Standalone janitorial cleaning is a thing of the past. In the COVID era, businesses must combine regular cleaning with enhanced disinfection to wipe out harmful pathogens that cause infectious diseases. Now more than ever, building owners, facility managers, and stakeholders are relying on commercial cleaning companies to protect their assets, people, and bottom line.

But hiring a commercial cleaning company is not as simple as choosing a new pair of jeans. If you choose wrong, people could become sick and your business could shut down. That’s why you have to dig deeper to ensure the commercial cleaner you hire is certified, trained and equipped to properly disinfect your facility.

Making matters more complicated, how do you know who to trust? Far too many commercial cleaning companies will say anything to win your business. Without stepping foot on your property, they’ll promise you protection at rock bottom pricing. Then they’ll upcharge you later. (More on the dangers of getting quotes over the phone in our recent blog). What’s worse? They may be using cheap equipment, toxic disinfecting materials, or lack the scientific knowledge to protect your surfaces and eliminate risks of cross contamination.

So how can you hire the best company to help protect your facility? Simply follow our recommendations below.

Get Clear on Your Cleaning Goals

Protecting My Bottom Line is a Main Priority

Rampant shutdowns have brought entire industries to their knees. Historic companies and mega retailers have shut down permanently, the travel market is in shambles, and local businesses like restaurants and fitness centers are struggling to survive. As a result, the U.S. is facing unCareers rates that are 5 times the peak of the Great Recession.

You’re fighting not just to survive. You want to thrive. You want to hire employees back, continue investing in growth, and flourish beyond your wildest dreams. But you can only do that if your business can comply with the latest safety regulations, while preventing COVID outbreaks.

Unfortunately, not everyone has complied with hygiene directives, including masks and social distancing recommendations. With that, Florida has seen record-breaking COVID cases and a delay in reopening plans. As cases continue to be one of the highest in the country, South Florida businesses must prioritize safety and sanitation to prevent further closures.

Value the Safety of Employees and Customers Above All

Profits aside (but never forgotten), you want to ensure that your people are healthy and safe from viral transmission. In fact, that may be the main reason you’re looking for a commercial cleaning company. When just one infected person touches a doorknob, he or she can infect 40% of the occupants and over 50% of the surfaces in just 4 hours. That’s a risk you can only mitigate by enlisting a reputable company to properly clean, sanitize, and disinfect–all while preventing cross contamination and complying with CDC guidance.

Cleaning alone helps reduce the number of germs and dirt, but the only way to kill pathogens on the surfaces and in the air is to combine cleaning with enhanced disinfection in a careful multi-step process. Not every cleaning company has the resources or training to do the job right.

Unfortunately, there’s a swarm of commercial cleaners who blasted onto the market with fancy logos, a spray bottle, and little experience in environmental safety. We call them the “COVID cowboys.” These companies claim to be professional disinfectors, but they come in hot, while over-spraying harsh chemicals that can damage your surfaces and pollute your air. This can cause respiratory issues for people in your building and do more harm than good over time.

Your employees and customers deserve to feel safe. And they need to be confident that you’re investing in their health. That’s why it’s important to work with a reputable commercial cleaner like Total Cleaning.

At Total Cleaning, we’re here to help facilitate a “new normal” at your business. With advanced cleaning and disinfection services, we can help you improve moral, reduce absenteeism even increase productivity, while giving everyone much needed peace of mind.

Spend A Little More Now to Prevent Greater Cost Later

If you’re worried about budget, you are not alone. That’s why Total Cleaning works around the clock to hire, train, and deliver services to that protect your reputation, and prevent financial loss related to disease outbreaks and closures. We are in this fight with you. Our goal is to ensure your people are safe and your buildings are protected so you don’t pay the price later.

For example, did you know many of the products flooding the market today have not been tested at high concentration levels over long periods? From our research, these substances can be harmful to human health, while also eroding the surfaces of floors, walls, desks and computers.

Only trained and certified companies will know what solutions can be used and how long chemicals can remain on surfaces or linger in the air before potential damage to sensitive equipment and furniture incurs. Unfortunately, such knowledge is not a standard in the industry. This leaves you at risk of spending significantly more money to repair or replace damaged structures in the future.

It also leaves your company potentially liable if employees or customers become ill from over exposure to chemicals in the air or on surface residue at the workplace. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, many employers could end up in court as a result of COVID related complaints. McDonald’s for example, was sued last month for allegedly failing to keep employees safe. And in most states, worker’s compensation does not cover gross negligence for the spread of infectious disease in the workplace.

When you understand the risks, you’ll want to invest in a comprehensive disinfection plan that protects your people and property.

3 Questions to Hire the Right Cleaning Partner

Before choosing a commercial cleaning company, we suggest you ask the following questions.

#1 “What Certifications Do You Have?”

If you hear crickets when you ask this question, move on immediately. Companies who don’t have formal training may not have any idea how to protect your building or the people in it. On the other hand, if your commercial cleaning company has received a GBAC, CMI, or OSHA certification, you can feel confident they are following the latest protocols and procedures grounded in sound scientific evidence.

GBAC (Global Biorisk Advisory Council) Training

Any certification can sound fancy, but GBAC is the premier infection prevention response and recovery accreditation agency in the industry today. Companies who have this certification can say they have the most current chemistry knowledge, state-of -the-art equipment, advanced tools, and sufficient PPE to best protect your facility.

With this training, industry leading commercial cleaners can say they understand the correct techniques and best practices for biohazards like the novel coronavirus. This is the gold standard and it is what you should expect from the company you hire.

OSHA Training  

OSHA training means every staff member of a commercial cleaning company understands how to operate in compliance with workplace laws. Our team is trained to create a safer and healthier environment for those who work, live, and spend money at your business location. OSHA certification is required by law in hazardous industries and any commercial cleaning company who doesn’t have it is a glaring red flag.

#2 “What Can You Tell Me About the Science of Disinfection?”

Radio silence? Hang up and dial the next company on your list.

Cleaning and disinfection are based on established science and research. A quality commercial cleaning company knows that and can explain how to protect your building using solutions that meet the U.S. EPA Emerging Viral Pathogen Policies.

A qualified company should ask you about the density, activity, and touchpoints in your building, such as doorknobs, desks, equipment, toilets, sinks, and shared appliances. They’ll also ask what materials the surfaces are made from and how they plan to clean and disinfect each one differently. Finally, they’ll ask about your HVAC system and filtration program, so they can arrive with the proper electrostatic sprayers needed to reach these areas.

#3 “How Many Years of Experience Do You Have?”

Did they get into the disinfection business less than a year ago? We respect entrepreneurship, but that can be a telltale sign you may be dealing with a COVID cowboy. Nexxxxt.

Years of experience matter for so many reasons.

  1. A company who just got into the business may not have the proper training in biorisk and infectious disease prevention.
  2. Years of experience also means the company has been successful. And the only way to succeed in the commercial cleaning industry is by earning customer’s trust and protecting their people and assets.
  3. Years in business also proves the company is passionate about what it does and has spent countless hours evolving in the industry.
  4. Finally, experienced commercial cleaning companies are guaranteed to not be COVID cowboys. That means their only priority is helping your business thrive for the long term.

Once you’ve found a company who answers those questions in a way that makes you feel comfortable, it’s time to schedule an on-site risk assessment. That’s when a reputable company like Total Cleaning sends its experts to analyze your facility’s density and surfaces to create a long-term protection plan.

Working with Total Cleaning

At Total Cleaning, we’ve served South Florida businesses for 30+ years. Throughout that time, we’ve invested in the tools, technology and people to ensure you are safe and protected. Trained in the industry’s leading associations and utilizing only top-rated products, we are ready to conduct a complimentary onsite risk assessment to create your facility prevention plan today.

This seems to a baseline requirement for hazardous industries but I’m not sure it tells a compelling story that differentiates TC from other companies…are there any other certifications we can mention?

Share this post

Call 1.866.868.2589