Best Practices for Keeping Your Facility Clean and Safe

Manufacturers are facing many challenges as we navigate through the impact of the global pandemic. Keeping facilities and products clean and sanitized for employees and consumers is at the top of that list. While ongoing cleaning has always been essential, the public awareness and concern has never been higher—and that’s not likely to diminish in the near future.

While discussions on how exactly the COVID-19 virus is transported from person to person continue, there are existing best practices that will help manufacturing plants do their best to protect their occupants and distribute product safely.

Surface Sanitation

It’s important to note that cleaning and sanitizing are two different things. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that cleaning removes germs and dirt from surfaces. Sanitizing takes it even further by reducing the number of germs to a level that meets public health standards. When purchasing an EPA-registered sanitizing or disinfectant product, it’s important to carefully read the instructions to identify any surface contact times required to kill certain germs. Not following the detailed instructions listed on the label could reduce the effectiveness dramatically.

The type of method used for the cleaning should also be considered. Manual wiping and brushing may be able to clean surface areas, but a deep cleaning requires getting into the small nooks and crevices that are harder to reach. Dry steam cleaning is a method that has been growing in popularity and is also beneficial because it can be used around sensitive equipment and those areas that are more difficult to access.

Once you have the appropriate sanitation equipment and products to start cleaning, these are some additional recommendations to keep in mind:

·       Hidden Spots: Get behind production and packaging machinery, tool chests and storage areas, as these areas can develop a buildup of fluids, garbage and other debris.

·       Interior Walls: Clean the walls to remove residual dust and residue. Buildup on walls can reduce indoor air quality and impact the quality of products being produced.

·       Light Fixtures: Make sure to clean the top of the lighting fixtures and remove residual dust.

·       Drains: Drains are an area where bacteria can collect and should be included with a deep cleaning. The best solutions for cleaning drains include chemicals or using steam solutions.

·       High Traffic Spaces: All surfaces (both top and underneath) in breakrooms or high traffic areas should be cleaned.

·       Electronics: Any electronics that are generally not deeply cleaned or sanitized due to their sensitivity need special attention. These are best cleaned and sanitized using alcohol-based products, which are quick drying.

Heating, Cooling & Air Conditioning System

When performing a deep cleaning, you can’t stop at areas visible to the eye. Indoor air quality is a big part of keeping individuals entering into your facility safe and healthy. Since COVID-19 is an airborne infectious disease, it poses a risk to HVAC facility equipment. While little is known about the virus’ ability to travel throughout HVAC systems, this is a critical component of a facility’s infrastructure and should be included in cleaning and maintenance.

Here are some things to keep in mind when conducting the cleaning and maintenance of your HVAC system:

·       Coil Cleaning: Without proper cleaning, air conditioning coils in the air handlers can become a hot spot for mold and mildew growth. Both of these are culprits for poor indoor air quality.

·       Air Duct Cleaning: Since duct surfaces are typically hidden, they are easy to forget. This means they often accumulate dust, pollen, mold and more. This debris can collect on coils and recirculate into the air. There are several tools available for duct cleanings such as vacuums, agitation devices and duct isolation equipment.

·       Cooling Tower Cleaning: Cooling towers can also be a breeding ground for Legionella and other harmful bacteria. If a tower is infected with bacteria, it can spread to indoor air through ventilation and doorways/entrances and could impact the outdoor air quality in the surrounding area. Cleaning the cooling tower helps to prevent sediment, scale and slime buildup, which can be cleaned with specialized cooling tower vacuums to avoid shutting down or draining the system.

·       Cooling Tower Water Treatments: Outside air drawn into the tower can be contaminated with pollutants, which can increase bacterial growth. Chemical water treatments can protect against these issues and control the growth of harmful bacteria; however, they should be used in conjunction with mechanical cleaning methods.

Monitoring Humidity

Humidity also plays a role in indoor air quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends keeping a building’s humidity levels between 30 to 50%. Bacteria and viruses thrive and circulate through poorly maintained building ventilation systems, as we’ve seen with Legionnaires’ disease. Higher levels of humidity can actually increase the survival rate of viruses indoors.

Ongoing Collaboration

The attention that is being placed on cleaning and sanitation isn’t going away. From employees to consumers, COVID-19 has altered people’s comfort level with entering any building. Effective and thorough cleaning will be a top priority moving forward, and it’s important that everyone plays a role in keeping workspaces as safe and healthy as possible.

Leadership, facility managers, maintenance and sanitation personnel should continually come together to review cleaning and sanitation processes and communicate proper steps among all employees.

Finding a cleaning and sanitation solution is just one of the many challenges facing companies both large and small right now. During this uncertain time, keeping buildings or facilities clean and safe is more important than ever.

For more information contact:

Goodway Technologies Corporation

420 West Avenue

Stamford, CT 06902-6384 USA

800-333-7467 / 203-359-4708

goodway@goodway.com

www.goodway.com

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