Washrooms are a part of everyday life, weather in the office, schools, shopping centres or even just in public, when we need them we are thankful they are there. But can using them be putting us at risk? Washrooms harbour all sorts of unhealthy microorganisms and then with the perfect damp warm environment, your washroom pretty much acts like an incubator allowing small amounts of bacteria to quickly multiply to large colonies that can leave you, your customers or your students susceptible to all sorts of nasty illnesses.
It is a fact that good daily cleaning of washrooms will go a long way to helping to minimise the risk of infection or illness but it also tends to overlook the areas that, over time are havens for nasty microorganisms. Areas such as drains, grout, cubical walls, the hinges on toilet seats, behind sanitary bins; the list goes on and on. Then the side effects of not maintaining these can be anything from a smelly washroom to increased absenteeism and even a loss in workplace productivity.
The likelihood of infectious diseases occurring in departmental workplaces such as schools is “almost certain” while the consequence may range from insignificant to critical.
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011
So what can you do to reduce these risks and ensure your washroom is clean and healthy? Number one is a good daily cleaning regime using certified disinfectants, cleaning equipment and products. Equally important and often overlooked however is to do regular deep cleans of both male and female washrooms. This is about getting to all those areas that are not a part of the daily cleaning. Drains for example are a major contributor to odour issues often with large bacterial colonies going undetected for long periods of time. Walls and cubicles are often neglected and can be contaminated by all sorts of un-pleasantries including facies and blood. Uric salts often build up in the porous grout of tilled floors particularly in male washrooms whilst in the female washrooms, behind sanitary bins; where due to bins usually been managed by offsite independent contractors, daily cleaners often neglect to clean under around and behind them.
Good cleaning companies use regular deep cleaning to ensure that these areas are maintained, and these services are usually carried out by specialist cleaning companies due to the type of equipment, products, skills, insurance and risk management procedures needed to really get in and deep clean a washroom.
Solutions 4 Cleaning has been specialising in this field for more than 5 years now and as a subcontractor for the larger cleaning companies has provided deep cleaning services to facilities like the Queensland Cultural Centre, various other government sites, Airtrain, Lend Lease, shopping centres, catholic, private and state schools, and many high rises in and around Brisbane’s CBD.
Our services are focused not simply on cleaning but also on infection control. When doing the cleaning we open up drains, remove toilet seat and blast grout, you can imagine what un-pleasantries we disturb. It is important that when we leave we are confident that the washroom is completely clean and hygienic. To ensure this we then fog the washroom with a Hospital Grade Disinfectant. The fog penetrates even the smallest nocks and crannys and then binds to the surfaces in the washroom and continues to kill germs for a minimum of 28 days, it also has been proven to kill many of the microorganisms that most disinfectants can’t such Norovirus, the most common cause of the dreaded 24hr stomach bug.
Deep cleaning is an essential part in ensuring that you are maintaining a healthy washroom and minimising the risk of illness in all washrooms. Cleans are generally carried out monthly, quarterly, and half yearly depending on the overall usage and the type of facility and most customers benefit form quarterly deep cleans with Schools usually opting to get it done during the holidays.
For more information on how you can keep your workplace, school, bar or public washrooms clean and safe please get in touch with the team at Solutions 4 Cleaning.