FAQs
More FAQs- Why do I need to clean and disinfect?
- When will I be able to walk on my floors?
- How often do we need to disinfect?
A common misconception is that cleaning and disinfection are one and the same. In reality, they are two different processes which achieve related results but not the same results. Cleaning is the removal of visible dirt and soiling, for example the coffee ring on a kitchen counter. While cleaning may remove pathogens from surfaces by wiping them away, it does NOT kill pathogens. Disinfection, on the other hand, does KILL pathogens on surfaces through the use of chemicals. As such, both processes are used hand-in-hand — first cleaning, then disinfection — in infection control efforts. Please note — not all disinfectants are created equally! Typically, disinfectants are developed to kill certain types or classes of pathogens. As such, ensure that the disinfectant used in your facility has been approved to treat your pathogen of concern.
Hard-surface floors treated with an acrylic finish can be lightly walked on within an hour after the last coat was applied. We recommend allowing the floor to dry for 24 hours before allowing heavy traffic on it.
A key consideration in determining how often you should be disinfecting is based on the traffic level in your facility. As disinfection is for infection prevention, the goal is to help to mitigate surface-to-person transmission of pathogens. If your 10,000 SF office will be occupied by 5 staff and no visitors, you can likely disinfect less frequently than that same office which might house 60 staff and consistent visitors. Additional considerations include how often multiple people may be touching the same surface as well as whether an antimicrobial surface protectant has been applied. At minimum, however, we would recommend daily disinfection of high touch surfaces. If the traffic in your facility is high, we would recommend increasing this frequency to multiple times per day. For example, common elevator lobbies in an office tower should be disinfected multiple times per day, particularly at the entrance level.