The Janitors' Closet

Coronavirus and UV light

There's been a good deal of notice on applying ultra violet light to coronavirus (COVID-19) decontamination or disinfection. The technology does work, but one needs be quite careful to get the right wavelength (not all wavelengths are created equal, it seems) and protect any people in the area (serious damage to skin and eyes, depending on wavelength, strength and any shielding).

Our good friends at Building Service Contractors Association International here provide a good analysis of the decontamination options.

One other limitation to using UV radiation to kill COVID-19 is that it's line of sight (as they say, out of sight, out of mind).  That's why we use electrostatic technology in our decontamination protocol; it catches front, back and sides, and all the "nooks and crannies" of the desk or chair you're aiming at.

Don't jump to conclusions

We're doing COVID-19 disinfections, and also focusing on ongoing disinfection to protect our regular janitorial clients from the novel coronavirus, so I try to keep on top of the whole field.

An article on the subject in Cleaning and Maintenance Management well illustrates the dangers of drawing conclusions without considering all possibilities.

The lead paragraph notes an increase in hospital acquired infections (HAI) and the suggestion that the cause might be the CDC's decision to suspend, for several months, its mandatory inspection and infection reporting program. Make sense, and should you read just the first paragraph, that might be the conclusion you'd draw.

But the article also immediately mentions that hospitals are quite stressed (both staff and facility) by the flood of viral patients, which could well account for the increase (even in janitorial, when we're overworked and under stress, we make mistakes).  Further, folks with minor ailments are tending to avoid hospitals these days; thus, only the "sickest of the sick" check in, and are likely more prone to complications - such as HAIs. And, finally, the study was based on only two hospitals.

Make a habit of reading, not just the headline or the lead paragraph, but the whole article.

Explosion in Beirut

Noticed a bit of media coverage on a warehouse explosion in Beirut - seems to have leveled a good part of the city.  I gather the place was storing 2700 tons (that's tons, not pounds) of ammonium nitrate.

It brings to mind a similar incident we experienced (thank goodness the only one, so far), some 25 years ago.  I awoke in the morning to the news that one of our janitorial clients, in Phoenix's Glendale suburb, had experienced a massive warehouse explosion overnight, big enough that a quarter mile radius evacuation had been ordered.  And, since we were doing the nightly cleaning in the facility, we had keys to it, and were about the only folks likely to be there in the wee hours.

Next thing I knew, three serious looking fellows (3-piece suits, razor cut hair, communication devices in their ears) from Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms dropped by for a conversation.  We opened our personnel files to them, without needing much encouragement, and spent the afternoon answering lots of questions.  Fortunately, even back then we were aggressive applicant screening, and confirming ID, so we had most everything they needed - job histories, references, civil and criminal court records, driving records, etc.  We're also quite aggressive about insuring key security; in a situation like this, it's handy to know where the building keys are.

Never heard back from the ATF fellows.  I did hear via the grapevine that the information the Feds developed indicated that who-ever had done the deed had combined, in a very specific way, several chemicals stored in various parts of the warehouse.  He would have needed some serious education in chemistry, as well as a detailed knowledge of what was stored exactly where in the facility, to have pulled it off.  None of my folks came anywhere close to fitting the bill, not by a long shot.

I do hope I don't see those fellows again.

Our current COVID-19 response

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Decontamination/Disinfection Service

• Our technicians are fully trained and equipped to Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) Forensic Restoration protocol; we hold their certification
• We customize COVID-19 decontamination to protect your workforce and customers, treating all furnishings, equipment and touchpoints
• We utilize EPA and CDC approved, highly effective, hospital-grade disinfecting agents; our Protocol is designed to meet that of the Center for Disease Control (CDC)
• We can generally provide prompt service, the evening of the day we’re called<.li>
• In CBN, you’ll partner with a trusted and long established firm. We’ve been an active member of the Phoenix Chamber and BBB (we are A-plus rated) since 1975, and of the Building Service Contractor’s Association International since 1985 (our president, Bob Croft, holds one of only several of their “Executive Certifications” in Arizona). Our program of “Cleaning for Health” dates to the early 1980’s.
• Here’s our Decontamination Protocol

For our ongoing commercial janitorial clients:

• Our teams will help keep you safe and your staff and customers healthy. We fully sanitizing cleared surfaces and touchpoints with Johnson/Diversey’s AlphaHP (hydrogen peroxide based cleaner/sanitizer) via a microfiber applicator, damp enough for appropriate dwell time. You can help by reducing clutter (small personal items, etc.) on desks and countertops; the more surface area we can wipe, the better we can sanitize
• We clean restrooms, exam rooms and lunchrooms with AlphaHP, then disinfect with Johnson/Diversey’s hospital grade quat Virex256, both effective against viruses.
• We vacuum both carpet and hard surface floors with a HEPA filtered vacuum. HEPA filtration lets us contain and remove from your facility not just fine particles (allergens and so forth) but the larger pathogens, and particles that smaller pathogens might be clinging to. Any pathogen, say, sneezed into the air, will eventually settle – either onto your desk or the floor. Better, if we vacuum it up off the floor, that we don’t just blow it back into your air; thus the HEPA filtration.