By: Brandon Rivera & Joe Ciolino
The holidays can be a very exciting time of the year. And not to sound like the Germ Grinch, BUT it’s also the season where everyone seems unaware to the fact that you are at the highest risk of getting sick. This is because germs thrive in humid, active, spreadable areas that we just love to create during the winter. Whether you are attending holiday parties or visiting a packed shopping mall, here are 5 ways to avoid getting sick this holiday season.
ONE – Wash Your Hands: According to the CDC, “approximately 80 percent of infectious diseases are transmitted by touch.” In order to prevent bad germs from making their way into your body, wash your hands before putting them up to your face. Using hand sanitizing liquid will eliminate most of the germs on your hand and limit the spread illness to you, your friends and family members as you mingle and jingle along.
TWO – Visit Select Areas: Avoid entering public, germ-filled areas, like bathrooms in malls and busy eateries if possible. Also, be aware of how you interact with high-touch point surfaces like door handles, light switches, check-out screens and money. Speaking of money, the WYFF reported that, “A University Hospital of Geneva study found flu viruses on paper money survived up to 72 hours, but when mixed with human mucus, one Type A strain remained active for 17 days.” There’s a reason why it’s called flu SEASON. The risk of catching the flu lasts through all of the winter months.
THREE – Eliminate Dirt and Grime: Most of your time spent daily, is at the work, second to our homes. Maintaining a high-level of clean in your office environment can greatly reduce your risk of becoming sick. Encourage your employer to keep workplace clean and tidy. Proper dusting, vacuuming, organizing and routine deep cleaning sessions can all contribute to safer workplace conditions. This will also eliminate a setting for clutter and germs to grow. Unhappy with your current cleaning program? We’ll fix that.
FOUR – Sanitize Those Surfaces: Cleaning the top of a surface is great, but we don’t stop there. We also recommend that you go a step further and destroy all of the dangerous germs lurking around your desktop area. These germs won’t die from basic cleaning applications. Did you know that according to the University of Arizona, “computer keyboards harbor up to 3,295 germs per square inch.” A solution is to use sanitizing wipes on these high-touch areas. That is because these wipes contain a chemical component that is essential to destroy dangerous living germs lurking on your desk. You can purchase these wipes at almost every convenience store and/or supermarket. In some cases, your cleaning company can include them in your package. Wiping down common surfaces at work such as desktops, keyboards, door handles and light switches can make a huge difference in how germs travel around your office.
We all have encountered a dirty bathroom before but how do we avoid getting sick from it? The truth is that these areas are very hard to keep clean due to messy, daily use and high-traffic. According to Livescience.com, “People bring a lot of bacteria into bathrooms, the researchers found. Within an hour of normal use, there were 500,000 bacterial cells per square inch on the bathroom surfaces, on average.” To treat these surfaces, ask us about how effective our floor care services and electrostatic disinfection spray can be.
FIVE – Air Flow: Air quality really goes a long way in all of this. Keeping the quality of air high, (meaning less germ-filled and humid), will help shorten the life length of infections germs. We suggest introducing a proper ventilation system in any bathroom setting. Perhaps you can implement an air scrubber or exhaust fan that can run continuously. Another tip is to bring your bathroom technology up to the 21st century and implement sensor-savvy paper and soap dispensers. This way, you’ll have to touch less surfaces per visit.
We hope you all enjoyed this great information as keeping these 5 things in mind can truly reduce the risk of you becoming sick at this great time of year. This can sometimes be difficult but remember you are not alone! If you would like to implement more efficient and effective workplace solutions in regard to your cleaning, contact us today to get started! Our goal is to keep you and your business clean and healthy.
Sources: Livescience, Purell, CDC, WYFF