Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
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Clorox Professional Products provides Winter travel hotel cleaning and disinfecting tips
Winter travel and weather-related travel delays often mean that people spend more time indoors in confined spaces, such as in hotels and on public transportation, which can facilitate the spread of illness-causing germs between travellers - especially during cold and flu season.
This increase in the spread of germs means that hotel staff must be prepared to step in with a foolproof cleaning regimen to prevent guests and staff members from becoming ill.
According to a recent study by Travel Math, even 4 and 5-star hotels can have illness-causing germs in places where you wouldn't expect it. The most significant spots for germs were commonly touched surfaces such as the bathroom counter (1,011,670 colony-forming units in 5-star hotels) and the TV remote 2,002,300 colony-forming units in 5-star hotels).
While each hotel has its own unique cleaning protocol, regularly cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces such as phones, TV remotes, bathroom fixtures and even soft surfaces such as bedspreads and furniture are essential to help prevent the spread of illness-causing germs.
Winter travel can mean that illness-causing germs are checking into hotels in addition to the guests themselves. Cleaning and housekeeping professionals can make sure that these germs check-out quickly with the following tips that can be incorporated into their daily cleaning process during guest stays.
- Target high-touch room surfaces. Objects and surfaces that are frequently touched by hotel guests such as doorknobs, light switches, nightstands, phones, TV remotes and bathroom countertops need to be disinfected at least once a day. Some germs can survive on surfaces for hours, providing ample opportunity for the spread of infection between guests and staff, so it is important to use officially accredited products that are recognised as being able to kill germs of most concern.
Ready-to-use disinfecting wipes such as Clorox Commercial Solutions' Clorox Disinfecting Wipes are a great and easy-to-use solution, since they are EPA-registered to kill MRSA, S. aureus (staph), E. coli, Strep, Salmonella and common allergens on a wide variety of surfaces.
Disinfecting wipes are an ideal option for high-touch surfaces because they can clean and kill bacteria in seconds, in one quick step.
- Eliminate unpleasant odours. No one likes to walk into a hotel room that smells musty or harbours other unwanted odours that make it seem unclean, such as urine smells. Cleaning professionals can remove odours directly from the air by selecting an aerosol product with an active ingredient that kills 99.9% of airborne, odour-causing bacteria. In the bathroom, odours can persist on porous, damp surfaces such as grout, which trap the bacteria sources that feed on urine. Humid conditions or wetting the surface can also reactivate the odour. Look for ready-to-use hydrogen peroxide-based cleaners, which are a better choice for removing stains and breaking down odour-causing uric acid crystals. Ready-to-use formulae are also quicker and easier to use because there is no need for dilution.
Clorox Urine Remover is specially formulated to effectively remove stains and break down urine to quickly remove - not just mask - odours. It also works on porous surfaces like grout, and soft surfaces like upholstered furniture and carpets.
- Don't neglect soft surfaces. Hotels are supposed to change the sheets and linens after each guest, but other guestroom soft surfaces such as curtains, bedspreads, upholstered furniture and pillows may only get a good washing on a quarterly basis. In between deep cleanings and launderings, quickly refresh and sanitise these items before each new guest with a one-step, multi-use product.There are now multi-use hydrogen peroxide-based products available that are EPA-registered to kill illness-causing bacteria on soft surfaces in as little as 30 seconds, to help achieve a healthier living environment.
A multi-use product such as Clorox 4 in One Disinfectant & Sanitiser sanitises soft surfaces in as little as 30 seconds, disinfects hard surfaces, reduces allergens such as dust mite matter, cockroach matter and pet dander, and sanitises and deodorises the air.
4th February 2016