Clean for Improved Indoor Air Quality

The Pandemic taught us what Clean really means

Your janitorial team has mops and cleaning supplies, works hard, and they smile when you pass them in the hallway. But are they working the right way? Your facilities may "look" clean, but are they actually clean in the ways that matter to public health?

Your team should be utilizing the right processes to reach the goal of stopping the spread of germs, and making your indoor spaces safer for your visitors and the people who work there.

At Service Management Systems, we follow the science and extend the processes, skillsets, tools, and industry standards we exceed in our hospital contracts to all the markets we serve. In order to truly make a difference, we focus on improving Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in every building we clean. SMS uses high-quality tested equipment and consumables, ongoing research-based training, and a Quality Assurance Program centered around our OPS360 Technology to make sure we clean properly and completely, and are able to quickly identify and correct any issues that may arise.

Our company motto is Whatever it Takes! and nothing is too small to worry about. Beginning with upper management and extending throughout our team, we strive to understand what "clean" really means and teach, train, and execute toward a higher goal: stopping the spread of germs and creating a safer environment that protects the health of your staff and visitors.

In the blog How Can Cleaning Impact Indoor Air Quality?¹, posted May 24, 2021, Andi Curry writes:

"One of the primary issues this pandemic² has brought to our attention was just how easily viruses can travel in indoor environments. This has led to experts sounding the alarm for better indoor air quality (IAQ) measures and regulations."

Ms. Curry sees a permanent change in how we look at our definition of "clean" going forward:

"Cleaning can have a massive impact on the indoor air quality of a building—through seemingly simple things like the products we use, how we maintain tools and the processes we use to clean.

It might not seem like a big deal, but if a cleaner vacuums the floor before dusting surfaces, is he or she effectively removing unwanted material from the building?

No.

And that remaining dust impacts IAQ."

When not done correctly, cleaning can actually harm the health of the people who spend time in your buildings every day.

Too often, custodians clean for appearance when they should be cleaning for health.

In his book, "Protecting the Built Environment: Cleaning for Health," Michael Berry, Ph.D., writes:

"Health protection was, is and always will be the primary benefit of cleaning.

...A clean environment is sanitary. When a sanitary condition exists, an adverse health effect is unlikely. When environments are not properly maintained, sooner or later they will become unsanitary. There is no doubt about this natural fact.

..When we vacuum a carpet or floor, we usually see particles 40um and larger (a micrometer is 1/one millionth of a meter). When we’re finished, we can look around and feel confident that we have removed particles. And we probably have, but only the large ones. To protect our customers’ health, we must remove particles of all sizes, especially small ones of 10um and less. They are too small to be seen by the eye alone. Small articles call for our best efforts and equipment. Not only are they hard to manage and capture, but they also tend to accumulate over time."

Poor Indoor Air Quality is similar to a hidden medical condition: you might not be aware of it until it’s too late. If you’re not sure that your custodial team is doing everything possible to protect the health of the people who enter your buildings, reach out to SMS for a survey and consult today.

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1How Can Cleaning Impact Indoor Air Quality? - ManageMen
2Covid-19 proved bad indoor air quality makes us sick. We can fix that. - Vox.com