Pro CleanAlthough “flu season” doesn’t have a specific start date, occurrences of influenza (flu) typically begin to increase starting in October each year. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu season outbreaks typically peak December-February and flu activity can last as late as May each year.
Whether you hire an office cleaning company or manage in-house janitorial staff, you’ll want to do whatever you can to maintain a clean and healthy work environment. You want to protect your employees’ health as much as possible to ensure they stay healthy and productive. But, how can you do so during flu season? The solution is having an office cleaning company clean with health first in mind.
3 Reasons Professional Office Cleaning for the Flu Helps
The Flu Virus Spreads Easily and Can Survive for Hours
The CDC reports that some influenza viruses can survive on fomite surfaces for up to 48 hours. Fomites, or what the Merriam-Webster Dictionary refers to as “an object (such as a dish or a doorknob) that may be contaminated with infectious organizations and serve in their transmissions.”
The flu virus is thought to pass between people via contact with respiratory droplets that are released through coughing and sneezing. The virus can be spread when:
- Respiratory droplets travel through the air, landing on others’ hands, mouths, and noses;
- Someone comes in contact with surfaces contaminated by infected individuals;
- Physical contact with someone who has the flu virus & rubbing the eyes, nose, or mouth.
The Cost of Flu in the Workplace during Flu Season
According to the CDC, influenza activity costs the U.S. approximately $10.4 billion in direct costs for hospitalizations and outpatient visits for adults. Furthermore:
- Workers who take four sick days due to the flu were estimated to cost businesses more than $9 billion in lost productivity in 2015-16, according to the global outplacing and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
- This estimate from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. was upgraded for the 2017-18 flu season to increase to $15.4-20.9 billion. The amount depends on the number of people who become sickened with the virus.
Professional Office Cleaning Helps to Minimize Spread of Flu Virus
A lot of people don't realize what they are exposed to at work. However, having proper cleaning for health performed by an office cleaning company during flu season can significantly mitigate illness. In addition to recommending that employees receive the flu vaccine each year, employers also can have their offices and facilities cleaned to disinfectant standards.
Office Cleaning Companies That Sanitize vs Disinfect
There is a key distinction between sanitizing a workplace and disinfecting it. When disinfecting the workplace, the best central Florida and Orlando cleaning services follow industry best practices, ISSA’s Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) and CIMS Green Building (CIMS-GB) certification standards, and adopt an Operating System 1 (OS1) approach to comprehensive cleaning.
With the industry-accepted Managemen OS1 approach, cleaning specialists are trained to:
- Clean with health first in mind;
- Use specific cleaning supplies and materials, and
- Follow specific techniques and protocols.
Pro Clean is an office cleaning company that has helped businesses in the Orlando and Tampa Bay areas of Florida keep their employees stay healthy since 1989. As a commercial cleaning company, we’re here to help your organization do the same during the 2018-19 flu season.
To learn more about cleaning for health during the flu months, download our complimentary resource by clicking on the link below. Otherwise, to learn more about how we can keep your facility healthy and looking clean, get in touch with our team of cleaning experts today.
