The ongoing transmission of the COVID-19 virus emphasizes the importance of keeping homes and workplaces clean and safe. Fortunately, washing and disinfecting surfaces minimizes the risk of illness spreading significantly.

However, before you start, you must ensure that you  adopt the right mindset. Cleaning entails a significant expenditure of time, effort, and money, to mention a few. While we all make compromises from time to time, it’s good to remember that poor sanitation and disinfection practices might impede your capacity to complete tasks quickly. On a more serious note, they can potentially cause long-term irrevocable damage to your health and property.

We have compiled a list of 7 recommendations on how to clean and disinfect properly to combat COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

1. Frequency of cleaning routine

Undoubtedly, crucial health precautionary measures are at the heart of cleaning. However, considering how difficult cleaning is (particularly when done alone), how can you come up with an appropriate schedule for regular deep clean and housekeeping?

As a general rule of thumb, the following are the suggested frequencies for cleaning and disinfecting your home:

Area Frequency

• Commonly touched areas and surfaces: 3 to 4 times a week
• Other surfaces: 2 times a week

2. Make sure to colour code your cleaning cloths

Cross-contamination is one of the most common causes of illness dissemination. We highly advise all Singapore homes to use a color coding system to effectively reduce the possibility of cross-contamination.

There is no “blueprint” for color coding, however here’s how we do it as part of our cleaning service:

• Blue – General surfaces such as the countertop, sofa, shelves, cabinets, etc.
• Red – Washroom area
• Green – Areas where food is handled and prepared, such as kitchen, dining tables, coffee tables, etc.
• Yellow – Common high touch surfaces such as door knobs, light switches, remote controls, sofa arm rest, etc.

3. Include microfiber cloths for cleaning

Yes, you’ll be astonished to learn that not every cloth is suitable for cleaning. Invest in a microfiber cloth and you’ll see the improvement immediately.

These cloths, made of ultra-fine microfibers, provide a huge surface area for lifting and ‘hoovering up’ dirt. So get rid of your old ones and replace them with microfiber cloths.

4. Ensure you schedule time for pre-cleaning

The first step in efficiently disinfecting or sanitizing an area is to remove bacteria and viruses,  dirt and other organic materials from the surface. What are your options? By using soap and water to thoroughly clean before applying disinfectant.

When wiping, avoid wiping in a circular pattern since you’re effectively forcing the dirt everywhere. It’s best to use a “sweeping motion” to ensure that the treated surface is actually clean, and that the active ingredients do not mix with the dirt.

5. Clean dirty areas last

The following is a suggested cleaning strategy: Always begin with the least filthy (cleanest) areas before moving on to the most soiled.

This ensures that you don’t introduce extra toxins into the clean regions.

6. Store away exposed food items when disinfecting

While this may seem obvious, many homeowners fail to notice that they have commodities like as fruits, exposed tea bags, and opened snack packages sitting around the house.

Cleaning materials used incorrectly can have harmful consequences on you and your family, so keep any consumables out of the way before spraying on disinfectant.

7. Ensure that the disinfecting surface is visibly wet during full contact time

The interval during which a disinfectant must be visibly wet on a surface to indicate efficacy is known as contact time (also known as wet time). This exposure duration varies widely depending on the product.

Most off-the-shelf disinfectants in Singapore take a full 10-minutes of surface contact time, however the disinfectants used by our specialists during our cleaning solutions will do the job in just 3-minutes. In any case, make sure to read the product’s packaging carefully.

Now it’s your turn

It’s time to work your way through these cleaning recommendations now that you’ve received the feel of how to clean and disinfect properly.

Taking preventative precautions with a specialist disinfection team in Singapore will be beneficial for everyone who will be utilizing the area. Regularly disinfecting and sanitizing surfaces is an efficient way to eradicate germs and viruses in Singapore.

If you are looking for professional cleaning and disinfection services in Singapore to keep your premises clean, drop us a message to schedule your first cleaning and disinfection appointment.