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Guidelines for Cleaning and Disinfecting Shared Areas

Often overlooked or taken for granted, the job of a custodian is vital to the health and safety of an institution’s staff and those they serve, and never more so than during a flu pandemic. 

Illnesses like colds and flu spread from one person to another through coughs and sneezes.  This happens when droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air and make contact with the mouth or nose of people nearby.

But droplets from an infected person can also make contact with environmental surfaces, such as table or desk tops, and easily spread from those surfaces if a person touches the droplets and then touches his or her eyes, mouth or nose.  Thus, frequent hand washing and diligence in keeping surfaces clean will go a long way in preventing the spread of illness.

Below are some recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting procedures to help prevent the spread of infection before a pandemic.  If a pandemic were to occur, follow the advice of your pandemic planning team regarding upgraded cleaning and disinfecting guidelines.

Sanitation and Disinfection Procedures

If you haven’t already done so, this is the time to establish, promote and evaluate your institution’s sanitation and disinfection procedures:
  • Routinely inspect health and safety of facilities
  • Clean shared work areas at least daily, using sanitizer cloths to wipe shared items such as keyboards and doorknobs
  • Maintain good cleanliness and ventilation
  • Make accessible soap, paper towels and sinks or alcohol-based hand sanitizer
  • Display hand washing and cough etiquette posters
  • Maintain adequate surplus supplies and develop system for dispersal
  • Implement procedures for control and disposal of infectious waste
  • Supply/provide disinfectants that are:
    • Labeled for activity against bacteria and viruses
    • EPA-registered hospital grade
  • Clean surfaces with a commercial product that is both a detergent, which cleans, and a disinfectant, which kills germs. These products can be used when surfaces are not visibly dirty.
  • For visibly dirty surfaces, wash the surface with a general household cleaner, such as soap or detergent, rinse with water, and follow with a disinfectant.
  • If disinfectants are not available, use a chlorine bleach solution made by adding 1 tablespoon of bleach to a quart of water; use a cloth to apply this to surfaces and let stand for 3 – 5 minutes before rinsing with clean water. For a larger supply of disinfectant, add ¼ cup of bleach to a gallon of water.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Risk Management at 617-746-1420.