Here at Oracle Cleaning Solutions, we understand the importance of keeping all cleaning practices sanitary, especially those involving cleaning. Not adhering to safety practices when cleaning can cause all sorts of issues, including cross-contamination, which is most certainly something you want to avoid. Read on to learn more about how to avoid cross-contamination:
What is Cross Contamination?
Cross-contamination is basically a way of explaining what happens when you move dirty germs, pathogens, or other organisms, from one area— in which you are cleaning— to another area. It is often unintentional, as individuals don’t think about the fact that they can easily transfer germs and dirt from one location to the next. As just one example to give you a good idea of how this could occur in a real-life situation, cross-contamination could easily take place if you clean around a toilet with a rag and then move on and use that same rag to clean around the bathroom countertop. Cross-contamination is something you want to avoid in all forms of cleaning, so it’s important to understand how easily it can be done but also how to avoid having it happen ever again.
Does Cross Contamination Only Apply to Food?
No. As outlined above, cross-contamination doesn’t always have to involve food. While it’s true that cross-contamination can occur with regard to food, cross-contamination can also describe a situation that does not involve food at all or even takes place near food. Food cross-contamination occurs when a contaminated source transfers to uncontaminated food that then becomes contaminated. In the same way, germs can be transferred via cleaning supplies and more from one location to another, which can then cross-contaminate an area.
Avoid Cross Contamination with These 5 Tips
The whole goal of cleaning is to make an area sanitary and healthy. Therefore, you most certainly want to do all you can to avoid cross-contamination as you clean. Thankfully, there are some easy-to-apply and sensible tips you can utilize that will reduce your chances of ever causing a health issue by cross-contamination through cleaning. They are listed as follows:
1. Purchase & Use Microfiber Cleaning Tools
Instead of using other forms of rags and/or cleaning tools, switch to using microfiber rags and cleaning tools primarily. Microfiber is purposefully created to attract pathogens, bacteria, and dirt and is made of synthetic fibers. In fact, microfiber is estimated to attract and then capture upwards of 99% of bacteria from surfaces. To compare, typical cotton fiber tools will only attract and/or capture around 33%. This means cotton fiber tools and rags can accidentally transfer bacteria from surface to surface quite easily. Therefore, when you are trying to remove bacteria, microfiber is your best option to reduce cross-contamination. Some good examples of microfiber tools that you can utilize include:
- Dust wands
- Cloths
- Dry mops
- Wet mops
2. Use a Color-Coded System
A color-coded system is a great idea if other individuals besides yourself are using your cleaning products. It can become difficult to ensure that one microfiber cloth isn’t being used to clean a restroom and then later a lunch table if there isn’t a system in place. Color coding is the obvious answer, assuming you educate everyone on what each color means and train them on the system. For example, only blue cloths should be used for bathrooms, and only red should be used for kitchen areas, etc.
3. Always Keep Your Hands Clean
The Centers for Disease Control found that hand-washing is the singular most effective way to prevent the spread of germs. Therefore, when it comes to trying to reduce cross-contamination when cleaning, the more you can practice proper handwashing, the better. Be sure to take handwashing breaks after cleaning germ-riddled areas before moving to other locations.
4. Work Top to Bottom While Cleaning
It makes sense to clean from top to bottom, but many times, individuals will instead jump all around. What this does is knock down dirt and other bacteria from higher locations onto an area that has perhaps been cleaned already. To avoid this, simply work from top to bottom when cleaning, and don’t jump around, but break the room up and clean in logical steps to avoid contaminating areas that have already been cleaned.
5. Leave Outdated Cleaning Practices in the Dust
The entire cleaning industry has been improved by advancing technology and innovation. Therefore, it’s important to embrace these new techniques and clean smarter instead of harder. This means that you are getting the optimal cleaning results and creating the healthiest environment possible by utilizing new cleaning practices and stopping outdated methods. Outdated practices could include using cotton cloths instead of microfiber, using hazardous chemicals that don’t do the job, or using more traditional mops instead of the modern flat mop that is more effective and less likely to cross-contaminate areas. New methods also include innovative technology, such as professional sanitization.
Why Avoiding Cross Contamination is Important
You want to leave an area after cleaning that is safe and sanitary and promotes increased health. In addition to making a space look and smell fresh, the entire point of cleaning is to create a clean environment. Therefore, you want to avoid cross-contamination as much as humanly possible, as this defeats the purpose of cleaning. You do not want to inadvertently make anyone sick simply by trying to clean, as this is never the goal and can lead to all sorts of problems.
Contact us at Oracle Cleaning Solutions to Answer What is the Best Way to Avoid Cross Contamination?
While the five applicable tips listed above will help you avoid cross-contamination as much as possible, it is a great idea to call us at Oracle Cleaning Solutions to handle the matter entirely. We are a highly specialized cleaning company that provides superior commercial cleaning services to Geneva, Illinois, and surrounding areas. We can disinfect and offer our innovative sanitizing options, along with other services like window cleaning, floor stripping, waxing, carpet cleaning, and more. Contact us today to schedule a consultation, and let us go over how we can help you avoid the dreaded cross-contamination in your business or facility.