Being a Biology and Pre-Med major in university has been useful to our company in the sense that I am hyper aware of the effectiveness of different cleaning methods, a well as the safety risks that come with certain cleaning products. This knowledge has directed us to systems and procedures that maximize cleaning sanitation and efficacy. Some examples:
- We color code our towels so that no towel is being used in different areas in a single cleaning. Blue towels are for glass and furniture polishes only. Green and yellow towels are for kitchens, and red towels are for bathrooms.
- We avoid using strong chemicals on a regular basis in order to prevent chronic irritation, a cause of many long-term skin and respiratory illnesses in the cleaning industry. However, we do use properly diluted disinfectants in our kitchen, bathroom, and floor sprays because simply using sprays that “smell good” only do the superficial job of making a surface look clean.
- We separate our brushes and sponges between bathroom and kitchen use, and we do not switch the two.
- We use disposable products where we can – disposable dusting wipes, disposable paper towels for toilets, and disposable vacuum bags.
- We use a 4-filter HEPA vacuum to reduce as many microbes as possible, and we strategize our vacuum method to prevent kicking up a lot of dust that will only end up resettling on surfaces.
- We don’t use bucket-and-mop mopping because the inundation of water and the long dry time can damage floors, especially hardwood and laminate, and leave unsightly streaks. Also, string mops are not easily cleaned. Our microfiber mop pads are easily washed in a washing machine.
- We instruct all techs to NEVER compact trash with their hands, as they never know what kinds of sharps are hidden in the plastic.
DESPITE all of these efforts, Andre and I are still fanatical about constantly learning and improving our cleaning methods in order to make the service better and more effective each time. We aim to do more than make your house “smell good”. We also want to keep your house as safe as possible, germ-wise.
We came up with the idea for our Customer Supply Kits after we realized the number of different houses our sponges and brushes were being used in. Even though the tools were separated for use in Bathrooms and Kitchens, they were still being used in different bathrooms and kitchens every day.
The realization dawned on us one day as we were cleaning our own house. We brought in all of our normal gear, but we used dry sponges and brushes that we stored in our own bathrooms and kitchen. We used clean, dry towels that we stored in our own closet. Despite using disinfectants in our cleaning products, the idea of using a tool that had just been used at another house just wasn’t appealing to us.
I dug into it a little more – was this aversion to using these supplies justified? As we discovered, yes, it was justified, especially with sponges and brushes. The main reasons:
- Everyone lives differently, so the makeup of microbes in each home differs slightly. Everyone also has different immune systems, so the introduction of a microbe that is harmless to one person could be potentially harmful to another.
- With such a short time between uses, the sponges and brushes don’t have time to dry. Even if a disinfectant is applied, bacteria still find their way to thrive in a consistently wet environment. The best and cheapest way to minimize bacteria and microbe growth is with a 2-step disinfection and drying process. Did I just link a research article from the Journal of Applied Microbiology? Heck yes.
- Disinfection is not the same as sterilization. Disinfection aims to kill most bacteria, while sterilization processes would kill all. It would be impossible for us to sterilize towels that we wash, even with hot water, disinfecting oxygen bleach, and high-temp dry cycles.
How do we deal with this dilemma? We found that the best solution is to keep towels and tools clean and dry, and to use them exclusively in each home. With our Cleaning Supply Kits, towels can be washed and dried in normal cleaning loads, and sponges and tools will be disinfected and stored to dry between each cleaning. This will ensure long lasting, clean supplies for use only in your home to prevent the cross-contamination of germs and allergens.
We will drop off each Cleaning Kit with instructions for the best way to care for supplies, and together we will keep your home beautiful, clean, and truly Radiant. Thank you for your trust in us!
Yours truly,
The Radiant Home Cleaning Team