Pulling open the front or back door of a building, pressing an elevator button to get upstairs or down, gripping another door handle to get in the office, flipping on the lights, pouring from the break room coffee pot, powering up a computer and tapping on the keyboard and picking up the phone, all second-nature tasks to start a workday, suddenly don't seem so routine knowing that coronavirus can spread from contact with infected surfaces or objects.
"You never thought a light switch could get you sick," said Lilian Radke, CEO of Unic Pro Inc., a commercial cleaning company in Shrewsbury.
With current evidence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 infections, may remain viable for "hours to days" on high-touch surfaces like doorknobs, handles, desks, countertops, toilets, faucets and sinks in offices and other businesses, Unic Pro and local professional cleaning companies such as Enterprise Cleaning and Restoration Corp. in Worcester, and Paul Davis Restoration of Worcester County, also in Shrewsbury, are at the forefront of combating coronavirus.
"Cleaning just isn't enough," Stephen Buchalter, president of Enterprise Cleaning and Restoration Corp., said. "You have to be disinfecting."
Cleaning removes germs, dirt and impurities from surfaces or objects. Disinfecting, by using chemicals, kills germs on surfaces or objects.
Buchalter, whose company normally services approximately 150 buildings in Central Massachusetts, said very general cleaning specifications, in an office, for example, would include wiping down surfaces, dusting, vacuuming, emptying the trash and cleaning kitchens.
"But very rarely," Buchalter said, "is disinfecting every surface touched by the human hand in a cleaning spec. It's done in medical facilities, but not typically done in office buildings or banks."
Since the state order to shut non-essential businesses was issued on March 24, 80% of Enterprise's clients have closed, Buchalter said, but businesses that remain open, like the Hanover Insurance Group, have upped their services.
"A lot of their employees are working out of their homes," Buchalter said, "but they said, 'because of the people we do have working here, we want you to disinfect every surface they can possibly touch. Pepsi (bottling in Ayer and Littleton) is the same. They said, 'We don't want just cleaning; we want disinfecting.'"
Cleaning companies use EPA-registered disinfectants.
"Besides regular daily cleaning," Radke said, "we're also disinfecting what we call high-touch points, every place someone touches."
One method to apply disinfectants is by using an electrostatic sprayer.
"A mist wraps around every item in the office, desk, computer keyboards," Buchalter explained.
During the process, Buchalter said, his crew members wear hazmat suits.
Radke's company purchased an electrostatic sprayer last year, thinking it would be useful for flu season.
"We never thought it would be so popular this year," Radke said. "We've been doing electrostatic disinfecting every day."
Buchalter said since implementing the electrostatic disinfecting machine program about three weeks ago, Enterprise has had about 60 jobs.
Paul Davis Restoration provides fire, water and mold damage emergency and restoration services for residential and commercial properties, and is also doing commercial cleaning and disinfecting for COVID-19.
"It is essential that business owners understand a simple wiping of surfaces is not sufficient to treat the COVID-19 virus," Todd Newville, owner of the Paul Davis office in Shrewsbury, said.
Newville said Paul Davis' commercial cleaning services include a protocol one, which is a preventative cleaning, and a protocol two for which someone in an office had the virus or had been exposed to it.
The cleaning companies are cognizant of their clients' health and safety as well as their own.
"We protect ourselves in all cases," Newville said. "Even in protocol one, we're wearing full personal protective equipment, Tyvek suites, full-face respirators, protective gloves, double layers.
"We're trying to make sure we're protecting ourselves," Newville said, "so we're not putting ourselves out of a situation where we can help others."
Enterprise developed an app for its cleaners that includes a wellness test they take before entering a building. In addition to a temperature reading, they check off boxes if they've had any symptoms.
"If they answer yes to any of those questions or if they have a fever," Buchalter said, "it signifies a supervisor and they're sent home before they go in a building and not allowed to return to work until they've had a COVID-19 negative reading. So we're taking extra steps and precautions."
When non-essential businesses and offices re-open, cleaning companies expect more changes to their own businesses.
"I think people are going to add a lot more cleaning to their detail," Buchalter said, "and for us, it's going to be a mad rush when the gates open up."
Private schools are among Unic Pro's clients that are currently closed.
"We're expecting schools to call us in a week prior to opening so we can disinfect all the doors and tables and walls to make sure it is safe for people to walk in again," Radke said.
In addition to the emergency services, Paul Davis also does cleanup and reconstruction in homes.
"That part of the business," Newville said, "because you can imagine people aren't real excited to have you in their homes right now, has slowed. Once we can go back and perform business as usual, we are going to have a big backlog of that work to get done."
Unic Pro also services YMCA buildings across Massachusetts and Radke said about 35% of Unic Pro's clients are closed.
Unic Pro, Radke said, is currently servicing some facilities that are serving as shelters for homeless people who have tested positive for coronavirus, and is working to secure enough PPE for its staff.
"I think all the cleaners out there are getting so much more value and people are seeing our work way more important than they used to," Radke said. "I send this message every day to our cleaners — 'Think about it, your work; it is preventing people from getting sick. I always told you that, but now it's even more important. We're in a war and you are the frontline people, so be proud of all your work and everything you're doing because I think now cleaners are getting a little more value than they used to."
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