Hygiene has been a topic at the top of everyone’s mind ever since the Covid-19 crisis, and keeping floors clean from dirt, bacteria and viruses is an important part of the cleaning regime.
Although floors don’t generally get touched as much as other surface areas such as door handles and light switches, contaminants on the floor can easily be spread to other areas from shoes and other objects.
Read our step-by-step guide below to find out how to clean and disinfect your floor to help reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses.
Daily cleaning
Step 1 – Remove dust and dirt
Using a clean brush, vacuum or dust control mop, remove the dust and dirt from the floor. Try to avoid using a damp mop, as you risk scratching the surface with fine grains of dust. Instead, consider using a treated dust mop to safely remove the particles.
Step 2 – Scrub the floor and remove wet slurry
To scrub the floor, we recommend using a clean microfibre mop with Polyflor approved cleanser, ensuring you scrub the floor thoroughly. Microfibre mops are great for multiple surfaces and can be placed straight into the washer, avoiding the dreaded mop-rinsing. Don’t forget to remove any wet slurry using a wet vacuum or clean microfibre mop.
Step 4 – Rinse the floor and allow to dry
Finally, complete a final rinse using a clean bucket of water and allow to dry, remembering to ensure the floor is completely dry before walking on it.
Disinfecting
Disinfecting kills bacteria and viruses, and when completed as part of a regular cleaning schedule, can effectively remove 99.9% of germs from your floor, as well as help stop the spread of infection.
In order to decrease the spread of Covid-19, it is best to use a disinfectant that is authorised under the Biocidal Product Regulation (BPR) to ensure it has viricidal activity.
But the effectiveness of disinfectant doesn’t just depend on its ingredients. The amount of time you leave the disinfectant on the floor, known as ‘contact time’, is also important. For this reason, leave the cleaning solution on your floor for the time it advises on the product, which is usually around three minutes.
We’ve all been told about the importance of simple hygiene methods such as hand washing and using hand sanitizer to stop the spread of Covid-19, but with coronavirus thought to be able to survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours, regularly and thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting your floor is an important step in keeping viruses and germs at bay.