Vigilance remains
key word
despite heightened awareness

By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

Holly Gibert, who cleans houses around Marion, says her experience cleaning nursing homes is proving helpful now.

Working in a care home required her to be very conscious of wiping down frequently touched surfaces like door knobs when there were viral outbreaks.

Clients are looking for conscientious service as they become concerned with keeping spaces sanitary, Gibert said.

“Any time I’m dealing with a situation where there’s a possible infectious disease or virus that naturally becomes a part of my routine,” she said. “But the people I’m working for are expecting that to be a part of the routine as well.”

While there aren’t many changes in cleaning practices, customers are more conscious of staying germ-free, IServe Facilities president Pam Idleman said.

“People in general are more aware of the need to make sure their work environments are clean and safe,” she said.

IServe’s clients include several local schools and businesses. The company has seen increased business, even cleaning twice a day at some locations, Idleman said.

“I feel like the need for cleaning and disinfecting has gone up in the eyes of businesses and the people we serve,” she said. “In people’s perception, now it’s come to their minds in the forefront. Not only is it clean, is it disinfected?”

In addition to taking extra care wiping down surfaces, Gibert said many products have guidelines on their labels.

“A good thing is to read the directions on those,” “A lot of these types of virus-killing sprays need to sit for a second. They might say they need to sit for three minutes, they say a minute. Make sure you read them and know before you wipe it.”

Idleman has the advantage of being able to group employees as teams, but they still have to maintain the standard six feet of distance, she said.

“There have been some training things we’ve had to implement,” she said. “This is a new situation, so the protocol might be different. There are extra precautions that we’re having our staff take.”

Some people have jobs where they can’t stay home, but that can introduce higher risk being in the environment while it’s being cleaned, Idleman said.

“Those who are left working because they’re essential, we respect and appreciate that, but we also need to implement where our staff members stay the six feet apart while they’re working, just like everyone else.”

While vigilance is useful, it is also important to understand which factors can be controlled, Gibert said.

“We have to remain balanced,” she said. “We can’t live in fear all day, every day. What we have to do is protect ourselves, do what we’ve been instructed to do, and breathe easy on that.”