Cleaning vs. Disinfecting: Cintas Issues Best Practices for Proper Restroom Cleaning

It’s no surprise that dirty restrooms can lead to lost business. In fact, a recent Harris Interactive survey revealed that 94 percent of U.S. adults would avoid a business in the future if they encountered dirty restrooms. However, there is a common misconception that cleaning and disinfecting are the same. To alleviate any confusion on proper cleaning protocol, Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) today issued a list of best practices to help business owners create a pleasant, sanitary and healthy restroom atmosphere.

“Cleaning and disinfecting are vital steps for successful restroom maintenance,” said Mike Thompson, Senior Vice President, Cintas Facility Services. “Many often think they are one in the same. However, if both steps are not completed properly, surfaces may appear clean, but infectious germs could be lurking.”

Best practices for maintaining a healthy restroom include:

1) Know the difference between cleaning and disinfecting. The first step to provide a clean restroom is to understand the difference between cleaning and disinfecting. Cleaning removes visible soil, dirt, stains and other debris from surfaces. It is typically performed by wiping surfaces using soap and water or a multi-purpose cleaner. Disinfection destroys viruses, bacteria, germs and other harmful microorganisms. It is accomplished by using a chemical designed specifically to kill bacteria.

2) Always clean before disinfecting. An unclean surface cannot be disinfected. Dirt is a hiding spot for bacteria and rapidly depletes the sanitizing capability of disinfectants. Therefore, thoroughly clean all surfaces to remove soil and stains before applying a disinfectant.

3) Identify all restroom touch points. Before cleaning a restroom, identify all “touch points.” Touch points include objects that people touch on a regular basis such as door handles, soap dispensers, stall locks, paper towel dispensers, etc. At minimum, these surfaces need to be cleaned and disinfected on a daily basis to prevent the spread of germs. Areas in restrooms that users do not generally come in contact with, such as windows, may only require cleaning.

4) Select the right chemicals. There are several cleaning chemicals on the market and it is often difficult to identify the best-performing products. For cleaning purposes, select an ammonia-free glass and multi-surface cleaner that is highly concentrated and Green Seal certified. An ammonia-free product is ideal as it has a lower odor than other products. For both cleaning and disinfecting, select a heavy duty, non-acid washroom product that is cleaner and disinfectant in one. This will kill bacteria and reduce odors commonly found in restrooms. The product should also have high alkalinity for easy soap scum removal. When using a two-in-one product, users must spray the chemical twice to work properly - once for cleaning purposes and once for disinfecting.

5) Allow disinfectants to dwell for the appropriate amount of time. All disinfectants have a dwell time and must sit on a surface for the allotted time to work at maximum efficiency. Simply spraying and wiping doesn’t give the chemical the time it needs to kill 99 percent of the bacteria. Most products require a dwell time of 10 minutes or longer. Read all labels and educate cleaning personnel to follow the guidelines. Encourage employees to spray the disinfectant and complete another task, such as emptying the trash, to allow the appropriate amount of time.

“Cleaning and disinfecting correctly ensures that restrooms look and smell their best, but are sanitary as well,” said Dave Mesko, Senior Director of Marketing, Cintas. “Business owners should review their restroom chemical program to allocate the right chemicals to the right task. Doing so will provide restrooms that are truly clean and appealing to customers.”

Cintas Facility Services provides a wide range of custom cleaning and hygiene chemicals and services. Branded Signet™ Cleaning Chemical Service, Cintas offers a portfolio of industry-leading green chemicals from Diversey with the service excellence of Cintas to meet the specific cleaning needs of any business.

For more information, please visit http://www.cintas.com/cleaningchemicals

About Cintas:

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom supplies, promotional products, first aid and safety products, fire protection services and document management services to approximately 900,000 businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol CTAS, and is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024