Choosing the Right Sanitization Service Choosing the right sanitization services for your business, event space, and beyond.
The world has gone completely nuts and all you see are ads for disinfectant spraying companies on social media, so how do you choose the right company?
Please keep reading for more information that could save you a ton of time and aggravation by hiring the wrong disinfecting company.
We have our top 10 suggestions on How to Choose the right Disinfectant spray company. Even though the list is much more than 10 this will at least give you valuable information to get started in the right direction.
Most of these “Disinfecting Companies” have never owned a business before or have zero knowledge of the right sprayers, procedures, or products to use. Most have absolutely no knowledge of how to spray so having a quick look at their videos will show you allot.
If you see them waiving the sprayer all over the place, in the air, or wiggle like you just don’t care, then move on right away. If their promotional videos aren’t showing the correct application then that’s what you can expect to get if they arrive at yours.
- Do they have a Business License and Commercial Insurance?
Any legitimate company will be able to provide this to you before the disinfecting service begins without hesitation.
- Do they offer ATP testing as part of the treatment?
If not, are they willing to guarantee the treatment to pass ATP testing? ATP testing companies like Oso Sanitized can validate the cleanliness on almost any surface so before you claim your place to be sanitized, you really need verification. Anyone hiring a company to disinfect should really make sure it’s done properly.
- Anyone claiming one treatment per month, their product is the new future, bonds to the air, blocks bacteria for long periods is 99.9% not true.
Nothing on the market today is a one time spray and probably never will. For disinfecting to be effective it must be applied correctly with the right frequency based on your use. A school or daycare will have completely different disinfecting processes than an apartment room and without a cleaning verification process in place, you are just wasting money on magic dust.
- Do they have a website with contact information or just a Facebook post?
Do they have a company email address and phone number? These are simple tips to let you know if the company is serious or just a fly by night person trying to capitalize on the COVID scare.
Anyone investing time on their website to validate what they are doing will be a big indicator of a successful disinfecting company. Places like Oso Chem are a great way to find approved Disinfecting companies nationwide that will do an excellent job and offer test validation.
These companies will also have a recurring plan available to keep you in compliance.
- Ask them for the safety data sheets and list of viruses the product is listed to kill, along with the proper kill time.
Kill time is how long the properly mixed disinfectant needs to stay wet on the surface to be effective and this is huge. Any company using 10 minute kill time disinfectant is an automatic red flag.
Good Disinfectant like Simple Green Professional will have a 3 to 5 minute kill time if mixed and applied correctly. Just remember that companies spraying wildly are not applying the product correctly.
The disinfectant application must be applied right and stay wet on the surface so spraying the air, walls, or chairs on top of the tables will not disinfect the surface properly. Vertical surfaces must stay wet for the proper kill time and fogging or misting the walls will have zero effectiveness.
- Do they own Electrostatic Sprayers?
If they say yes, ask what brand and model they plan to use and verify it? This should be easy because only a handful of manufactures make electrostatic sprayers.
Let’s talk about the difference in sprayers. Disinfectant can be applied with a hand pump trigger sprayer but that’s not very efficient.
Cordless or pump sprayers are effective because they apply a lot of solution the way pesticides are applied but it’s messy and doesn’t wrap around the surface very well. These sprayers are great for bathrooms and flat surfaces but nowhere compare to electrostatic.
Handheld battery powered Electrostatic Sprayers don’t have the power to be effective and nothing more than toys or cordless misters not effective for the commercial market. Although they may provide a small amount of charge in the spray, they are nowhere near as effective as Electrostatic Sprayers using electricity and will give a false sense of security. This can be proven in real-world tests against 110-volt electrostatic sprayers.
Professional Electrostatic sprayers are high volume, low-pressure sprayers that need to be plugged into an outlet and are very effective and efficient.
Foggers use a small amount of fluid with a lot of air. These machines are effective for walls, flat surfaces, and other applications but the spray does not wrap around the surface like Electrostatic spray.
- Will they show up looking like a Hazmat crew?
Well, this is an interesting topic because most well-known chemicals are nontoxic once applied and dry but when sprayed or mixed with air it becomes a safety concern for the applicator. Breathing disinfectant is poison and so is getting in on your skin, or in your eyes so having a disinfectant company show up with full protection is just smart.
If you choose to pour the disinfectant on the surface then gloves and safety glasses will work but if you choose to spray the product, the person should be fully protected.
These warnings are on the safety labels of good disinfectants. While spraying disinfectant you also run the risk of having a hose blow or nozzle malfunction that could direct the disinfectant right in your face and most disinfectants mix with large amounts of water and the overspray is landing on the applicator or falling on your head and cloths causing a big safety concern.
If you get a little disinfectant on your body is not a big deal but spraying disinfectant for hours will completely soak the applicator’s clothes and shoes if the person is not properly protected.
8. How will you explain what you’ve done to your employees or customers?
You must have the above information available to prove what you’ve done is effective and the only way is by using a third-party testing company to verify the cleanliness. Companies like Oso Sanitized are the only way to make sure what your doing actually works.
9. Does the company offer electronic recordkeeping for the services they provide?
Invoicing and “Certificates” are not valid record keeping of the services they provide. Although invoices can be good for accounting, it’s is not good recordkeeping for what was actually done or sprayed in your facility.
The disinfecting company should provide a detailed invoice of what was ordered, the chemicals used, and what was tested. Imagine an auto mechanic giving you an invoice that says “repaired” when they changed your brakes. These things could become legal issues for you if not done properly.
Imagine one of your customers or employees claiming the got sick at your facility and your only defense is you hired a company from Facebook or have a certificate from a company with no business license. At this point, you are completely on the hook for negligence.
10. Implement ATP Testing and Recordkeeping
This is the only way to make sure what you’re doing actually works. If you want to truly understand what’s clean and what’s not then hire a third-party testing company like Oso Sanitized.
This is the only way to validate your cleaning and disinfecting process and have certified record keeping of your process. Hiring an independent ATP testing company like Oso Sanitized will save your business tons of money and legal problems.
Imagine getting sued for not providing a clean place for employees or customers and you have the electronic test results from Oso Sanitized proving your cleanliness on a continued basis. The suit will be very hard to prove because you have the test data necessary to defend your company. The results will be much different if all you have are invoices for “Disinfectant Services” or saying “We’ve been cleaning like crazy”.
Easy, data-driven preventative sanitization for Seattle workplaces
Bring peace of mind to your customers and employees with routine sanitizing service and contact surface testing for offices, businesses, and community facilities in the greater Seattle area.