Aside from the precautions we are taking as a company detailed in the email sent on Thursday, March 12, we want to make sure we are all on the same page about the precautions we can take together in the task to disinfect your home.
We have plenty of bleach and vinegar in our office for now, and can come in for what we are now calling our Virus Disinfecting Routine. Note that while I mostly list bleach and vinegar, cleaning will include soap and water too, depending on the surface. Please ask if you have any questions.
Virus Disinfecting Routine
Disinfect all door knobs and door faces with a bleach cloth. Use vinegar on any door knobs that are chrome or may otherwise be sensitive to bleach.
Disinfect all light switches with bleach. Use vinegar if they are made of a sensitive material (please let us know if you have any doubts).
Disinfect all bathroom and kitchen cabinet and drawer faces, with either bleach or vinegar (depending on the material they are made of), taking extra precaution to get the handles and edges (both inside and outside) where they are also normally touched. In the kitchen, we will also focus on the handles on major appliances and will clean all other surfaces as normal. Bathrooms will also be fully washed including disinfecting the toilet, cleaning the shower and tub areas, and all other handles like towel and toilet paper roll holders, as normal.
Disinfect with bleach or vinegar (depending on type of surface) all lamp cords and/or bases that may get touched to turn them on, and all blind or curtain rods or cords that get touched.
Disinfect with bleach or vinegar all tables, side tables, desk, and countertop edges and work surfaces. We will be using a diluted vinegar solution on wood unless the wood surface does not have a resistant polyurethane protectant or, similar surface protectant. Please let us know if you have desks or tables with sensitive wood finishes that would not stand up to the acid in vinegar. We’ll use bleach on any formica, glass, tile, or other types of more resistant surfaces. Stones like marble, granite, or slate that can be damaged with the use of any acidic solutions or bleach will be scrubbed with hot water and soap. Please let us know if we are okay to use any other methods on these sensitive surfaces.
Disinfect all chair backs, chair handles and arm-rests (same methods as above).
Disinfect all bed frames, bed knobs, and railings (same methods as above).
Instead of dusting or wiping down knick knacks and decor like picture frames, vases, coffee-table books, etc. we will clean each with a bleach or vinegar cloth. If there are items that you prefer we not touch, please let us know before our arrival.
Disinfect all walls, door frames, and windowpane faces that have handprints or fingerprints on them. If the paint on your walls is matte, not water-resistant, or of a dark color, please know that even a clean damp cleaning cloth may leave a haze as if the paint was pulled up. This is very common and happens regardless of the quality of paint used. Let us know if you still prefer we clean these types of painted surfaces.
Deep clean all floors with a soap, water, and vinegar solution. If you have new wooden floors, wood laminate flooring, un-protected by polyurethane wood floors, stone floors (marble, slate, granite), or otherwise sensitive to acidic solution flooring we will use either the alternative of soap and water or, a cleaning solution of your choosing. Please know that deep cleaning a floor does take longer and extra passes of washing, rinsing, and depending on the floor surface, of drying. We will vacuum all rugs and carpeted areas that are usually vacuumed.
We will take out all the garbage and recycling around the house as usual.
Tasks we will not be focusing* on in this disinfecting routine are :
Bed-making, sheet changing, and laundry sorting, doing, or folding unless requested or an essential part of your normal routine (please see asterisk below).
Dusting heights such as but not limited to ceiling fans and vents
Baseboards, wainscotting, and other small ledges
Blinds and window sills cleaning
TV or computer equipment. We know these have buttons and get touched, but we prefer to not accidentally damage anything. If you do want us to disinfect electronic devices and entertainment equipment please, let us know.
Dusting or wiping down decorative bookshelves, decor shelves, or decor furniture unless you specifically request them (please see asterisk below).
Taking out and replacing any kitty box litter.
*We must necessarily change your regular routine in order to perform this new virus disinfecting routine. We ask you to work with us as we either adjust our normal routine or add time to also incorporate your regular cleaning tasks. This thorough disinfection of surfaces, as opposed to our regular dusting and cleaning routine will take more time. The floor deep cleaning in particular will require us to either adjust by either leaving out non-essential dusting or adding more time as needed.
In addition to your feedback and consideration around this new routine we ask that you please:
Keep yourself and your family in a room other than the room the cleaners are working in to increase social distancing. We can be very flexible in giving you the time to move from one part of the house to the other. We routinely work in homes with kids and nannies, work-from-home professionals, and pets.
Let us know as soon as possible if you will need to cancel your cleaning for any reason. We will work with you on rescheduling and on how we can mindfully return to your home for cleanings when you are ready.
Communicate any changes to your regular routine and/or the disinfecting routine listed above as soon as possible. This will give us time to alert the cleaners so they may be able to “sleep on it” and remember the changes to your routine better for the day ahead. (We habitually send instructions for each cleaning the night before, so yes, they are literally studying up in the evenings and then sleeping on it!)
We are taking this virus seriously, and completely understand your decision to cancel any upcoming cleanings you have scheduled. We also understand your need to have a cleaning crew come in and take care of disinfecting your home, especially if you are a health-care worker who is not able to be home with your family at this time. In whatever capacity you currently need us, or may need us in the future, we are here and ready to help keep your home and family healthy and safe during the COVID-19 outbreak. If the city of Salt Lake demands a complete lock-down, we will comply and will let you know if and when we make the decision to no longer travel to homes.
As we gain new information, we will be sure to update our clients and do our absolute best to protect the health and safety of our clients and our employees.
Please contact us for any additional questions or concerns.
Thank you, for being a valued client of Utah House Cleaning!