Cleaning Services – Doorknobs, Germs, & Your Sick Office

Cleaning Services – Doorknobs, Germs, & Your Sick Office

Professional cleaning services tip's to help your business and customers avoid starting the day with a big handful of germs and bacteria!

Cleaning Services - Doorknobs & Your Sick Office - Fresno CA

Cleaning Services Tips for Office Doorknobs

One virus infested doorknob or handle can pass germs and infect half of your office staff within hours.

One sick employee that didn't wash their hands thoroughly is enough to take down half of your business; more if you own a restaurant.

A staggering number of American's go to work sick every day.

That means it is not a matter of if, but when, your whole business will be adversely affected by a filthy doorknob.

 

The Science Behind It

A study conducted by Dr. Charles Gerba of The University of Arizona;

Using tracer viruses, researchers found that contamination of just a single doorknob or table top results in the spread of viruses throughout office buildings, hotels, and health care facilities.

Within 2 to 4 hours, the virus could be detected on 40 to 60 percent of workers and visitors in the facilities and commonly touched objects.

Simple use of common disinfectant wipes reduced virus spread by 80 to 99 percent.

-ICAAC 2014 - How Quickly Viruses Can Contaminate a Building

This is extremely troubling, considering;

Each year, norovirus causes an estimated 19 to 21 million illnesses and contributes to 56,000 to 71,000 hospitalizations and up to 800 deaths.

Touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus, and then touching your mouth, is a common source of infection.

-One germy doorknob can infect half your office within hour

Worldwide, the issue is significantly more disturbing;

Worldwide annually there are 1.7 million deaths from diarrheal diseases and 1.5 million deaths from respiratory infections.

Viruses cause an estimated 60% of human infections, and most common illnesses are produced by respiratory and enteric viruses.

Concluding that;

The rapid spread of viral disease in crowded indoor establishments, including schools, day care facilities, nursing homes, business offices, and hospitals, consistently facilitates disease morbidity and mortality.

Yet, fundamental knowledge concerning the role of surfaces and objects in viral disease transmission is lacking, and further investigation is needed.

-Significance of Fomites in the Spread of Respiratory and Enteric Viral Disease

 

Sick at Work

The chief cause of germs on doorknobs?

People; specifically, sick people going to work because they feel they cannot afford to miss a day.

Alternet.org, reporting on a survey conducted by Wakefield Research, said that an estimated;

[sic]...69% of working Americans don’t take sick days, even when they’re genuinely ill, because they feel they can’t afford to miss even a day of work.

-Sick at Work: Staggering Number of Americans Go to Work With Bad Colds or Flu

An NSF Internation survey found that;

  • 26% of Americans admit to going to work sick.
  • 25% came to work because they believed that is what their boss expected them to do.
  • 13% went in ill because they did not trust their coworkers to perform their duties correctly.

Oddly, of those surveyed;

  • 67% viewed coworkers who came in ill as hard workers, while;
  • 16% saw them as selfish, however;
  • 57% would tell a co-worker to go home if they felt they were too sick to be in the office.

For More Information:

 

Looking to the Future

Soon, germs passed from door handles may be a thing of the past.

Two young Hong Kong students have invented a door handle, coated in Titanium Dioxide (commonly used as a pigment for paint and in sunscreen), with a UV emitting LED light placed inside of it.

Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, when combined with UV light, have been shown to have a profound impact on the presence of bacteria.

A study published in PubMed.gov by the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that;

The survival curve of microorganisms in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles showed that nearly complete killing was achieved after 50 min of UV illumination.

The formation of bacterial colonies above the TiO2 nanoparticle-coated metal plates also decreased significantly

- Studies of photokilling of bacteria using titanium dioxide nanoparticles.

 

References

 

Takeaway

Germs on office doorknobs can lead to illness, hospitalization, and death.

Sadly, this is a problem that is all too easy to resolve.

  • Wash your hands after using the restroom, and before eating.
  • Wipe down doorknobs with an EPA certified disinfectant wipe daily.
  • If you're sick, stay home.
  • If you come to work, carry disinfectant wipes with you and wipe down doorknobs to public places after touching them.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of professional cleaning services for your business, contact us today for a free quote!

In Bakersfield CA, call (661) 395-3009

In Fresno CA, call (559) 473-1790


Vanguard Cleaning Systems of the Southern Valley

Vanguard Cleaning Systems of the Southern Valley