Justin Mattoon,
Research and Development Manager, American Caddy Vac
General Manager, B & F Power Vac
Most Duct Cleaners have been busy during the Coronavirus pandemic, but even those who have been shut down will be able to gradually get back to work now that economies are beginning to open up.
As General Manager, of B & F Power Vac, Justin Mattoon recommends several PPE strategies for keeping your employees and customers safe as we move forward.
Keep your hands clean. Clearly, this has been a public safety health directive throughout the Covid-19 crisis, but it is something we need to keep in mind as we are dealing with our customers. Keep every vehicle well stocked with hand sanitizer. Be sure to use hand sanitizer before you greet the customer, and then at least once an hour during the job, even more often when your bare skin is exposed. When you use hand sanitizer, it’s important to keep in mind that it works best if you do not wipe it off. Allow it to air dry. Don’t wipe it off with a towel.
Use safety glasses. Our crews wear them all the time so this shouldn’t be a problem.
Wear disposable latex/nitrile gloves. According to WebMD* the virus can live on some surfaces for several days. The B & F crew changes gloves a couple of times for each job. Dispose of these gloves after each use.
Wear a mask. Use N95 masks if they are available. Keep in mind that whatever mask you use, it is helping to prevent particulates from becoming airborne, potentially contaminating someone else. You may have this virus without knowing it, so it’s important to work like you have the virus, even if you don’t feel sick. If you don’t have N95 masks, use whatever masks are available. Even a common dust mask can help to a degree.
Wear disposable tyvek suits and booties. Dispose of them after each cleaning. Don’t ever take them from one job to another.
Once the cleaning day is over, it’s important to clean all your tools, as well as the cab of your truck.
For tools, Justin says that their procedure is to simply lay all of the tools out on a towel, and spray them down thoroughly with Lysol disinfectant. Do not wipe them off, just allow them to air dry. This allows the disinfectant to do it’s work on any germs that may be on the tools.
For the cab of your truck, Justin also recommends using Lysol on all the heavily touched areas in particular, and for the whole cab in general. Key in on those heavily touched areas like the steering wheel, shifter, dashboard, seat belts, etc… Then again, allow the disinfectant to air dry overnight. Of course your cab will smell pretty strongly of Lysol, but that is a small price to pay to keep things sanitary.
Finally, try to use common sense. Shaking hands with customers is so very natural, but it simply must be avoided at this time. Make sure your crew knows that if they are sick, they simply must stay home. If someone comes to work sick, send them home. It has to be ingrained in the culture of your business right now. Don’t come to work sick. The last thing we want at this time is to make our customers sick.
Good hygiene is always important. But right now, it is foremost in everyone’s minds. Make sure your customers can see that you are trying to do things right. It will give them confidence that your team is caring and professional. And it can make a real difference in keeping your crew and your customers safe.
*https://www.webmd.com/lung/how-long-covid-19-lives-on-surfaces
