What are High Touch Surfaces?

Описание: Did you know that bacteria from just one contaminated surface can spread across 40-60% of your facility in as little as 2-4 hours? That’s right.

Imagine someone who isn't feeling well enters your building and touches the doorknob. In just 4 hours, illness-causing germs can be found across 60% of your facility.

How is this possible, you might be wondering? The answer is high-touch surfaces.

High-touch surfaces, like door knobs, easily facilitate the spread of germs because they are touched by a lot of people in a short span of time. These people will go on to touch another object, spreading the germs to that surface.

Many viruses, like Influenza, only survive for several hours in the air, but can survive for up to 2 days on a surface. If there is a virus on a high-touch surface, there’s no telling how many people can become infected in that 2 day window.

That’s why it’s important to frequently clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces.

High-touch surfaces are surfaces or objects that frequently get touched by people’s hands throughout the day.

For example, door handles, elevator buttons, restroom fixtures, desk and counter tops, printer and copier buttons, and light switches are all high-touch surfaces.

Knowing that these surfaces can easily spread germs, it’s important to create a disinfecting routine that minimizes germ spread to prevent potential outbreaks.

The best way to create a disinfecting routine is to identify and call out high-touch surfaces in your building’s standard operating procedures.

This is so that they can be cleaned and disinfected more often than the less commonly used surfaces or objects.

High-touch surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected at least 2 or 3 times a day, if not more.

I should reiterate that when I say surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected, I mean exactly that. You have to clean before disinfecting, otherwise you will not effectively remove illness-causing germs.

Cleaning a surface before disinfecting removes dirt, soil, and any other residue that could otherwise make it hard for the disinfecting chemicals to reach and kill germs. In fact, cleaning with a basic detergent will remove up to 97% of the germs from a surface.

However, that leaves 3%. Disinfecting will remove any remaining germs, so you should always follow up cleaning with a disinfectant to reduce the overall risk of infection.

The only time this isn’t true is if you use a one-step cleaner/disinfectant product, as one-step cleaners are able to clean and disinfect in one go. Keep in mind that one-step cleaners/disinfectants should not be used on heavily soiled surfaces.

It’s also a good idea to make sure that the people in your building have access to disinfecting products. This might mean putting disinfectant wipes near entryways, in elevators or conference rooms so that guests are empowered to clean before and after use of communal surfaces and objects.

This not only promotes a cleaner environment, but helps your janitorial team ensure the most hygienic facility.

I hope you’ve found this video helpful. If you have any more questions about how to handle cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces, consider reaching out to an Imperial Dade location near you.

Our experts are highly experienced in janitorial and sanitation services, so call today for a free consultation of your cleaning and disinfecting protocols, and an Imperial Dade expert will work with you to update your current program.

Use the Time Codes Below to Skip To the Part of the Video that Interests You:

00:00 What are High Touch Surfaces?
1:04 High Touch Surfaces Explained
1:15 Examples of High Touch Surfaces and Objects
1:55 When to Clean and Disinfect High Touch Surfaces
2:05 How to Clean and Disinfect High Touch Surfaces