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Best Practices for Sanitizing High-Touch Surfaces

01/18/21
by Wayne Foreman

Cleaning high-touch surfaces has become more important than ever due to COVID-19. While it is clear that people must be vigilant in their sanitizing efforts, the best practices for performing this task are not as readily apparent.

Using CDC guidelines as a basis, we will show you the best ways to keep the highly trafficked areas of your home, office, and common areas clean and safe.

What Are High-Touch Surfaces?

Simply put, high-touch surfaces are the places in a building that are constantly touched. They include:

  • Doorknobs
  • Table surfaces
  • Sink knobs
  • Kitchen and bathroom counters
  • Toilets
  • Light switches
  • And many others

Since these places are touched several times throughout the day, they are the perfect place for bacteria and viruses to reside, thrive, and spread. Imagine if someone was cutting raw chicken on the kitchen counter and then suddenly had to answer the door to greet a visitor.

At that point, two areas of the home must be sanitized, or they risk spreading germs that could make people sick.

Not all high-touch surfaces are the same, though. Some of them can aid with the sanitizing process, like copper, and others have unique surfaces that must be taken into account before cleaning can start.  

Sanitizing High-Touch Areas

The proper method of sanitizing high-touch areas requires an understanding of the term itself. By definition, sanitizing reduces the bacteria on a surface. Disinfecting destroys the virus on a surface so that it cannot spread. For safety purposes, it is best to opt for the latter. 

Before starting the process, it is best to wear some form of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), especially if someone in the building is ill or has been handling potential harmful products, like the raw chicken from before.

Gloves are the best PPE to wear while cleaning. However, the gloves should be disposable or solely used for cleaning.

Clean and Disinfect

According to the CDC guidelines, it is always a good practice to clean a surface before you begin to sanitize or disinfect it. That will reduce the number of germs on the surface and ensure that any excess material is removed before sanitizing. Use soap and hot water to clean a surface.

Before disinfecting a surface, one must ensure that the product they are prepared to use will not harm the surface. The user must also learn the proper way to implement the disinfectant and how much time it takes to be effective.

Most of the time, the best idea is to check the product’s container for restrictions and the appropriate application sites. The CDC recommends several different types of disinfectants for high-touch areas, including:

  • Bleach (general cleaner)
  • Citric Acid (used in most surface wipes)
  • Ethanol (used in disinfecting sprays)
  • Hydrochloric Acid (toilet bowl cleaners)

Many brands use these cleaners in their products. However, diluted bleach is often a great product to use when disinfecting, and it is something people can make on their own.

For the best results, it is good to clean the high-touch areas at least once a day.  

Are Some Surfaces Easier to Clean?

Hard, non-porous surfaces are always easier to clean. Fortunately, some of the most common high-touch areas are non-porous, like door handles. That makes it easy to use disinfecting wipes or a bleach mixture to swiftly clean them.

Another element to consider is the material from which the high-touch area is made. Items made from copper or any of its alloys tend to have antimicrobial properties that cut down on the amount of time that bacteria or viruses can survive on its surfaces.

CDF Distributors has doors, hardware, and frames that are easy to sanitize using standard cleaners or hot water and soap. They are introducing a line of bronze hardware that reduces the lifespan of viruses on the surface and makes for an easy cleaning experience.

Keeping your home or business safe requires a basic understanding of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting. Knowing the best items to use and how often to sanitize high-touch surfaces, it’s time to take the next step and ensure you have an easy surface to clean.

Contact CDF Distributors to purchase doors for your commercial business today and get the immediate benefits of doors with hands-free opening options, large handles, and antimicrobial hardware. This is a fast, simple way that you can prioritize safety.

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