The coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic has been the biggest nightmare of 2020.

However, it may have been the biggest blessing to Toronto area commercial cleaning companies.

As it continued to spread, Canada’s public health officials stressed even more the importance of cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in order to curb the virus.

Health officials said cleaning workplaces and homes on a regular basis will help prevent coming into contact with this deadly virus, which is known to linger for a while in commonly used surfaces. Due to those health recommendations, office cleaning Toronto businesses took a front seat for many commercial office cleaning companies.  Most experienced a huge surge in business as the requests to maintain the same level of sanitation and the equipment and skills required exceeded what ‘in house’ cleaners could manage. Now that the peek has passed many companies are continuing to maintain a high level of cleanliness for their employees and customers.

Some of Hamilton’s residential cleaning companies had joined the list of businesses that had shut down in response to the global wide state of emergency.

With almost everyone staying at home, most people preferred to do the cleaning themselves.

High-efficiency clothes detergent for sanitizing work clothes was one of the biggest items of interest in the cleaning business amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Microfiber had to be cleaned in a specific way, or the virus and bacteria will remain trapped in the fabric’s pockets.

One professional cleaning service in Toronto, says that business is still steady, and many clients are still availing of their services and demanding better cleaning products. However, most residential and commercial cleaning services have experienced a decline in clients, as most of them stay at home.

Nowadays, clients are demanding more advanced cleaning services.

Some have been asking for the sanitization of high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs, cabinet handles, tables, counter-tops, and even bathroom and kitchen surfaces. Ideally, there is more pressure on keeping the cleaning specialists safe while working around surfaces that are potentially contaminated.

Hamilton Public Health advises residents to disinfect and clean touched surfaces and objects frequently in order to avoid coming into contact with the virus. COVID-19 is known to linger on inanimate surfaces such as plastic, glass, and metal for up to 9 days.

According to Health Bart Harvey, Hamilton’s Associate Medical Officer, contact is a huge issue, and that’s why their primary message is to clean down, particularly commonly used surfaces as regularly as possible. This should be done using diluted bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and alcohol products.

The United States Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) says that even though transmission from one individual to the next is a huge risk, contracting the virus through surfaces is as much of risk too. This is why regular cleaning of surfaces is imperative, especially when someone has visited your home.

Here are some ‘Green’ cleaning tips you can use post Covid

You might get busy and fall behind in your chores, but there’s a difference between a little dust and letting an environment get completely unsanitary. So, keeping cleaning supplies around is a necessary thing on your shopping list, and using them regularly needs to be on your to-do list. However, the question then becomes whether or not to use whatever the market shelves have to off, or do you discriminate and choose something friendly to the Earth and the environment?

1) Cut down on indoor air pollution:

Indoor air pollution is thought of as something that can be as much as 5 to 12 times worse than outdoor air pollution. When you skip hard chemicals for less abrasive green cleaning products, you’re doing your nose and lungs a favour, which is particularly useful if anyone in your home has allergies or respiratory sensitivities.

2) Extending carpet life:

Carpets absorb many of the scents and chemicals that are in the air of your home or business, and that includes cleaning products. Even air sprays and anything sprayed over tables or counter-tops as a mist can wind up being absorbed by the fibers. Natural, green products are going to be far less harsh on rugs and carpet, so they do not deteriorate as fast as if you use conventional cleaners.

3) Protect wastewater:

Many cleaning products do not just evaporate or dissipate magically once they are used. Much of their content winds up in wastewater, which is eventually sent into the world’s water supply, going into streams and rivers that lead to oceans. What does not just sit in the oceans comes back up as acidic rain in some parts of the world. Green cleaning supplies are seriously less detrimental to your region’s wastewater and far more likely to be cleaned out with the treatment methods applied.

4) Stay safe:

Many standard or conventional cleaning products use artificial chemicals. Many are relatively safe, but they do come with poison warnings for skin and eye contact or ingestion. Some even come with very harsh chemicals and compounds, and when used incorrectly, they can hurt property and people. That’s not to say green cleaning supplies are safe to drink, but the chances of an incident are much lower.

5) Cater to your customers:

Being environmentally conscious is not some growing trend among consumers any more. As a matter of fact, research and statistics demonstrate that over half of them now prefer to do business with companies that make caring for the environment, or at least showing sensitivity and compassion to it. It’s easy to oversell the fact that your locations use green products for cleaning, but it’s worth an occasional mention when trying to woo or retain clients.

6) Be mindful of Others

To hamper the spread of any virus, cough into your sleeve, and wash your hands frequently. It’s also advisable to reduce contact with others and stay at home whenever possible if you’re feeling ill. When you go out, ensure you maintain a distance of at least 2 meters from others.