After an illness in the home
Infectious disease cleaning and disinfection in Las Vegas
Someone in the house has had a stomach virus that went through everyone, an infection such as C. diff, or a long illness with a lot of body fluid. You want the place properly cleaned before others move back in or visit.
Someone picks up 24 hours a day, every day
Cleaning comes first, disinfectant second
Disinfectant does little on a dirty surface. The work starts with removing soil, fluids and anything soaked, and only then treating what is left.
The products are regulated. The EPA keeps lists of registered disinfectants that have been shown to work against particular germs: one list covers norovirus, another the spores of Clostridium difficile, another the bloodborne viruses. A company should be able to tell you which product it uses and why.
The EPA also says to follow the label, and that a surface has to stay visibly wet for the whole contact time printed there. If it dries sooner, more product goes on. That patience is most of what separates a treatment from a wipe-down.
Where the attention goes
The sickroom
Bed frame, mattress cover, bedside surfaces, floor, and any commode or basin used there.
The bathroom
Toilet, flush handle, taps, floor around the toilet, and the bin.
Things hands touch
Door handles, switches, rails, remote controls, fridge and cupboard handles.
Soft materials
Bedding and towels are laundered hot or discarded. A soaked mattress usually has to go.
What nobody should promise you
No treatment makes a home sterile or keeps it that way. Disinfection deals with what is on the surfaces today. Be wary of anyone who sells a guarantee against future illness or a coating said to protect for months.
For medical questions, such as when a person stops being contagious or whether a frail relative can come home, ask the doctor or nurse who treated them.
Disinfection questions
Do we have to move out while it is done?
Usually just out of the rooms being treated, and until surfaces have dried. The company will tell you what the product label says about re-entry.
Is fogging or misting better than wiping?
Not on its own. A mist can't clean a soiled surface. Ask whether surfaces are cleaned by hand first.
Is this the same as a deep clean from a maid service?
No. A housekeeper cleans for appearance. This work is about body fluids and germs, with protective equipment and regulated disposal where needed.
Las Vegas valley, any hour
A phone call is enough to get started
You don't need to have every answer first. Questions are welcome before the home is released, before the insurer has replied and before you have decided anything.
Talk it through with a cleanup company
Tell them what happened, what kind of home it is and whether police or the coroner have finished. They will say how they would go about it and what they charge for. Whether to hire them is up to you.
Call (725) 223-9153Someone picks up 24 hours a day, every day
Your conversation may be recorded. Why, and what is kept, is set out in the privacy policy and the disclosure.