BSCs can Make or Break Cross-Contamination

As all of you know by now, hand-washing is a great way to stay healthy. Many people are now more mindful of washing their hands after being out in public places, using the restroom, or touching Frequently Touched Objects. However, the same urge that everyone had about following proper hand hygiene protocols doesn’t seem to be there anymore. Did you know that the whole hand-washing process should take 40-60 seconds?

When you don’t wash your hands properly and go on to touch door handles, elevator buttons, hand rails, drinking fountains, and other FTOs, you are leaving germs behind for someone else to pick up. This has come to be known as cross-contamination – which is defined as: “the process by which bacteria or other microorganisms are unintentionally transferred from one substance or object to another, with harmful effect.”

Cross-contamination is well known across different markets – like food processing, healthcare, and even education. It seems like the term does not receive as much attention in the Building Service Contractor market, even though it is just as important. BSCs play such an important role when it comes to cross-contamination that they can make or break a facility’s healthfulness.

I remember being part of this specific training session where we had to watch a video of this janitor cleaning a bathroom and point out things that could be improved. I will never forget the shock that I felt to watch this and learn that what I was seeing happens in real life more often than I care to point out. I saw this janitor cleaning the toilet bowl first and then work his way out to the rest of the toilet and then proceeded to clean the sink and its knobs ALL while using the same cloth. Think about all of the germs being moved around in that bathroom alone!

Here are a few helpful tips to help stop cross-contamination:

As always, Nichols is Here to Help!