In the age of COVID-19, businesses are particularly aware of the importance of having proper cleaning, disinfection and hygiene protocols in place to shield employees from harmful pathogens, and ensure business continuity.
When it comes to protecting your business from destructive pathogens, hiring qualified abatement and remediation contractors to eliminate – or at the very least severely reduce these pathogens – is your best line of defense. These specialists have the skills, experience, and credentials to thoroughly disinfect your office space.
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During the disinfection process, however, sometimes an extra layer of protection is needed to fully disinfect your office environment – and fogging disinfection can provide that additional safeguard.
What Is Disinfection Fogging?
Over the last few months, you may have frequently seen images on television of contractors geared with personal protective equipment spraying office interiors, buildings, and surfaces of all kinds in an attempt to combat COVID-19.
This disinfection process would be classified as fogging. But what is disinfection fogging? Generally speaking, disinfection fogging is applying disinfectant to areas, in the form of fogs or mists.
Most commonly with fogging, the disinfectant would be poured into a fogging machine before being released into the atmosphere as a fog or mist. The fogging machine itself could come in many forms – it could be a backpack or a metal bowl where the fogger is screwed into the top of it, or have a handle so that it can easily be carried around. Others can just sit on the ground, and fill an area with fog.
There are even a number of variations of foggers, too – including manual foggers, automatic foggers and electrostatic foggers, for example, where ions are introduced into the fogging process to allow it to adhere better to surfaces.
Once you turn on the fogger, you are atomizing the disinfectant product and putting it into the air. The fog then settles into these areas and disinfects them – this procedure is particularly effective for treating areas that are difficult or impossible to get to, such as crevices and cracks, which cannot be fully disinfected solely by hand.
Sensitive electronic equipment and high impact areas that are touched frequently – desktops, keyboards, touchscreens, doors and doorknobs – also benefit from dry fogging disinfection.
What Are The Types of Fogging Disinfection?
In the past, physical elements such as sulfur, copper derivatives, alkalized acids, mercury and lead were used for disinfection. These elements were harmful to human beings, as they could interrupt the nervous system and brain function. Nowadays, the disinfectants contain biochemical and composite elements like hydrogen peroxide chlorine dioxide and titanium dioxide, which are far safer.
Regardless of whether your business is in a building or a factory, you can choose a fogging disinfection method provided by a qualified commercial cleaning service that suits your business’ specific disinfection needs.
Fogging disinfection varieties can include:
- Chemical fogging – Spraying chemical disinfectants manually on areas, in the form of fogs or mists. This type of fogging method is commonly used in the food industry.
- Vaporized hydrogen peroxide – The vaporized hydrogen peroxide is fumigated into your space through mobile systems or the fogger can be connected to outlets in your workspace and be released into the atmosphere. This form of disinfection is often used in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Ozone fogging – Very effective for eliminating odours (such as the lingering smoke smell from fires), as it deactivates the molecules that are causing that odour. In order to be effective as an antiviral in a commercial setting, a large quantity of ozone needs to be put into an area, which can be hazardous to humans. People must stay out of the treated area during the ozone fogging process.
- Chlorine dioxide – An environmentally safe gas that breaks down into harmless sodium salts during fogging. Before being injected into the room, the gas is first humidified and decontaminated, so that it can optimally disinfect the space.
- Ultraviolet (UV) light fogging – A proven microbial, blue ultraviolet light is used to kill harmful pathogens. UV light is used in water softening systems, for example, to eradicate harmful pathogens. It is a no-contact method and does not leave a residue. UV light fogging is not used in commercial settings.
- Titanium dioxide coating and UV light fogging – Titanium dioxide is a stable, non-toxic chemical used as a surface coating. In the fogging process, it is combined with UV light to reduce harmful pathogens on coated surfaces.
- Ionization – Air goes through ionizing tubes to create ions that attract airborne pathogens, effectively deactivating them and eliminating them from the air.
As you begin the fogging disinfection of your business, it is important that certain protocols are followed in order to ensure a safe, thoroughly disinfected environment.
Setting Yourself Up For Success With Disinfection Fogging
Fogging disinfection requires a three-step process. First, a contractor will clean your space with a cleaner to remove soil and debris. Secondly, they will manually treat the surface with disinfectant to deactivate the pathogen. And finally, comes disinfection fogging.
Fogging provides that extra layer of disinfection, where the contractor will use a fogger to disinfect the places and items that can’t be completely disinfected by hand, as well as doubly cover spots that were already reached.
However, before cleaning and disinfection can take place – you need to declutter your space. Decluttering gives contractors ready access to where you want the disinfection work done, allowing them to do their job properly.
Your contractors should also be clear about the scope of work for your business. A few questions to ask include:
- What area do you want to be disinfected?
- Do you require clearance or pathogen testing at the end of the disinfection process?
- Do you want a report at the end of the disinfection process, which speaks to the efficiency of the cleaning that was done?
Open, honest communication is key.
Lastly, whenever using a chemical disinfectant, it is important to read the safety data sheet (SDS) to better understand how and in what quantities to apply the disinfectant, what the dangers are in handling the chemical and what to do if there is unintentional exposure.
The Right Type of Disinfection For Your Business
In the face of a global pandemic, it is better to err on the side of caution when it comes to protecting your business and employees from destructive pathogens.
Dry fogging disinfection can provide that additional protective measure, which will help reduce risk and put your mind more at ease.
That being said, it is important to find the right environmental contractors for the job – professionals with integrity, credentials and the experience that you can trust.
Ferro Canada’s qualified contractors are able to safely clean, disinfect and provide fogging disinfection services for your business – removing harmful pathogens and keeping your employees safe.
In response to immense client demand, we have launched Certiclean, a commercial cleaning services division of Ferro Canada. Our team of professionals uses only commercial and hospital-grade cleaning products – whether we are cleaning an office, warehouse, school or healthcare facility. If a more critical issue arises, rest assured that our contractors are fully equipped to provide you with a complete HazMat response, safely removing harmful pathogens from your workplace.
Contact us today – we are here to help.
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