Having long provided emergency damage restoration and cleanup services to businesses and homes, Servpro in Elk Grove Village was ready to respond when the coronavirus emerged.

“We already do mold remediation and cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting after fires, flooding and biohazard incidents, so there wasn’t much we had to do to retool,” said Elliott Etheredge, President.

However, since the virus is unique in how easily it transmits, the company has developed protocols that go beyond Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards. “We disinfect high-risk, high-touch surfaces with a disinfectant and fog the facility with an antimicrobial,” Etheredge adds.

In addition to preemptive cleaning, Servpro also advises companies on how to prepare for the day they may have a confirmed coronavirus case and help make cleanup easier, less costly and more effective.

“If you have 100 square feet of clean up, and you don’t know where an infected person spent time, that makes it more difficult,” Etheredge says. “Being able to determine what the exposure footprint looks like makes the situation a lot easier to deal with. If you can say, ‘This is their entrance and where they work,’ then we can focus on that high-risk area—maybe a 50,000-square-foot footprint instead of twice that.”

Servpro’s top tips for reducing coronavirus spread:

• Wear masks and maintain at least 6 feet of distance between individuals.
  
  
• Assign employees to small work groups, or pods, to limit contact with other staff and minimize movement through the facility. Also limit everyone to using only one facility entrance/exit.
• Restrict employee access to common areas such as break rooms and restrooms, where there can be higher risk of transmission.
• Establish a regular preventative cleaning protocol.

Etheredge says he’s surprised by how many business owners attempt to handle their own clean-up after an outbreak—or don’t outsource clean-up to a reputable company.

“Many have put up a shingle saying they know how to do this kind of cleaning, but they aren’t using the right protocols or products,” he says.

Pittco Architectural Metals and Active Glass, located at 1530 Landmeier Road, has been using Servpro for preventive cleanings since the pandemic started.

“We wanted to be proactive,” says Cheryl K. Woicik, Human Resource Manager. “We wanted everybody here to be comfortable that we were taking precautions. I live in the Village and had seen Servpro, so we reached out to them. They’re coming in every 2-3 weeks and we may increase that as we get into flu season.”

Woicik says additional new measures include installing clear plastic barriers in the reception area, touchless hand towel dispensers in the washrooms and kitchen, as well as hand sanitizing stations and more. “Servpro had lots of ideas,” she says. “So far, we haven’t had any positive coronavirus cases.”

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