At Tara’s Tidy Houses, LLC, our hearts go out to the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. While the times are uncertain, you can be sure that we are dedicated to protecting your home, school, or office the best we can. Now more than ever it is important to practice good hygiene and effective cleaning and disinfecting practices. We are constantly collecting information from the CDC and EPA to inform you on how to stay safe during this time. We have also added more services to directly combat viruses in our community.
What is the best way to protect against the coronavirus?
The CDC, the World Health Organization, and other health organizations have informed the public that both washing one's hands and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces daily are key in preventing the spread of Covid-19.
The CDC recommends the following hand washing procedure:
Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Our team frequently washed their hands with soap and water between tasks and homes.
The current advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to get into a two-step cleaning and disinfecting routine in schools, workplaces, and homes. If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection. We use EPA-approved disinfecting techniques which have been shown to reduce germs by 99.9%.
How do I properly disinfect my home, office, or school?
Researchers have found that the novel coronavirus is capable of living on surfaces such as cardboard for 24 hours, but up to two or three days on plastic and stainless steel. This is why disinfecting is a must!
For disinfection, diluted household bleach solutions, alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol, and most common EPA-registered household disinfectants should be effective. When items cannot be cleaned using detergents or laundered steam cleaning should be used. Our team has upgraded to using commercial-grade steam cleaning products to ensure that your home, school, or office is protected from germs, viruses, and bacteria.
The extremely high temperature of steam vapor over any surface instantly kills 99.9% of bacteria, germs, and viruses. The Environmental Protection Agency considers steam disinfecting an extremely effective, quick, chemical-free way to disinfect surfaces. Steam cleaning gives you a better, more environmentally-friendly way to protect yourself and people around you from nasty germs and viruses.
What surfaces have the most bacteria and viruses?
Some studies on other coronaviruses, including SARS and MERS, found they can survive on metal, glass, and plastic for as long as nine days unless they are properly disinfected
Coronaviruses are well known to be particularly resilient in terms of where they can survive -- is there more we could be doing to give our homes a really deep clean? Yes! The solution is with steam vapor cleaning -- an effective, green way to protect your space against bacteria and viruses.
Bacteria are sometimes able to form dense mats called biofilm that form a protective environment for germs. This is essentially a protective shell that increases their ability to survive and grow. Biofilm is similar to dental plaque. This biofilm develops within an hour. Once formed, the bacteria within biofilms are up to 1000 times more resistant to disinfectants than the same bacteria that are not part of a biofilm. Bleach only kills a small percentage of the bacteria. Steam vapor has been shown to penetrate the biofilm ridding your environment of the illness-causing germs.
What are we doing to help?
Here at Tara’s Tidy Houses, LLC, we are determined to maintain the health of our community through effective, safe methods. We’re offering you the peace of mind knowing that your home, office, or school and loved ones stay healthy through these tough times. We are closely monitoring national, state and local health agencies for the most recent developments and following the guidance of government and public health officials.
For that reason, we have added steam cleaning to our list of services. This effective, green cleaning method kills 99.9% of germs, bacteria, and viruses using 335-degree steam without damaging any surfaces. We only use top-notch products because your health and safety is important to us. Let us keep your family, employees, and community safe!
FAQs
Does steam cleaning protect against anything else?
Yes! Steam vapor cleaning effectively rids your space of bacteria, viruses, most mold and mildew, dust mites, bed bugs, and fleas.
Why don't you just scrub with soap and a sponge?
Simply put, steam is more effective. The heat combined with very fine water particles penetrates through a surface's pores - whatever the surface. This proven process thoroughly removes contaminants without exposing you to harmful chemicals.
What can you clean with your vapor steam cleaner?
Flooring: sealed wood flooring, tile, linoleum, grout, carpet (some models), and vinyl
Bathrooms: fixtures, porcelain, shower doors, sinks, countertops, tile, group, mirrors, tubs, and even the toilet Industrial Kitchens: cleans and sanitizes food service and preparation areas
Kitchen: can clean stainless steel appliances and surfaces without all the special chemical polishing agents, dissolves greases on ovens, stovetops, and burners with ease, restores shine and removes wax build-up, and can clean refrigerators, freezers, coolers, and microwaves.
Living Room/Bedrooms: Upholstered furniture, mattresses, blinds, and curtains. It can also be used to disinfect children’s toys so germs aren’t passed around.
Automotive: deep cleans and freshens fabrics, easily cleans vinyl, leather, and cloth, eliminates odors from pets, smoking, molds and mildews, cleans hard to reach places like dashboards, vents, armrests, and cup holders, and removes wax and other compounds from chrome, moldings, and bumpers.