The most religiously diverse location in the world is New York City. This is where 83% of the population is affiliated with a religious organization.
The city has around 2,000 churches and 4,000 informal worship locations. New York City is also home to more than 1,000 synagogues, and over 100 mosques. There was a time when a church custodian could perform all the necessary cleaning in a church. The year 2020 has changed that reality. A professional Church cleaning service is the perfect answer to keeping your parishioners safe.
Keep reading for some great tips on keeping your place of worship clean. We’ll share what you need to do to make sure it is properly disinfected.
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The Difference Between Cleaning and Disinfecting
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it is now necessary to not only clean, but also disinfect our places of worship. Most custodians know how to keep a church clean. They do not know what is necessary to properly disinfect against coronavirus. Cleaning surfaces with soap or detergent and water removes germs from the surface. Washing does not always kill germs, it just reduces their number. There is a reduction in the risk of infection, but the possibility is not eliminated. The procedure needed to disinfect does not always clean a dirty surface, but it does kill germs. Keeping your church safe is a two-step process of cleaning and then disinfecting that must be done frequently.
The coronavirus can survive on surfaces for extended periods of time, which vary with the surface type. For instance:
- COVID-19 on stainless steel and plastic can remain for a week
- COVID-19 on glass can remain for about four days
- COVID-19 on copper can remain for about four hours
Other areas of contamination include church pews, rugs, carpeting, floors, desks, bibles, paperwork, and more.
How often your church needs to undergo a disinfecting process depends on how often people use the facility. If it is staff with everyone wearing a mask, washing their hands regularly, and practicing social distancing then weekly disinfection should be sufficient. Having your church open to the public places you at a higher risk of contamination. Church and Sunday school are typically held once a week. Activities like adult bible study, Awana, and Catechism through the week increase contamination. Disinfecting on a daily basis or several times a week may be necessary.
Church Cleaning Tips
Keeping your church looking clean, neat, and properly disinfected can be time-consuming. It is important to make sure the person responsible for maintaining the facility is familiar with proper techniques.
1. Pinpoint the Heavy Usage Areas
Walking through your church and making a list of the places people frequently visit is a great way to start. For each area note the number of people that use the area and on what days of the week they are present. Include information on the types of surfaces people come into contact with. Different cleaning and disinfecting steps are necessary for carpeting, plastic storage tubs, hardwood floors, church pews, etc. Your list will help you determine how often cleaning and disinfecting is necessary. Now think about how often your custodian is available to perform proper cleaning and disinfecting.
Is it something they can handle? Do you need professional COVID-19 church cleaning services to keep everyone safe?
2. Church Pew Care
Prior to 2020 maintenance of church pews was easy. Just a quick dusting and some quality furniture polish kept them looking clean and neat for services. Occasionally some additional maintenance is needed:
- Spills—When a child’s drink box or an adult’s coffee accidentally tips leaving a mess, Murphy’s Oil Soap gets the spill cleaned quickly and easily
- Scratches—surface scratches happen, and spraying Schotts Liquid Gold on a cloth and rubbing usually makes it disappear and if not using a MinWax Stain Pencil may be necessary
- Polishing—Wiping all surfaces with furniture polish, including under the pews, at least every six months will keep the wood in top condition
If you are unsure how to protect the wood surface of your church pews while disinfecting, you will want to call a Christian cleaning service. They will make sure the procedure is performed in a manner that protects your parishioners from infection and your wood from damage.
3. Carpet Care
Carpeting is frequently found in Sunday school classrooms and nursery areas. Normal cleaning is easy with a vacuum and a spot remover product for any spills. The longer a stain is on the carpet, the harder it will be to remove. When using a solvent for spot removal, look for The Carpet and Rug Institute of America’s approval. You may also try to remove the stain applying 3% hydrogen peroxide, waiting for one hour, and then blotting the area to lift the stain. While this is sufficient for a quick touch-up, you want to make sure these areas where youngsters are playing are kept spotlessly clean and disinfected. That is where a professional cleaning service gets the job done right.
ProCleanings Company uses steam cleaning, bonnet cleaning, spot cleaning, and more to keep your church looking its best. They can keep your carpeting, hardwood, or linoleum floor surfaces clean and will apply disinfectant or sanitizer as appropriate.
4. Public Restrooms
This is an area in any public facility that gets a lot of use and is prone to bacteria. It is necessary to clean and disinfect the fixtures, countertops, partition walls, doors, toilets, and urinals. Don’t forget to clean the towel dispensers, toilet paper holders, sanitary disposal bins, and baby changing stations. The trash bins throughout the church should be emptied, washed, and disinfected, both inside and out. Keep in mind that trash bins in restrooms may contain ordinary hand towels plus used baby wipes, dirty diapers, and more.
5. Using the Proper Chemicals
Your favorite cleaning products may not disinfect sufficiently to protect against the coronavirus. Bleach is popular for disinfecting, and Clorox has an entire website page devoted to coronavirus disinfecting with bleach.
When disinfecting you must follow the product guidelines. There are instructions for mixing the proper ratio of water and bleach, based on the surface you are disinfecting. You must also follow the proper contact time to kill COVID-19. There is a wide variety of disinfectants on the market, and it is important to make sure you read and follow the labels carefully. Most products recommend using protective eyewear, face shields, gloves, and clothing to protect your own body from the chemicals.
It is important to make sure there is a clear understanding of what chemicals can and cannot be mixed when cleaning and disinfecting. For example, deadly mixtures can result when you mix bleach with other popular cleaning items:
- the mixture of bleach and vinegar produces a toxic chlorine gas
- the mixture of ammonia with bleach creates a deadly chloramine gas
- the mixture of bleach and rubbing alcohol created chloroform
Bleach should only ever be mixed with water, but in an attempt to get something clean or disinfected, people will sometimes make deadly mistakes.
Timing is Important
When performing a disinfecting procedure it is important to strictly follow the timing provided on the product. The process for Clorox COVID-19 states that the cleaner must be on the surface for a minimum of five minutes before removing, rinsing, and drying. If the church custodian does a quick wipe down and doesn’t wait the proper time frame, the surface is not safe.
Another timing error is if the product calls for the chemical to be actively rubbed into the surface to make sure it penetrates all areas, but instead the custodian sprays and walks away to let it sit. The effort is incomplete and the surface is not disinfected.
Why You Need a Professional Church Cleaning Service
Church services put your congregation into close quarters. The best way to keep everyone safe is to hire a professional church cleaning service. They will make sure all your windows, floors, and high-touch areas are clean and disinfected.
ProCleanings Company provides a 100% satisfaction guarantee. They use eco-friendly cleaning methods, providing you with:
- Providing their own cleaning equipment and cleaning products
- They clean your church’s air, capturing dust and irritants from the air
- Cost-friendly and extensive cleaning
- Disinfecting of most-touched areas
- Service customized to fit your needs
- They use environmentally friendly chemicals
Conducting regular inspections to make sure the professionals working at your church are meeting your cleaning expectations and the company objectives are two of their steps to providing excellent customer service.
With 7 years of experience in professional cleaning, ProCleanings Company will disinfect your church against SARS-COV-2 and COVID-19 using the latest technology:
- Backpack Sprayers—effective, fast application for large areas
- Fogging—works for airborne contamination
- Electrostatic Sprayers—disinfectant is able to bond to surfaces using a molecular ionic tech process
OSHA and CDC compliant, ProCleaning Company employees are fully trained in proper cleaning and disinfecting procedures. Employees wear PPE when at your facility. They follow strict guidelines on social distancing and take all steps necessary to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
Check Cleaning and Disinfecting Off Your List
In the era of COVID-19 keeping your church clean and virus free is a time-consuming challenge. Check cleaning and disinfecting off your list by contacting a professional Church cleaning service. It is easy to get a quote from a business that services churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. ProCleanings Company is a minority-owned business with a focus on helping the community by hiring employees from disadvantaged areas. Their hard-working staff of skilled professionals will keep your church clean and disinfected and your congregation safe.
Call ProCleaning Company today at 888-906-9776 or submit a question about services using the online form.