When the call to deep clean a school and prepare it for Pre-K occupancy came in, Insurance Restoration Specialists, Inc. (IRS) was able to respond.
The school had been unused for several years and it had accumulated a lot of dust and the facility had to pass a state required hygiene inspection. IRS’s Thomas Licker is a Certified Environmental Infection Control Remediator (CEICR) and says that the major challenge was the amount of contents that needed to be addressed. The school had many items such as hard surface toys and desks that needed to be properly cleaned and disinfected prior to staging in a cleaned environment.
Cleaning procedures included the use HEPA Vacuums and a thymol based green cleaner and disinfectant with single use microfiber cloths. The solution is poured in a clean container. Microfiber cloth is then submerged into the solution to be sure the microfiber is properly soaked or what the industry refers to as “charged”. Each cloth is then wrung out and applied to surfaces or attached quick-cling mop head for cleaning ceilings walls and other surfaces. Upon applying a charged cloth to the surface, technicians are then checking it every 10 square feet or so for contamination. A change in color due to proteins indicates that the cloth requires a change and the used cloth is discarded. This single use method helps prevent cross-contamination and helps maintain the efficacy of the cleaning/disinfecting solution.
In order to validate the quality of the cleaning process, IRS utilized an ATP Luminometer. These devices have made their way from the food and health industry into the cleaning market. They check surface quality after the cleaning step for sanitation and can provide a real-time indication of how well the sanitation team is performing.
“The use of such instrumentation has provided us with assurance that our operating procedures for sanitation are effective” says Thomas. Using ATP testing has helped IRS in many situations in handling advanced sanitation in food processing areas, addressing infectious disease outbreaks and maintaining cleanroom production suites for pharmaceutical production suites.
ATP Luminometers are a fantastic tool as a measure of surface quality. They do not identify direct species of microorganisms but provide an indication of cleanliness prior to a final disinfection step. They are great for spot checking the cleaning crew and identifying areas needed a touch up.
IRS is the premier emergency response company in the Tri-State region. Established in 1985, IRS is uniquely qualified to handle any type of disaster, including oil and chemical spills, fire and floods, biohazards, environmental and infectious disease outbreaks. With a seasoned and professionally trained staff, Insurance Restoration Specialists, Inc. responds to over 1200 emergency events each year.
About Insurance Restoration Specialists, Inc.
Insurance Restoration Specialists, Inc. (IRS) is a premier provider of disaster recovery mitigation, environmental remediation, biohazard emergency response and HVAC inspection and cleaning in the New Jersey-Philadelphia-New York City area. IRS is certified by NADCA and have Certified Air Systems Cleaning Technicians and a Certified Ventilation System Inspector on staff.
IRS has been selected to provide disaster recovery services to members of the Educational Services Commission of NJ (ESCNJ), the largest co-op in the state service school districts, colleges, universities, housing authorities, and other county and state agencies throughout New Jersey.
New Jersey State approved Co-op # 65MCESCCPS
RFP # ESCNJ 17/18-34
Contract Dates: 11/16/17-11/15/20
