Protection and hygiene of cleaning equipment: how do our workers protect themselves?

Protection and hygiene of cleaning equipment: how do our workers protect themselves?

1. How should a cleaning worker protect himself?
2. What elements make up the equipment of a cleaning worker?
3. Why is cleaning PPE single-use?

When carrying out professional cleaning, whether general or special, it is essential to guarantee the hygiene and protection of the professional cleaning staff who are going to carry out the work, especially in environments potentially contaminated with Covid-19. In this article, we tell you what the individual protection equipment of SCS Group Integrated Services cleaners comprises.

How should a cleaning worker protect himself?

Considering the correct prevention of occupational hazards, the risk and hygiene protection measures of a worker in the cleaning sector are, mostly, barrier measures aimed at protecting the worker’s body against potentially aggressive external agents. , such as industrial cleaning products. Disposable gowns, leggings, or gloves are essential elements. In addition, especially in aseptic or especially problematic environments, such as nursing homes, health centers, or food spaces, it is necessary to implement hygiene measures, such as disposable gloves and caps, which prevent the worker himself from “contaminating” the space on which he is. Performing the intervention.

 What elements make up the equipment of a cleaning worker?

With cleaning, whether it is a special cleaning (traumatic, post-fire, after a work or reform) or periodic basic cleaning, in a home or office, all our workers have basic equipment that comprises the following items:

• Single-use gown: it fulfills the double function of protecting the worker’s clothing, both from the cleaning products used and from the dirt in the space, and also unifying the image of the technicians who make up the team.
• Safety glasses: in polluted environments or if toxic or especially strong products that can emit irritating vapors are used.
• Gloves: essential to protect the skin from the constant attacks of chemical products used in cleaning.
• Single-use cap: it has more to do with hygiene than with worker protection. It prevents hair from falling on the face. While preventing the intervened space from being contaminated with the worker’s hair is especially important in aseptic environments.
• Leggings over the shoes prevent the clean space from being contaminated with dirt from the outside, besides protecting the footwear from splashes and dirt from the space.
• Single-use mask: essential to protect and protect yourself from Covid-19. They already used it before the pandemic to protect themselves from toxic vapors with particularly strong cleaning products.

Why is cleaning PPE single-use?

In the cleaning sector, as in others, such as food, it is common for workers’ protection and hygiene equipment to be single use, for two reasons:

• Hygiene: single-use garments are opened immediately before use, which ensures that they are completely clean and sanitized.
• Safety: Highly polluted environments and the toxic products used to sanitize them can be corrosive and damage barrier garment fabrics. By disposing of them after each use, we ensure the worker can have garments in perfect condition before each intervention.