Why A Visit From Alpine Maids is Safer Than Ever

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Updated 11/22/2020

Over here at Alpine Maids, we have been involved with Cleaning for A Reason since day one. For almost six years now immunocompromised patients have been trusting us to keep their homes safe and germ-free. The precautions that everybody is taking right now have been a part of everyday life for our clients that are immunocompromised, and we have the experience and knowledge to help. Moving forward, we have increased our precautions and training so that all of our cleans are completed to even higher standards than what would be for our clients undergoing cancer treatment.  To date we have has zero transmission of COVID and zero outbreaks and expect that our training, planning, and policies will continue this trend.

Is it safe to have Alpine Maids in my home?

In a word. Yes. Compared to any other job, our professional cleaning technicians have minimal social interaction with the public, and we have implemented strict social distancing policies that limit their contact with one another and the public at large.  All of our staff receive GBAC training on how to properly dawn and use the PPE that we wear in every home in addition to the proper cleaning techniques used in the cleaning management of infectious diseases.  Here is our certification.  We are the only house cleaning service in Denver to be GBAC certified, and we are very proud of this feat.

  1. Our techs will be wearing masks and gloves in every home that they clean. 
  2. They will disinfect their hands with an alcohol-based sanitizer before entering your home.
  3. They will disinfect the things they touch before entering your home (mop handles, vacuum handles, tote handles, etc.).
  4. As always, all towels used in your home will be clean and sanitized.  If you would like us to use your towels, we can recommend a source or sell you some of our brand new stock.  If you wish, we can also sell you some of our mopheads.

Our staff will treat all the solid surfaces of your home with Ecolab Peroxide Cleaner and Disinfectant (EPA Registration #: 1677-238).  This product will kill COVID in 1 minute vs up to 4 minutes for products like Lysol. As an extra precaution, we can add our Virus Buster clean to ensure that we kill 99.9999% of all pathogens. Our processes will make your home safer, and reduce the risk of exposure from pathogens that may have been introduced to your home from outside sources such as social interactions, deliveries, and more.

What additional safety measures have you taken?

  • By now, we have all heard stories of businesses that have forced employees to come to work sick. We encourage you to ask our staff about this as we are not one of those businesses. The most important measure we have in place is that we are voluntarily participating in EFMLA to give all of our staff 2 weeks of worry-free paid sick leave (on top of their usual PTO of which they can accrue up to 2 weeks), and we are encouraging them to use this and seek a COVID test–no questions asked–if they have even the slightest concern. We are sure that by providing our techs worry-free paid leave that they are encouraged to stay home and stay safe should they be concerned.
  • We now have zero in-person contact with all full-time field staff. They pick up supplies 1 at a time in the morning as needed. All meetings, training, and communication is done virtually. Unlike a restaurant or retail setting, we have no need to contact each other.
  • All employees fill out a health questionnaire before each shift begins. If they in any way are concerned, we are allowing them to use their sick leave while they test for COVID.
  • If an employee is not well or someone in their care is not well, they know we cannot have them at work, regardless of how minor the symptoms might be. Their job is secure, and they will be paid from their EFMLA sick leave and PTO.
  • We are asking the same of all of our clients. If they are not well in any way let us know and not have us visit. We are not cleaning any spaces that have had suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19, but in addition, are limiting our ability to serve anyone who has been ill in the past 14 days. We have eliminated any cancellation policies at this time if they stem from illness. Should our techs be exposed to anybody with COVID, we immediately pull them off the job for a test and place them on paid leave.
  • We have implemented strict social distancing policies, and most of our staff are now working remotely as solo cleaners, again reducing their interaction with one another and the public at large. This means that we will only be interacting with a MAXIMUM of 4 homes per day. Usually, we clean 2-3 in full PPE. We have secured a large supply of personal protective equipment for our staff including hand sanitizers, gloves, and masks.

What about your tools and equipment?

Only clean tools that have been disinfected are used in your home. We send our teams with a clean and disinfected set of tools for each house. We sanitize the vacuum between homes as well.

Our microfiber and mop pads are sanitized each day.  We have always done this and will soon be releasing videos of all of our protective measures for you to see. Our microfibers are placed into soft-sided bags that do not make a good home for microbes.  Once used in your home, we are placing them in plastic bags that are tied off at our staging area outside your door and removed from circulation. All hard equipment will be sanitized before entering.  During these times, we would be happy to use your vacuums, mops, and supplies at your request.  Our vacuums have always been HEPA filtered and are certified to remove airborne pathogens from your home.

Are you cleaning spaces with confirmed Covid-19 cases?

No. We will not serve any homes or spaces with confirmed Covid-19 cases at this time.  Current guidance is that it is safe to do so 14 days after the last symptoms have passed, but in an abundance of caution, we are not taking any jobs of that nature at this time. If that changes, the techs who perform those cleaning jobs will not continue to perform maintenance cleanings for regularly scheduled properties.

Do the products you use to kill the Covid-19 coronavirus?

As a final step in our cleaning process, we are using Ecolab Peroxide Cleaner and Disinfectant (EPA Registration #: 1677-238) along with Clorox Healthcare Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide Wipes which are both certified to kill emerging pathogens like the Covid-19 coronavirus in 1 minute. Under normal circumstances, we have been an all green non-toxic cleaning company.  While our normal products do naturally disinfect, they do not do so quickly enough, and we cannot be 100% certain that we are disinfecting each and every surface.  In normal times, we believe that would be enough. But in an abundance of caution, we have added the disinfectant to make sure that 99.9999% of all pathogens are killed and removed.

Why is cleaning important right now?

When a surface is soiled or dirty, it provides a perfect breeding ground for pathogens to adhere to and thrive. A thoroughly cleaned surface makes it much harder for a pathogen like the Covid-19 to adhere to. Right now we know that it likes metals, plastics, and solid non-porous surfaces best. It does not adhere well to vertical surfaces but settles and remains on horizontal surfaces for up to 3 days depending on the type of surface. Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces regularly is an important deterrent to the incidental spread of Covid-19.

In addition to regularly scheduled maintenance cleanings, we are also now offering a low-cost disinfection option that you can utilize between full cleaning visits. We have this priced as low as $35 per visit, so you could have us disinfect your home in Denver and surrounding areas as frequently as possible without racking up the cost to clean as well. This means if we are only coming out monthly, we can swing by and disinfect your home. Please reach out if you are already a recurring customer and interested in this service.