COVID-19 Guidelines for Clients

The Government has made clear that cleaners are still allowed to operate under Tier 4 restrictions, however, the safety of our clients and cleaners is our primary concern so we’ve put together this guide to explain the measures we’re taking to help stop the spread of the coronavirus and how you can help us in doing so.

Transmission from home to home

Due to the nature of our work, we often travel from home to home, therefore we have stringent measures in place to ensure that the chance of carrying the virus (and other pathogens) from one household to another is minimised as much as possible.

Hand Hygiene

All of our cleaners are required to carry hand sanitiser with them at all times, which will be used before and after entering each clients’ home. Cleaners who use public transport are also required to sanitise their hands before and after travelling, and for those who drive, they must regularly sanitise their steering wheel, gear stick, door handles etc.

Cleaning Materials

During our cleaning routines, we have designated cloths (etc) for high-risk/high-touch areas such as door handles, light switches etc which are then stored in a separate ‘dirties’ bag so that any pathogens are not transferred around your home and on to other homes. This is in addition to our usual high- and low-risk cleaning materials such as separate cloths for toilets to sinks and showers to dining tables etc.

We have a strict policy in place of single use cleaning materials such as cloths, sponges etc in any given household. None of the materials we use within your home will have been used elsewhere without being fully washed and sanitised.

Uniform/Clothing

While it is impracticable for our cleaners to wear freshly laundered clothes for each household. We do require that any uniform or clothing is worn for no more than one day, or for a maximum of 2 households without being changed for clean clothes.

Precautions within the home

Face Coverings

Our cleaners will always wear face coverings when entering your home. If you are present during the clean we would also ask that you wear a face covering yourself if you are able to do so. If you’re unable to wear a face covering, our cleaners may ask that you vacate the premises for the duration of the clean; if you’re unwilling or unable to do so then we can not guarantee that we will be able to carry out the clean. While we understand that people’s situations may vary and limit their ability to comply with these measures, the safety of our cleaners and clients, as well as our role in helping to stop the spread of this virus, is our primary concern.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing and rely on lip reading, facial expressions and clear sound to communicate please let us know as soon as possible before the visit so that we can ensure full, proper communication can be made as well as ensuring that all parties are as protected as possible.

Social Distancing

While this may be difficult, especially within smaller properties, we would ask that you try to maintain a good distance between members of your household and our cleaners. This is vitally important, as despite the additional safety measures in place to avoid spreading from surface to surface and home to home, the primary method of transmission remains person-to-person.

For our regular clients, we would encourage you to develop a routine with your cleaner whereby you each rotate around the property; for example, you could remain in a bedroom while the cleaner cleans the lounge, and rotate accordingly.

Ventilation

When cleaning takes place while houses are occupied, or if a house has been occupied in the 48 hours prior to the booking, we’d ask that adequate ventilation is provided before and during the cleaning process. While this may be uncomfortable, especially during the winter months, proper ventilation has been proven to reduce the spread of the virus and we therefore highly recommend windows are opened around the time of the clean, even if just for a few minutes.

Once again, although disabilities and individual circumstances may mean you’re unable or unwilling to comply with this, this will be considered, however it will be of the discretion of our cleaners whether they are able to provide the service.

Cleaning Practices

Our cleaners have been provided with additional training on best practices to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in line with government guidelines and recommendations set by WHO.

While we do our best to ensure that our cleaning practices produce as little waste as possible, and have the lowest impact on our environment as we can, during this time there may be situations where it is more appropriate to use disposable materials.

We do, however, maintain that environmentally friendly, ‘old-fashioned’ cleaning products and methods are just as, if not more, effective at removing pathogens as dangerous alternatives, and we will still never use toxic chemicals within your home.

Communication and Support

If you have any issues, questions or concerns please get in touch via email to info@greencleanhove.com, via live chat on our website (greencleanhove.com) or Facebook or by calling us on 01273 952700.

Disruption in Service

During the ongoing and ever-changing nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, it may mean a slight disruption in service to some clients. Where possible, we will always try to ensure that alternative arrangements are made but would politely ask all of our clients to allow us some leeway and understanding if our services are not able to operate as usual.

We’re extremely fortunate to be able to operate during even the highest tiers of restrictions, but it is our moral obligation to ensure that we operate as safely as possible, and sometimes this may mean that changes have to be made to ensure the wellbeing of cleaners and our clients.

If any changes to service are expected, we will let you know as soon as possible and will do all we can to continue the service as usual.

Reporting Symptoms and Contact

If you, or any member of your household has had symptoms of COVID-19 or has been in contact with anyone with a confirmed case of COVID-19 it is imperative that you inform us as soon as possible by emailing info@greencleanhove.com.

More information on working safely within people’s homes can be found on the Government’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/homes