Maintaining church cleanliness is challenging, especially in the high-traffic areas of a church. In most cases, a church is always open to welcoming community members looking for various forms of spiritual connection. In addition to the traditional weekend service, most churches have staff in the building throughout the week and ongoing programs and groups that meet within the church walls. Maintaining cleanliness and disinfection is crucial in a public space with a lot of foot traffic.
While Covid-19 restrictions have relaxed somewhat, public buildings are still expected to elevate their cleanliness and disinfection procedures. Congregants might loosen their grip on cleanliness, jeopardizing their health. Like retail customers, congregants also prefer a germ-free space where they can express themselves. Regardless of your church’s size, church cleanliness should be a regular undertaking. To help you, here’s how to disinfect a church building.
Breakdown the Church Building
A church building has several parts with different surfaces, made up of various compositions that require unique cleaning strategies. To ensure effective disinfection, breakdown the church into typical sections, including:
- Church kitchen
- Classrooms and nurseries
- Altar and pulpit
- Fellowship hall
- Administrative offices
- Entrance and lobby
- Restrooms
- Library
- Sanctuary and nave
Create a Checklist/Church Cleaning and Disinfection Guide
A church disinfection guide highlights all the areas, sections, and surfaces of your church building. It also dictates how frequently the disinfection should occur and what cleaning materials the cleaners should use.
The good thing about a checklist, you can make it as granular and detailed as you want. However, make it easy to understand in case other cleaners use it. A disinfection guide ensures your work remains organized and all assignments are handled effectively.
Gather Your EPA-Approved Cleaning Products
The cleaning industry in the US is vast (forecast to hit $74 billion as 2022 ends), with over 400 manufacturers of cleaning and disinfection solutions. Whether you are an expert in cleaning or not, picking the right disinfecting solutions from such a vast pool can be painstaking. There’s also a chance of getting ineffective products.
That’s why EPA compiled cleaning and disinfection products that are effective against numerous pathogens, especially the Coronavirus. Using these products also ensures your safety and that of the environment.
Related: Planning Annual Project Work for Church and School Cleaning
Clean Before Disinfection
Before you commence disinfection, cleaning the entire church building is best. This removes dust, dirt, crumbs, residues, or foreign material. You can clean using clean water, soap, or cleaning agent and thoroughly rinse. Removing all these removes a chunk of harmful organisms before disinfection.
Additionally, these foreign materials act as barriers preventing the disinfectant solution from getting to the surface, making it less effective. When you clean the surface first, it makes disinfection easy, efficient, and effective. You’ll also give the church building a sparkling, tidy look.
Time to Sanitize and Disinfect
Now that all areas and surfaces are clean and dry, you can disinfect them. This step also includes identifying the areas and surfaces that receive the most traffic and take more time there.
There are several disinfection technologies you can use to make your work easy and efficient:
- The standard disinfection sprayer
- Electrostatic sprayers
- UV light
- Foggers
The latter three devices aren’t EPA registered. However, ensure you use EPA-registered disinfectants for the best results. Use your church disinfection guide to ensure you get to all surfaces and sections accordingly.
Disinfect the Hymnals and Bibles
These two are vital parts and are common in most churches. While some congregants carry their bibles and hymn books, the church supplies to congregants without. They are among the most touched items in a church and should be cleaned regularly for proper maintenance to avoid damage.
These items are delicate so use a clean, soft cloth or paper towel. Spray disinfectant on the fabric and wipe down the books individually. You can use a disinfectant spray designed for leather for covers and books. Repeat the process a few times to eliminate any residual germs.
Add Hand Sanitiser Stations
Having hand sanitizer available is a great way to keep people healthy. It’s easy to use and inexpensive, plus it’s easy to store and transport. You can put it in the bathrooms or near the entrance so people can use it when they enter your church building.
This will encourage them to clean their hands before touching anything in the building and help prevent germs from spreading around your church.
Outsourcing Church Disinfection Services
A church building is a beehive of activities hosting various events; concerts, charity events, weddings, burials, family and community gatherings, and even emergency shelters. As a church leader, you can’t overlook cleanliness and disinfection for a place that receives such amounts of human traffic.
Some churches have in-house cleaners or rely on or supplement cleaning using volunteer cleaners. While they are effective in cleaning, disinfection might be different. Unlike routine cleaning, disinfection involves using chemicals and specialized equipment to eliminate germs, pathogens, and other harmful disease-causing organisms.
That’s why to ensure everyone who visits your church stays protected, consider outsourcing professional disinfection services for proper disinfection.
Related: Is it Worth it to Hire a Professional Cleaning Company for Your Church?
Benefits of Outsourcing Church Disinfection Facilities
Knowing how to disinfect a church isn’t enough. There are several processes and tasks needed to ensure proper church disinfection.
A professional church disinfection team is your best option because:
Conduct an Effective and Successful Disinfection
Basic cleaning mainly involves using water, soaps, and cleaning agents. Cleaning doesn’t achieve much in eliminating harmful organisms. On the other hand, disinfection involves using specialized chemicals, cleaning agents, and equipment to kill germs.
A professional disinfection tea is trained ad skilled to handle these chemicals and equipment to give a bang-up job. This team conducts all disinfection processes within manufacturers, CDC, and OSHA’s safety guidelines.
Follow COVID-19 Disinfection Protocols
The global pandemic heightened the public’s sense of cleanliness and sanitization. To curb the spread of the virus, various agencies, including the CDC, compiled comprehensive disinfection guides for churches to follow. A few years later, the Covid-19 restrictions have become less strict, and people aren’t as keen on maintaining high standards of cleanliness.
A professional disinfection company understands the risk of disregarding these high cleanliness standards. These teams still follow the CDC church disinfection and cleanliness guidelines to protect your congregants and visitors.
Cost-effectiveness
You must purchase cleaning supplies and equipment for your cleaners, whether in-house or by volunteers. You’ll also be in charge of costs, training, and other processes. These costs might eat away at your church’s budget, especially if you don’t have enough funding.
A professional disinfection company is in charge of everything; all costs, staff training, supplies, and other responsibilities. They are also affordable, ensuring you maintain your church’s budget and that all church activities go smoothly.
More Time
With all the activities in your church, you already have your hands full. You shouldn’t have to worry about disinfection matters. An experienced and skilled professional disinfection team does their job fast and efficiently, saving you resources and time. Now, you have more time to focus on other church matters and be more productive.
Gain Peace of Mind
Most churches are usually open throughout the week and host many people. It’s easy to worry about the health and safety of all these people. In a time when the public has its guard down on strict cleanliness regiments, there’s a high risk of contracting harmful organisms.
Let a professional disinfection team eliminate these organisms from your church. Protect your congregants, visitors, and the general public, but most importantly, gain peace of mind.
Get Church Disinfection From the Professionals
Cleanliness and disinfection are crucial for an institution that regularly hosts people and events. While you know how to disinfect a church, leaving it to professionals for better results is best. DTK Facility Services regularly trains and updates its church disinfection manual to ensure our experts are always up to the task. We are mindful of your church building and congregants, so we work per your schedule. We’ll conduct a thorough church building inspection to give a detailed service sheet based on your specific disinfection needs. To get a personalized quote, get in touch with us today.