Critical reminders about cleaning and sanitizing

Guests and customers are more informed than ever about what adequate cleaning looks like. They want to see proper cleaning procedures being followed, be that routine cleaning or displays of good personal hygiene from staff.

In 2022, Tork was a proud sponsor of ServSafe’s National Food Safety Month content.* One of their messages was “Know Safe & Show Safe”, which is an idea that can be applied to all industries and isn’t just relevant to food service and production. In all customer and staff interactions, it’s vital to have the correct cleaning knowledge and to be able to demonstrate and apply it to your role. This doesn’t just keep everyone safe and healthy, but also helps colleagues and guests feel valued and cared for.

There’s always more to learn about proper cleaning, but all relevant team members should absolutely know and understand the three main rules of cleaning and sanitizing. These are simply that everyone should know what parts of their workplace need to be cleaned, who is responsible for that cleaning and how proper cleaning should be performed.

What are the core cleaning functions?

To understand what parts of your workplace need cleaning, it’s important to first learn about the three cleaning functions that will make up the core of your cleaning routine in your workplace. These functions are cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting. Each of these functions serve a specific purpose, which can broadly be summarized as:

Cleaning – Removes food, dirt and other potential health hazards from a surface
Sanitizing – Reduces the number of germs (dangerous bacteria, for example) on a surface
Disinfecting – Kills all germs on a surface

Who should clean and sanitize, and where?

Across different businesses, there will be specific areas that need cleaning at different times based on factors like usage and the number of people coming through a space. For example, in the food service industry all food-contact surfaces need to be cleaned and sanitized at these times: When switching to a different food (e.g. tenderizing raw chicken to chopping lettuce).

After any use
After handling different raw fruits and vegetables (e.g. between cutting melons and leafy greens)
Any time there is an interruption during a task
After four hours if kitchen tools are in constant use
At the end of the working day

This a great example of how in just one area of a food service business, staff need to be constantly aware of cleaning and sanitizing throughout the day, rather than just relying on a daily clean or a specialized cleaning team.

These complex cleaning areas are present across all industries, and the amount of cleaning required can feel overwhelming if not properly distributed between a team. Making a detailed floor plan can help you to break down these tasks, letting everyone know where and when they are responsible for cleaning. 

Make sure staff have the proper cleaning knowledge for their specific tasks with the Tork Clean Care ™ Program, which can help you understand the hygiene demands of your specific industry. This information can help you allocate and break down tasks between your colleagues, making training sessions much easier to manage.

How should cleaning and sanitizing be performed?

As mentioned before, different areas will need to be tackled with different cleaning functions to keep them hygienic. This thought process also applies to how you clean, as different areas might require the use of different tools and products (for example, when cleaning hard-to-reach areas). With that said, here’s a simple guide to the fundamentals of cleaning and sanitizing surfaces:

1. Remove hygiene hazards

Scrape or remove anything that could spread harmful microorganisms from a surface. Make sure you use the correct cleaning tool, like a wiper or cloth designed for the right purpose.

2. Wash the surface

Prepare the cleaning solution with an approved cleaner. Wash the surface with the correct cleaning tool for the task.

3. Rinse the surface

Rinse with clean water and the correct cleaning tool, like a cleaning cloth.

4. Sanitize the surface

Use the correct sanitizing solution and allow enough contact time with the surface.

This is by no means an extensive list of the ways to clean surfaces and is no replacement for proper training. In fact, training for all your staff involved with cleaning is the best way to help them ‘Know Safe’, and the first step towards helping them ‘Show Safe’.

Find out more

For a more detailed breakdown of how to clean surfaces in your specific industry, check out the cleaning checklists for your specific workplace setting:

If your workplace doesn't fall under these categories, please book a consultation to see how Tork can help your business. 

Secure the new hygiene standard with Tork

Let Tork help you meet the new hygiene expectations of your customers, with tailored advice for all industries. Make sure you have the right hygiene products to make your guests feel safe and confident in your business.

Consider upgrading to Tork Vision Cleaning

Tork Vision Cleaning makes use of real-time data to help you manage the service needs of your facility. This lets you ensure a high cleaning quality in your business and enables a more efficient way of working. Book a call to see how Tork can help you obtain high-quality cleaning while keeping costs low.

Reference

*https://www.foodsafetyfocus.com/national-food-safety-month-2022