BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — While shoppers stock up on cleaning products, cleaning service companies feel COVID-19's impact, too.
The women of Simply Maid in Bartlesville tweaked their cleaning style -- hand-washing before and throughout cleaning services.
Simply Maid owner, Stephanie Ramsey says, "Because we wanted to make sure we're not bringing any viruses in with us."
They also went from using all-natural cleaners to something stronger – bleach -- hitting all the hot spots:
Handles, switches, and anything frequently touched.
Ramsey says, "You have to have that chemical sit, and people don't think about that -- that dwell time."
Dwell time is also known as contact time or kill time. It prevents the spread of diseases.
The EPA defines dwell time as "the amount of time a sanitizer or disinfectant must be in contact with the surface, and remain wet, in order to achieve the product's advertised kill rate." That can mean anywhere between two to 10 minutes before wiping.
The virus is also doing a wipe-out. Ramsey thought she had a boost in business.
“Last week and the beginning of this week, it was a lot busier. Now, it's almost like it has…"
The phone was quiet Thursday, except for one cancellation.
"We had a lot more phone calls. Now, the clients are starting to get scared."
Ramsey is scared too.
"I'm a small business. I have 10 employees that I’ve got to make sure they get a paycheck."
Ramsey says she is getting by with regulars but hopes those do not fall through either.
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