The practices learned from medical cleaning can easily be transferred into other environments. Following a cleaning order of operations like starting from the entrance door and working clockwise, can and should be done in any room, not just a hospital patient room. Taking universal precautions when encountering blood on the floor should happen whether in a hospital or in an office break room. Following product labels, reading material safety data sheets (MSDS), and having up to date employer training all serve a professional cleaner no matter what environment they are cleaning. Locate a cleaning company that implements proper cleaning practices by visiting the IJCSA Janitorial Service Directory.

Other medical cleaning practices that can be implemented in residential and commercial environments include never pushing down on trash, washing your hands, and changing gloves when moving to a different area to clean. And just as medical cleaners need to consider what disinfectants can be harmful to patients and medical equipment, they need to consider what disinfectants will be harmful to office workers or a residents belongings.

A professional cleaner’s job is to protect occupants in an environment by controlling the spread of harmful organisms. When germs are controlled, less workers will have to call out sick, stress levels will be lowered, and workers will be happier and more productive.

Cleaning and disinfecting properly can be the difference between somebody picking up a life-threatening infection and not. Cleaning is the necessary first step of any sterilization or disinfection process. “Cleaning is a form of decontamination that renders the environmental surface safe to handle or use by removing organic matter, salts, and visible soils, all of which interfere with microbial inactivation” (CDC, 2024). And disinfecting is “to cleanse by destroying, inactivating, or significantly reducing the concentration of pathogenic agents” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). The disinfecting solution needs to be made with the right water to chemical ratio, and the solution must maintain a certain contact time with the surface to be effective.  If you want to locate a cleaning company that follows proper cleaning and disinfecting protocol, browse through IJCSA’s Janitorial Service Directory.

References

CDC. (2024). E. Environmental Services. In Infection Control. https://www.cdc.gov/infection-control/hcp/environmental-control/environmental-services.html

Definition of DISINFECT. (n.d.). In www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved August 9, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disinfect

International Janitorial Cleaning Services Association - Janitorial Services Directory. (2026). Ijcsa.Org. https://www.ijcsa.org/Janitorial-Service-Directory-Find-A-Janitorial-Service-JanitorialServices