Have you ever used disposable wipes outside of a grocery store to sanitize your shopping cart? With the flick of the wrist, sanitizing products are applied and quickly tossed into the trash as you proceed with your shopping. This little-known, but crucial step in the disinfecting process is called dwell time, which is the amount of time a product must remain visibly wet on a surface to properly kill the germs, viruses, and pathogens you’re fighting.

A common mistake is to apply a disinfectant, then quickly wipe it away without letting the product rest on the surface. Since dwell times can vary between 30 seconds and 15 minutes, it’s important to let the disinfectant stay on a surface long enough to work its magic. 

Dwell times aren’t a suggestion, they are a mandatory part of the disinfection process. According to preliminary studies, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 can last twice as long on surfaces as the original strain. This re-emphasizes the importance of practicing good hand washing, proper building ventilation, and applying the correct dwell time on high-touch surfaces such as door handles, handrails, and elevator buttons. 

Your professional cleaning provider should train their technicians in the proper application of each disinfecting product for maximum effectiveness. Mister Kleen ensures that our technicians receive advanced training on the proper cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing of surfaces. 

Here’s how it works

Dwell time is part of the three-part pathogen removal process of cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting that your cleaning provider will conduct. 

Cleaning is a necessary first step to remove dirt, dust, or debris so that the sanitizers and disinfectants can be effective. Once appropriate cleaning has been completed, EPA-registered sanitizers can be applied in proper concentrations and for the correct dwell time to further reduce the number of bacteria and viruses present in the workspace. The next step is disinfecting which includes using EPA-registered products that target a particular virus and leaving it on surfaces for the appropriate dwell time. 

Dwell time is just one of the many factors your cleaning provider should be able to manage, so that you can spend less time worrying about the health and safety of your staff and customers. Mister Kleen has continued to support essential businesses and agencies in remaining operational, by incorporating our Enhanced Kleen program into their ongoing scope of work. Our senior leadership are certified through Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s (GBAC) new Online Fundamentals Training Course, as well as our specialty teams have been professionally trained to address viral outbreaks, including the proper protocols in using PPE and EPA-registered products.

Mister Kleen has been a leading provider of contract cleaning services to Commercial and High Security facilities since 1976. Our primary service area is the DC Metro region. We also provide a variety of interior and exterior specialty services. For more information, contact us at 703-719-6900.