Disinfection and Covid 19 Test Kits

November 18, 2021

Disinfection & Covid 19 Test Kits

As the holiday season approaches, we’ll be seeing family and office gatherings larger than normal. And the growth of Covid infections among double vaccinated people might be giving us forewarning of trouble ahead.

And since so few people vaccinated against the flu, and immunity weakened after 2 years of flu disappearance, experts fear the flu could return with a vengeance this winter. All the more reason to be cautious and use smart preventative measures. Although Covid 19 is the focus, the flu still remains a big threat.

Can we gather safely for Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities and make it safe? There are definitely some good health practices that will help. And when cleaning and disinfecting and masks don’t work, using a testing kit solution is wise.

We’ve relied totally upon disinfection via cleaning fluids and Covid fogger tools, along with UV air cleaners, but the latest tool — Covid 19 test kits are an even bigger helper to keep holiday celebrations safer for all.

Preventing Transmission at Your Gathering

The key threat in your office, or holiday gathering is in aerial transmission so prevention would have to focus on doing testing beforehand so infected attendees will stay at home to Covid testing.

Your Thanksgiving and Christmas, and New Years party attendees will be trusting and sociable, the perfect opportunity for airborne pathogens, to spread. And on New Years Even when the risk becomes very high with alcohol consumption and food sharing, it’s vital to be extra cautious. Let’s remain cautious because the Covid 19 threat is not expected to go away anytime soon. Infections do have a depressing effect on the economy.

The best way to prevent transmission of the Covid 19 virus is not via face masks or foggers. It’s via Covid 19 testing kits. You can actually buy these Covid 19 testing kits listed below online or at your local pharmacy. You might want to buy them now because there will be a run on them before Xmas.

Covid 19 Self-Testing Kits

You can set up a testing session in your garage, perhaps 2 days before Thanksgiving and Christmas, or you could deliver them to your relatives so they can test at home. This might erode some of the surprise and spontaneity, but come on, this is the worst pandemic in US history. We need to be safe, especially if Gramma and Grandpa are attending!

You’ll find Covid 19 testing kits online or at Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and other pharmacies. They come in single, double and triple packs. You administer at home and express ship to the company who let you know via their communications options.

As an example (not an endorsement of any testing kit product), The BinaxNow kits makes testing very simple and it’s very affordable at $39.99 on Google Shopping.

BinaxNow Covid Testing Kit

Quidel Covid 19 Home Test Kits make it fast and easy!

Quidel Covid 19 Home Test Kits

EverlyWell Covid 19 Testing Kit is pricey at $81.75 each.

EverlyWell Covid 19 Testing Kit

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Tenants and Office Staff at Risk

There will be more tenant traffic in and out of your apartment building which opens up the possibility of a Covid 19 spread in your building and perhaps even flu transmission in elevators and lobbies.

Your Tenants are Relying On You

Right now, your tenants need your guidance about how to travel through the building safely and how to avoid transmission threats. The CDC guidelines help but they won’t solve all of your building issues. The matter is a challenging one for older buildings in urban areas.

7 Things You Can Do to Ease Corona Virus Risks

offer your tenant free protective face masks
make your hallways one way only traffic routes
establish usage times for common laundry areas
use new foggers to clean your hallways, laundry room, and front foyer
ensure your building ventilation is working at top level and top efficiency
ensure your air conditioning system is working perfectly
hire a decontamination service once to learn how they disinfect buildings

Decontamination Tools

Foggers and misters are power tools you might be able to use in your buildings, lobbies, classrooms, meeting rooms, and other areas. Yes, people still are using these tools in well trafficked areas such as libaries, hospitals, and convenient stores. Some of these tools claim they protect surfaces for weeks. This claim needs to be verified by the CDC and the FTC.

This video from Powerwash.com introduces a number of fogging and misting power tools you might use in your building.

3 Ways to Kill Corona Virus (and other viruses too)

Electrostatic, chemical and UV light are the three technologies used to disinfect rooms, elevators, hallways, and common areas.

You may have seen some of the larger scale disinfectant foggers and misters used in outdoor settings. There is a good deal of knowledge about their effectiveness and proper usage. Of course, each technology comes with its own price tag. Some applications might be out of your reach price-wise, while some are affordable.

Commercial grade fogging Disinfection Systems might cost anywhere from $4000 to $15,000. Less expensive (under $300) systems might be a good solution for your office, foyer and hallways.

Sterilizing Foggers and Misters

According to NASA, sterilizing foggers use oxygen and oxidation to kills viruses. Portable systems use a device which produces a mist or fog using a solution of water, peracetic acid, and hydrogen peroxide. If you don’t have one yet, it is a wise investment for use in apartment buildings and offices.

Electrostatic Foggers

These systems magnetize a disinfectant so it binds with virus molecules. The EvaClean Infection Prevention system costs less than $700.

UV Light Disinfectant Systems

Ultraviolet light has been used for a long time to kill viruses. UV Light disrupts a viruses DNA/RNA rendering them unable to replicate. It works well, however UVC light is very hazardous to human tissue.

Such systems often require special protection and can only be used by professionals or when no people are present. There are portable and even handheld uv light systems available, yet some of these do pose cancer threats to humans.

One issue with UV systems is the need for direct exposure to all surfaces. If there are a lot of nooks, crannies, dirt, grease, gunge, and textured surfaces, it may not reach all virus spores.

If you wash your elevator buttons, door handles, railings, etc frequently, the UV light can be a good disinfecting system because of its germ-killing efficacy.

For tenants, one product using UV light allows you to sanitize any number of small items by placing them inside the unit. It can disinfect items such as smartphones, keys, toothbrushes, wallets, jewelry, baby pacifiers, etc. They’re inexpensive yet mostly sold out online.

You may already be using UV light systems in your ventilation system and it is a wise choice.

Chemical Foggers

EPA approves OXINE as COVID-19 killing chemical but also doesn’t believe chemical fogging by itself is an adequate method of disinfection. So that likely includes spraying lysol on your likely transmission objects and surfaces.

It seems most Covid 19 disinfection foggers use electrostatic solutions to help the solution bind to spores, viruses and bacteria. Chemical foggers face the same drawbacks as UV Light. Surfaces need to be cleaned beforehand in order for the chemical to reach all potential virus spores that could be hidden under dirt and grime.

Automating Your Disinfection Process

Just like your favorite property management software, building disinfection needs to be automated to some extent. These systems can help considerably in addition to proper manual disinfection of high contact objects and surfaces, and touchable nooks and crannies that kids always seem to be able to reach.

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