The latest word on equipment sanitization

Soon after the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in spring 2020, a wealth of virus mitigation information and resources were made available to the equipment and event rental community across features in Rental Management, a series of specific COVID-19 webinars hosted by the American Rental Association (ARA), and the launch of ARA’s Clean. Safe. Essential. training certificate program.

Much of the information shared through these avenues was concentrated on supplies and best practices for cleaning and sanitizing equipment — critical knowledge for those working with high-touch surfaces like rental inventory.

Nearly 10 months into the pandemic, most rental operators have adapted their equipment cleaning procedures according to the information shared across the industry as well as from sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But today, a familiar menace is creeping into workplaces, compounding the difficulty of maintaining a healthy and safe environment: cold and flu season.

“We’re going into cold and flu season, and there are certain things that a rental store should be doing for cross-contamination and infection control,” says Chuck Shipp, owner, Shipp Cleaning Systems, Conyers, Ga. “With the coronavirus, this is going to be like a double-dip flu season. Because of the cooler weather and closed-in environments, there is going to be more cross-contamination of everything from colds to the coronavirus, and then the seasonal flu which, on any given year, also kills a couple hundred thousand people. People need to double down on their cleaning practices,
especially with disinfectants.”

Click here to read more on equipment sanitization in the January issue of Rental Management magazine. 

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