3/14/2020: An update from your Cleaning Service
The Coronavirus and preventative measures against the spread of illness

Dear Clients and Friends,
For over 37 years, our family has remained committed to our Company Core Values, the first of which is to be “Client Focused” in everything we do.  To build relationships and make decisions that make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and to remain committed to a constant learning and mastering or our skills to improve and grow as necessary in order to create a “Wow” experience. That has never applied more than it does now in this unprecedented time.  Cleaning your home is one of the most important steps you can take to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like the new coronavirus or the Flu. As with the flu epidemic, we will provide sanitation throughout your home (clean door handles, door frames, switch plates and commonly touched areas). We aim to provide excellent service, especially in times such as these when viruses can be overwhelming. WHO and CDC have provided basic protective measures, and we will be following those guidelines.

What HandiMaids Is Doing
At HandiMaids, we are monitoring the evolving situation and following the guidelines of the CDC in all of our clients homes and workspaces to keep our clients and team members safe, and our clients home’s clean. This includes:

• Increasing our cleaning protocols using products where appropriate that have been found to be effective against viruses such as coronavirus. Increasing our attention on “high touch” areas in your home by disinfecting all high touch surfaces. Our disinfectants of choice:   Lysol® Clean & Fresh Multi-Surface Cleaner – Clean & Fresh  – Lemon & Lavender Scent and Shaklee Basic-G® Germicide, part of Shaklee’s dynamic duo, and Clorox Bleach
•   Adding more hand sanitizer for employee use in cleaning kits for recurring use and continuing to provide Personal Protective equipment such as gloves and face masks.
• Having plans in place should the need arise in any of our communities. We are meeting regularly to refine and update those plans as new information becomes available, and to continue learning as much as we can in order to make informed decisions.
• Leveraging our distributed workforce. We continue to work in a mostly “solo” cleaner business model. This has a few benefits including the reduction of the likelihood of social spread among team members in the rare instance that someone is exposed to the virus.
• Our team practices a strong cross-contamination protocol, one of the best in the home cleaning industry and we are actively researching ways to improve them. We use a microfiber pad, flat mop system. Clean mop heads are used for each home and changed frequently once they are soiled. They are then placed in a plastic bag and removed from service for the day. We do the same with cleaning cloths. Only clean microfiber cloths are brought into your home. Vacuums and other tools are wiped down with disinfectant between each home.
• Our staff has been trained that if they have a temperature, cough, or any other symptoms of unknown illness to remain at home. They have a responsibility to other team members’ and you the client. We are making sure that our staff knows that it is our duty to help slow the transmission of Covid-19 and to be extra diligent in assessing their own health.  Our managers will be evaluating all team members daily for symptoms.

We will continue to provide you with an excellent cleaning service while improving our processes and helping you have peace of mind that all of the surfaces in your home are cleaned and sanitized.

What YOU can do

• We are asking all of our clients to please postpone service if anyone in their home has had any recent symptoms of the flu, cold, or unidentified respiratory illness to help us keep our staff and other clients safe.
• We ask that if you have traveled outside of the country in the last month, that you suspend your service until you have been symptom free for 15 days.

What we ALL can do

• Stay informed. It’s important to process the considerable information we’re all receiving in a balanced and thoughtful way. With that in mind, worrying or panicking in response to the overwhelming amount of information can create stress in the body, which is known to compromise immunity. The CDC provides a comprehensive overview of “What You Should Know.“

Practice good hygiene. These habits include:

• Wash your hands frequently, and for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water to protect yourself and others from germs.
• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
• Keep your hands away from your face, because germs routinely spread when a person touches something contaminated with germs, and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
• ​If you begin to develop cold- and flu-like symptoms or become ill, take care of yourself and minimize the spread to others by staying home. If you think you may have symptoms of coronavirus, call your healthcare provider immediately.

What We Know About Coronavirus
The coronavirus is a novel respiratory disease that has been spreading globally since late 2019. It presents a threat due to its newness, its contagiousness, and the lack of a vaccine or a clear treatment plan. The World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and local health officials are the trusted sources for the most accurate information, as well as updates on the status of vaccines and treatments (which are in development).
The coronavirus health risk to date appears to be comparable to that of influenza, which many of us have experienced. The CDC provides the following data about the preliminary burden estimates of influenza for the 2019–2020 season in the United States (October 1, 2019–February 22, 2020), which are contrasted with current burden estimates of coronavirus globally: