Cleaning and Care Procedures in our Accommodations

Updated on April 24, 2020

Algarve Golden Properties, taking into account its great social responsibility, when receiving and providing accommodation to guests of different nationalities, associated with the guarantee of maintaining high safety and hygiene, in the accommodation it provides, defined, in line with the Organization’s recommendations World Health Organization and with the guidelines of the General Directorate of Health, a contingency plan aimed at preventing and mitigating the risks associated with the spread of the new COVID-19 virus.

In this contingency plan, Cleaning and Laundry measures and procedures were defined and we would like to share with you.

If cleaning was already important, now … it’s crucial!

At Algarve Golden Properties, cleaning has always been one of the most important requirements for us. With this pandemic state caused by COVID-19, it is extremely important that the housing is disinfected rather than cleaned. It is known that the virus can live on certain surfaces for a certain time, so now all the details count!

Clean or disinfect – that’s the question!

We have to do both! The Cleaning team starts by cleaning the accommodation, which means that we only reduce the number of bacteria present, but we do not act on viruses and fungi. With disinfection, we eliminate viruses and bacteria when specific disinfectant products are used.

Let’s start?

These are the procedures we adopt for cleaning and treating clothes in our accommodation.

1. Wear protective equipment when cleaning. The entire cleaning team at Algarve Golden Properties received training and training on the measures adopted and will be protected with the appropriate Personal Protection materials and mandatory use: uniform, disposable gloves, waterproof coat and disposable mask.

2. Cleaning of the accommodation only 72 hours after check-out. The accommodations will be cleaned just 3 days after check-out, in order to reduce the viral load in the accommodation and ensure greater protection for employees in the cleaning and laundry areas, as well as for the next guests.

3. Adoption of demanding cleaning techniques. Cleaning employees must ensure that cleaning follows the following technique:

• Do not use a vacuum cleaner to clean floors (It is not suitable to use a vacuum cleaner, because they set the droplets in motion in the air, in which the virus may be contained and transform them into aerosols)
• Clean surfaces from top to bottom and towards the cleanest areas to the dirtiest ones;
• Use single-use and disposable cleaning cloths (use and throw away), differentiated by a color code, for each of the areas, according to the level of risk. Examples include:
  • Benches, tables, chairs, armchairs for restaurants and offices, among others: blue;
  • Meal tables and food preparation areas: green;
  • Bathrooms: cloth just to clean the sink: yellow; toilet cloth (outside): red;
• The inner part of the toilet does not need a cloth. It must be scrubbed with the toilet brush itself and with disinfectant-based detergent;
• The bathroom cleaning bucket and mop must be different from the cleaning bucket and mop to be used in the room (do not use the cleaning material available in the rooms).

4. Use of cleaning and disinfecting detergents. Household detergents and disinfectants are used, such as bleach (sodium hypochlorite) with at least 5% free chlorine in its original form and 70% alcohol. When applying bleach or similar product, open the windows to ventilate and renew the air, also helping to dry the surfaces more quickly.

5. Procedures adopted for cleaning.

• Wash surfaces first with water and detergent.
• Then spread the bleach solution evenly over the surfaces.
• Leave the bleach to act on the surfaces for at least 10 minutes. This step is essential.
• Then rinse the surfaces with hot water only.
• Allow to air dry.

Also the furniture and some equipment are disinfected after cleaning, with wipes moistened with disinfectant or alcohol at 70º:

• Clean the bedroom furniture first;
• In the kitchen, wash the dishes in the dishwasher at a high temperature; cleaning and disinfecting cabinets, countertops, tables and chairs, not forgetting to disinfect cabinet and door handles; then clean and disinfect the tap, washbasin and drain.
• Clean walls up to arm’s length.
• Remove the curtains and send to wash, including the bathroom curtain;
• Clean the furniture;
• Finally, wash the floor of the premises;
• Open the windows of the area and let it air dry.

The sanitary facilities obey their own cleaning and disinfection rules:

• Use different cloths for the washbasins and the areas around them and outside the toilets.
• Follow the sequence:
  • Start cleaning through the washbasins (1st taps and only after the washbasin) and surfaces around them;
  • Clean the toilet;
  • Clean the floor.

6. Procedures adopted in the laundry. The clothes used in all accommodations are washed at a temperature of at least 60ºC for 30 minutes – a heat disinfection cycle. Algarve Golden Properties has its own laundry room, which is why we also control the adoption of this measure, ensuring maximum compliance with it.

When removing bedding and towels:

• Do not shake the bedding;
• Remove it without shaking it, rolling it from the inside to the outside, making a “package”;
• Do not touch clothing against the body;
• Pack the clothes and put them in a waterproof bag, closing it tightly and placing them directly in the washing machine, in the laundry room.