Commercial Sanitisation & Disinfection Services Ireland

Beyond Cleaning: Why Sanitisation and Disinfection Matter

Regular cleaning removes visible dirt and reduces the microbial load on surfaces. But cleaning alone cannot eliminate the pathogens that cause illness outbreaks, healthcare-associated infections, and sick building problems. This is where professional sanitisation and disinfection come in.

The distinction is important. Sanitisation reduces bacteria to a safe level as defined by public health standards — typically a 99.9% reduction. Disinfection goes further, killing or inactivating 99.99% or more of bacteria, viruses, and fungi on a surface. The method you need depends on your environment, your risk profile, and whether you are dealing with a proactive prevention programme or a reactive outbreak response.

Optus Glean provides both scheduled sanitisation programmes for ongoing protection and emergency disinfection services for outbreak response. We use three primary methods — touchpoint disinfection, electrostatic spraying, and ULV fogging — each suited to different situations and environments.

Our Disinfection Methods

Touchpoint Disinfection

Touchpoint disinfection targets the surfaces that people touch most frequently: door handles, light switches, lift buttons, handrails, desks, keyboards, phones, taps, flush handles, and shared equipment. Studies show that 80% of infection transmission occurs through hand contact with contaminated surfaces. By focusing disinfection efforts on these high-touch surfaces, you achieve the greatest infection reduction for the lowest cost.

Optus Glean provides touchpoint disinfection as part of our regular office cleaning contracts and as a standalone service. For offices, we typically recommend daily touchpoint disinfection during peak illness season (October to March) and twice-weekly during the rest of the year. For healthcare facilities, touchpoint disinfection is performed on every cleaning visit.

Electrostatic Spraying

Electrostatic spraying is the most efficient method for disinfecting large areas with complex geometry — rooms full of furniture, equipment, or fixtures that would take hours to wipe manually. The sprayer imparts a positive electrical charge to the disinfectant droplets, which are then attracted to the naturally negatively charged surfaces. The droplets wrap around objects, coat undersides and hidden surfaces, and reach into gaps and crevices that manual application cannot.

The benefits are significant: up to 65% less chemical consumption, up to 50% faster application time, and more thorough coverage than manual spraying or wiping. Electrostatic spraying is ideal for classrooms, open-plan offices, waiting rooms, hotel guest rooms, gyms, and any space where speed and thoroughness are both important.

ULV Fogging

Ultra-Low Volume fogging disperses disinfectant as an extremely fine mist (droplet size 5 to 50 microns) that fills the entire volume of a room and settles on every surface. It is the most comprehensive disinfection method available, reaching every surface including ceilings, the backs of radiators, the insides of open cabinets, and any surface that is otherwise inaccessible.

Fogging is the method of choice for post-outbreak decontamination, periodic deep disinfection of healthcare facilities, food production environments, and any situation where complete surface coverage is required. The room must be unoccupied during fogging and for 1 to 2 hours afterwards to allow the fog to settle and the disinfectant to achieve its required contact time.

Post-Outbreak Decontamination

When an illness outbreak occurs in a workplace, school, or healthcare facility, rapid and thorough decontamination is essential to stop the spread. Whether it is norovirus in a school, influenza in an office, COVID in a care home, or a gastrointestinal outbreak in a hotel, the process is the same:

1. Assessment — We identify the pathogen (or suspected pathogen), map the affected areas, and determine the appropriate disinfectant and method.
2. Pre-clean — All surfaces are cleaned with detergent to remove organic matter. Disinfectants are ineffective on dirty surfaces — the organic matter shields the pathogen from the chemical.
3. Disinfection — Using the appropriate method (usually electrostatic spraying or fogging), we apply an EN 14476 (virucidal) and EN 13727 (bactericidal) tested disinfectant with a validated contact time.
4. Verification — ATP bioluminescence testing is used to verify that surfaces have been decontaminated to safe levels. Results are documented for compliance and audit purposes.
5. Certification — We provide a written decontamination certificate confirming the areas treated, the products used, the methods employed, and the ATP test results. This document is essential for HSE, HIQA, and employer duty-of-care records.

Sectors and Applications

• Offices and corporate buildings — Scheduled touchpoint disinfection during flu season, post-outbreak response, and periodic deep disinfection. Combine with office cleaning for integrated hygiene management.
• Healthcare facilities — HIQA-compliant terminal cleaning and disinfection, post-outbreak decontamination, and scheduled fogging for high-risk areas. Part of our comprehensive healthcare cleaning service.
• Schools and creches — Regular sanitisation during term time, outbreak response for norovirus and flu, and deep disinfection during school holidays.
• Hotels and hospitality — Guest room disinfection between stays, public area sanitisation, kitchen and food preparation area disinfection, and outbreak response.
• Gyms and leisure centres — Equipment disinfection, changing room sanitisation, and swimming pool area treatment.
• Food production and catering — HACCP-compliant disinfection of production areas, cold rooms, and equipment surfaces.
• Transport — Vehicle interior disinfection for buses, taxis, ambulances, and fleet vehicles.

Products and Standards

The disinfectant products we use are selected based on their tested efficacy against specific pathogen types. All products hold one or more of the following European standard certifications:

• EN 14476 — Virucidal activity (tested against enveloped and non-enveloped viruses)
• EN 13727 — Bactericidal activity (tested against key bacterial pathogens)
• EN 13624 — Fungicidal activity (tested against Candida and Aspergillus species)
• EN 17272 — Airborne disinfection by automated processes (specific to fogging)
• BPR compliant — All products registered under the EU Biocidal Products Regulation

We do not use generic bleach solutions or unregistered disinfectants. Every product we apply has documented efficacy at the concentration and contact time we use in the field. Product safety data sheets (SDS) are available for every chemical used in your premises.

Scheduled Sanitisation Programmes

Prevention is always better than response. Optus Glean provides scheduled sanitisation programmes designed to reduce the baseline microbial load in your premises and minimise the risk of illness outbreaks. A typical programme includes:

• Daily — Touchpoint disinfection of high-traffic surfaces as part of the regular cleaning visit
• Weekly — Electrostatic spray of shared areas (meeting rooms, kitchens, reception)
• Monthly — Full-premises electrostatic spray or fogging treatment
• Quarterly — ATP testing and hygiene audit to verify cleaning and disinfection effectiveness

Programmes are tailored to your sector, occupancy levels, and risk profile. Healthcare facilities require more frequent and intensive disinfection than offices. Schools need enhanced protocols during winter illness season. Hotels benefit from guest room disinfection between every stay.