When do I need a professional disinfecting service?

Most homes do not need a professional disinfecting service after an ordinary cold or flu. Careful cleaning, then a registered disinfectant on the surfaces people touch most, is usually enough, and it is a job most households can do themselves. A service is worth paying for in a handful of situations: when no one at home is well enough, when someone in the house should stay away from the fumes, or when the job is too big to do well. Some problems that look like a disinfecting job belong to another trade entirely.

Why you often do not need one

EPA's advice during the COVID-19 pandemic was that routine cleaning with soap and water lowers the risk of spreading the virus by taking germs and dirt off surfaces, and that "in most situations, cleaning is enough to reduce risk."^[1] For the flu, the Virginia Department of Health says flu spreads through the small droplets a sick person makes by coughing, sneezing or talking, and less often when someone touches a surface with the virus on it and then their own mouth, nose or eyes.^[2] Surfaces are the less common route, so for an ordinary flu the household side of it is fresh air, hand washing and a daily wipe of the handles and switches, which most people can do themselves. How to disinfect your house after the flu walks through it.

When a service makes sense

No one is well enough. If the whole household has been sick, or the only healthy adult is looking after the patient, paying someone to do a thorough clean-and-disinfect is reasonable.

Someone should stay away from the products. "Disinfectants can trigger an asthma attack,"^[1] EPA warns, and it suggests that people with asthma stay out of the rooms being cleaned and disinfected or make sure those rooms are well ventilated.^[1] A service lets that person be out of the house while it is done.

Someone at higher risk lives there. The Virginia Department of Health lists the people most at risk of serious flu complications as young children under five (especially those younger than two), pregnant women, people aged 65 and older, and people with chronic illnesses such as lung disease, heart disease, cancer or diabetes, or with weakened immune systems.^[2] If that describes someone at home and you cannot do a careful job yourself, a professional visit is a reasonable expense.

The job is big. A move into a house that sat empty, a rental turnover, a large home or a home business with clients coming through all mean more surfaces than a household usually tackles.

Kids would otherwise be helping. Children should not be the ones applying disinfectants,^[1] so a parent alone with small children may prefer to hire it out.

When it is a different trade

Mold. EPA says in most cases you can clean up a moldy area yourself when it is smaller than about 10 square feet, roughly a 3 ft. by 3 ft. patch,^[6] and why a bathroom keeps getting moldy explains how. If there has been a lot of water damage, or mold covers more than 10 square feet, EPA says to consult its guide Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings, which it notes also applies to other building types.^[6] If you know or suspect the heating and cooling system has mold in it, leave it off, since running it could spread mold through the house.^[6] In Virginia, the person you hire matters: under the Consumer Protection Act, it is a prohibited practice to sell or offer professional mold remediation on a home "without holding a mold remediation certification from a nationally or internationally recognized certifying body for mold remediation, and failing to comply with" EPA's guide to mold remediation in schools and commercial buildings, the ANSI/IICRC S520 standard, or another equivalent ANSI-accredited mold remediation standard.^[5] Look for mold remediation businesses, not a disinfecting crew.

Flood water and sewage. After a flood, standing water and soaked materials let viruses, bacteria and mold multiply.^[6] When water or mold damage came from sewage or other contaminated water, EPA's advice is to call in a professional with experience cleaning and repairing buildings damaged by contaminated water.^[6] Drying out a house and handling sewage is restoration work.

Blood and other biohazards. An injury scene, an unattended death or heavy body-fluid contamination calls for biohazard cleanup, with protective equipment and proper disposal.

What the rules say about who you hire

Virginia's pesticide business licence rules exempt "providers of janitorial, cleaning or sanitizing services if the providers use no pesticides other than sanitizers, disinfectants and germicides."^[3] EPA does not license cleaning companies, and it notes that state requirements for training, certification and licenses "vary widely."^[4] So a disinfecting crew that sticks to those products needs no Virginia pesticide business licence. A local licence may still apply: Virginia counties, cities and towns may levy license taxes on "businesses, trades, professions, occupations and callings."^[9] Ask your county, city or town what it requires, and beyond that compare the product, the method, insurance and a clear written scope.

Two things to watch for in a sales pitch. EPA does not recommend applying a disinfectant by fogging, fumigation, wide-area or electrostatic spraying unless the product label gives disinfection directions for that method.^[8] And unlike chemical disinfectants, EPA does not routinely check whether pesticidal devices such as ozone generators and UV lights are safe or whether they work,^[10] so a quote built around a device deserves extra questions.

Stop and call a pro if

• You find mold over a large area, mold that keeps coming back after cleaning, or a musty smell with no visible source.
• There is sewage, flood water or blood to deal with.
• Someone at home has asthma or a weakened immune system and there is no one else to do the cleaning.
• You are sick yourself and the job is more than a quick wipe of the handles and switches.

Hiring on Loclis

To see what a visit is likely to cost, read what professional disinfecting costs in Virginia. You can browse disinfecting and sanitizing businesses, look up cleaning services around Blacksburg, or read more cleaning answers. When you are ready, describe the job on Loclis and businesses can quote.