Disinfectant Fogger : How it Can Protect us?

Robert James
Pest Control Technician

The COVID-19 disease or more commonly known as the coronavirus has been the biggest thing to happen in 2020, and the terrifying scale of this pandemic has caused millions of deaths, weakened health systems and decimated economies all over the world.

The world’s leading scientists have discovered that the best way to protect yourself from the effects of coronavirus is simply to wash your hands and not to touch your face. The COVID-19 virus spreads through airborne particles and infected surfaces. An infected person’s respiratory droplets can infect anyone or anything nearby through  sneezing, coughing or even talking loudly. This makes the risk of infection a lot higher especially in communities where people are constantly in close contact with each other.

Most countries have enforced lockdowns and many businesses closed their doors to the public since the pandemic reached dangerous levels just a few months ago. Now, as the world slowly goes back to normal again and businesses start opening up, people are more cautious than ever. Reassurance for their customers’ health and safety is the primary concern for businesses big and small, and people want to see that businesses are taking steps to maintain a safe environment for customers while they shop, and for employees while they work.

Safety for businesses

With the lifting of restrictions, now is not the time to relax and let our guard down; in fact there is a more pressing need to double down on safety as the risk of a second wave of the coronavirus is made much higher with more people itching to go out and enjoy themselves after a long lockdown.

If you own a business that sees a significant amount of human traffic, being vigilant is key to ensuring that your business, and by extension your local community stays open and healthy without worry of another wave of the pandemic happening.

Disinfecting your business premises

The government advice for keeping your business safe revolve mainly on sanitizing high-touch surfaces in your business premises, as well as requirements to wear face masks for customers and employees and the regular washing of hands or using hand sanitizer.

So you now know what we should do to keep your business safe and virus-free. Just get some cleaning products and start cleaning! But which kinds of cleaning products are the most effective? With so many brands and types of liquid cleaners, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizers and all sorts of other products with words like “anti-bacterial” or “anti-virus” written in bold font across the packaging, you may probably find it hard to choose the right product for the job.

 

Wiping vs. Fogging

The basic disinfecting procedure is fairly simple: Get a cloth, dip it in any kind of soap and water mixture and wipe down any potentially contaminated surfaces. This is the most widely used and the cheapest way of doing it. You can also use disinfectant wipes to wipe down said surfaces to kill any traces of the virus.

Wiping down surfaces is the norm, however there is also another lesser-known decontamination measure called fogging. Fogging refers to using a fogger machine that generates a cloud of highly-concentrated disinfectant liquid to reduce the number of airborne pathogens and surface contamination in a particular area. This results in a two-way disinfection process and saves time and resources when it comes to keeping your home or business premises clean.

Benefits of Fogging

We now know what fogging is. But what does it really do and how does it match up to other cleaning methods? Here are some of the main benefits of fogging listed below:

  1. More access to difficult areas

There are many surfaces in a home or a place of business. The manual process of wiping is not completely effective as human error may cause some surfaces to be missed out.

In the process of fogging, the droplets land on the back, sides and even undersides of surfaces that may otherwise be missed out during manual wiping. This results in more efficient decontamination and it requires much less effort than manual wiping.

  1. Saves time

Fogging can be done in small and large spaces in a short span of time. Because of this, businesses will not have to worry about staying closed while cleaning is going on and homes can be easily treated in less than a day.

  1. Less risk of re-infection

With more surfaces sanitized and virus-free, there is less risk of re-infection for any member of your household or customer coming into your business premises (as long as they wash their hands and wear a face mask before they come in!). The air quality after fogging is also effectively sanitized and pathogen and virus-free so you can rest easy knowing that there are no traces of COVID-19 virus lingering around the air you breathe.

Where and how do I use a fogger? 

Foggers can be used in many situations. There are different kinds of foggers ranging from heavy duty industrial machines normally used in warehouses and large offices or retail premises to portable ones which are good for smaller spaces like small shops or classrooms. There are normally two types of foggers - namely thermal foggers that are normally used for outdoor spaces while cold foggers are used indoors.

Simply plug in the fogger into the correct power supply (either wall socket or generator) and spray the disinfectant droplets all around your premises. Focus on the back sides and underneath shelves or any furniture to ensure a complete decontamination. Then wait for a few hours for the droplets to settle before going back in again. 

Which fogger for corona virus is best for me?

While fogging hasn’t quite caught on yet in terms of popularity, there are several foggers available to purchase on Amazon that can help to protect the health of your family and customers. After researching based on function and customer rating, we have listed 4 of the best ones we’ve found below.


  1. WYNC Portable ULV Electric Intelligent Fogger

The WYNC Portable ULV fogger holds around 1.8 gallons of disinfectant and weighs just over 9lbs, making it light enough to carry when doing some tough decontamination work around the house, office or place of business. The droplet sizes are adjustable from 0-50 microns and the spray distance goes up to 20 feet away. It also requires 100V AC power to run but with a power line of 19 feet in length, there shouldn’t be an issue with finding a wall socket to plug into.


2. Superhandy Fogger machine disinfectant

This Superhandy (pun intended) fogger carries up to 3 gallons of disinfecting liquid and also has an adjustable output of 1 to 15 gallons per minute. The output particle sizes are adjustable from 0-50 microns for a customized clean no matter where you are decontaminating.

The spray distance from this unit can reach a little over 20 feet horizontally, while vertically it has enough power to reach 6.5 feet. This is great for places with high ceilings or tall shelves, especially when you have a business that keeps stock in a storeroom or warehouse. It is powered by 110V of AC power so be sure to have a wall socket or an electricity generator within reach if you plan to use this device.


3. ANTIEE5L electric ULV sprayer / portable fogger machine

Weighing in at about 6 pounds, the ANTIEE portable fogger machine is ultra-portable and easy to carry around. The slight disadvantage however, is in the tank capacity of this unit. At 4.5L as advertised (which is slightly less than a gallon), this unit carries much less disinfectant than the rest listed above.

However, what it lacks in capacity, it more than makes up for in function. The air-tight, non-corrosive and leak-proof nozzle design atomizes the containing disinfectant evenly, resulting in less wastage and efficiently using every drop of liquid in the tank. It has a spray distance of up to 26 feet and features an adjustable flow rate. A 16.4 foot power wire connects it to 110V of AC power from a wall socket or a generator and the ergonomic handle ensures comfort in whichever way you use it.

 

Final thoughts

Whether you are planning to disinfect your home, a place of business, school or any public space with people coming in and out, it is almost always going to be a tough task ahead. In the wake of the pandemic which has caused the world to literally close for business overnight, efforts to clean and disinfect the area around you now plays an essential role in protecting your family and your people from COVID-19. 

Even with all the benefits of foggers, use of fogger machines and cloths to wipe down surfaces should be used in combination with each other for complete peace of mind. It is advisable to still use wiping down on high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs, handles, taps and flushes while fogging takes care of the surrounding air, the corners and hard to reach areas. It is also advisable to use disinfectant that is the most effective in combating the virus. If you are unsure of which ones to choose, you can read a list of disinfectants that are the most effective against the COVID-19 virus here.

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