The Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) was founded to communicate science-based technical information and peer-reviewed research findings about cleaning and restoration of the indoor environment. Toward that end, this article was written to assist restoration and remediation professionals dealing with building cleanup in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It utilizes information contained in CIRI’s SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Pandemic Response — Guidance for Decontamination of the Built Environment: Cleaning, Disinfection, Worker Protection, and Post Cleaning and Remediation Assessment.
While the scope of this article focuses on cleaning and restoration of indoor environments contaminated with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the core approach to successful decontamination of any environment is an understanding of the definition of clean: a condition free of unwanted matter, and cleaning: the process of achieving the clean condition. A systematic process of cleaning includes: