Coronavirus Essential Services: How Plumbers Are Keeping Themselves Safe

Amid the escalating coronavirus in communities, the safety and welfare of workers offering essential services are paramount. The demand for plumbing services is on the increase. While responding to customer calls, plumbers have to ensure industry best practices to keep them and customers safe throughout the pandemic. Keep in mind that recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) overrule those from other sources. 

Effect of coronavirus lockdown on plumbing

With people keeping home 24/7, the plumbing systems are overused leading to more plumbing service calls. The plumbing system is bearing the brunt of people spending more hours at home during the day. More wipes are ending up flushed down than ever before. Kids are likely to shove down toys and other items down the toilet. All these necessitate calling a reliable plumber to come and fix the problem.

How plumber are ensuring safety amid coronavirus

Washing hands often

One of the best ways to stay safe from coronavirus according to the CDC is to wash hands regularly using soap and water for about 20 seconds. This is strongly recommended when out in the public and after blowing your nose. If you can’t access soap and water, the use of a hand sanitizer with about 60 percent alcohol and hospital grade disinfectant wipes are recommended.

Limiting customers and coworkers

The WHO recommends avoiding shaking hands with customers and colleagues. Although a neighborlybehavior is part of customer service for best commercial plumbing companies, safety is paramount. Coronavirus has a big chance of passing through skin-to-skin contact. So, the plumbers avoid shaking hands and other forms of physical contact with customers and co-workers as a preventive measure against COVID-19. A bow, wave, or nod is enough to portray neighborlybehavior at a safe distance.

Using rubber gloves

To limit the chances of picking up the viruses from surfaces, wearing rubber gloves is strongly recommended for technicians. Equally important is to avoid touching your face even when wearing gloves. This limits the chances of transferring the virus to your face. After taking off the gloves, washing the hands with soap and water is important.

Video conferencing

Through video conferencing, the plumbing company can diagnose and evaluate issues with customers’ plumbing systems. This limits the need for an on-site inspection and the chances of exposure to coronavirus. Video conferencing and Facetime allows screening customers for signs of coronavirus offsite. Afterward, the company can send a plumber to go to the customer’s location with appropriate tools to fix the issue.

Screening customers

When plumbers arrive at the customers’ locations, customer screening for infection is undertaken. This is a safety measure for plumbers and other service technicians to curb the chances of contracting coronavirus on the job. The plumber will ask the customer whether they had traveled out of the state in the last 14 days.

Additionally, the plumber will ask whether anyone in the household has a runny nose, fever, cough, or sore throat. Finally, the plumber will ask whether the customer has had recent contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus. For chances of potential exposure, the plumber might deny service for about two weeks.

Wearing N95 masks

Following safety protocol regarding respiratory protection against coronavirus is very important. According to OSHA, workers need respiratory protection on-site from fog, dust, mist, fumes, smoke, spray, and vapor. So, using an N95 filtering mask is recommended even amid coronavirus pandemic.

Even doctors today wear N95 masks while treating people infected with the coronavirus. Plumbers have to wear a mask when going to customers’ premises. This is extremely important for people who cough or sneeze. The mask limits the chances of the virus from spreading onto surfaces to escalate the number of positive cases.

Effective ways to use a mask

• When coughing or sneezing
• Disposing of the mask appropriately
• Carrying out a user seal check on the mask
• Frequent hand cleaning using an alcohol-based sanitizer
• Washing hands more often using soap and water

Disinfecting and cleaning trade tools and materials

According to the CDC, the coronavirus can remain for hours and days on surfaces regardless of material. The infection seems to be higher for person-to-person interaction, but cleaning and disinfecting all tools of the trade is very important. The procedure allows for removing dirt and germs. Afterward, disinfecting is required to eliminate all remaining germs. This limits the transmission of the coronavirus between plumbing technicians and customers.

Conclusion

As the coronavirus continues to take toll regular life, people’s habits have changed. Now, everyone stays at home 27/4 to maintain social distancing as a means to curb the spread of the virus. This is putting pressure on the plumbing system making the service of plumbers essential. To maintain safety, washing hands regularly backed by the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers is recommended. Video conferencing limits physical interaction while inspecting issues affecting customer’s plumbing systems.