If you have a business or office that’s running during COVID-19, you might be wondering how best to clean your railings. As railings are one of the most frequently touched parts of a building’s structure, they can be the most deadly. While touching other surfaces can be easily avoided, railings are imperative for safety. Therefore, we must sanitize railings to allow for use without risk of spread.
If you haven’t read part 1, you’ll want to take a peek there first. In part 1, we covered why soap is effective in killing COVID-19 as well as how to clean steel railings. Here, we’ll talk about some other types of railings.
Glass Railings
Because glass railings are made with such a simple material, the method to cleaning them is equally simple. Simply fill a bucket with hot, soapy water and wash them down with a rag. It is highly recommended to wear rubber gloves during this process to minimize any potential contact with COVID-19.
When you’ve washed down the entire surface with soapy water, you’ll need to go over it again with plain water to remove soap and “dead” COVID-19. While the virus does get neutralized by soap, it’s still better for everyone’s peace in mind for it to be washed away entirely. Indoors, using a fresh rag and bucket of clear water will do. Outdoors, using a hose to spray down the soapy railings is just as effective, and much easier.
After the railings have been sanitized, you can go over them again with glass cleaner to remove streaks, if desired. It is recommended that, if your business or office is busy throughout the day, that an employee sprays the glass railings with alcohol and wipes them down multiple times during business hours.
Iron Railings
Where things get a little less simple is with iron railings. Both wrought iron and cast iron railings are much more prone to rusting. Plus, repeated wipe-downs can damage the coating. If cleaning your iron railings has damaged them, give us a call and we can help you restore them to their usual quality.
In order to work around the fragility of iron in relation to water and scrubbing, we have to get creative. There is always the option to let them get damaged and worry about renewing them when the pandemic has cleared up, but that’s not the only option.
Covering Railings
While creativity can lead to all kinds of solutions. However, one of the easiest and most hassle-free solutions to protecting iron railings during the pandemic is by covering them. That’s right – you can just cover them in sheet plastic. It isn’t very attractive – certainly not as attractive as the iron railings themselves – but it is effective.
To cover your iron railings, saving them from copious amounts of cleaning, buy some sheet plastic. You can get these from the local hardware store. Then, attach the edge of the plastic to the top or bottom railing with some simple Scotch or masking tape. Wrap the roll over and under the railing a few times, working your way down the railing until you hit a support pole. Then, repeat on the next section of railing.
When you’re through with this process, you’ll want to line your railing with a strip of plastic along the top. This will cover any seams in the wrapped plastic and allow for easy washing without water seeping through the cracks and then rusting the iron beneath. If you can wrap the railings somewhat neatly, this method doesn’t even look all that terrible. Times are a bit weird at the moment. Protecting your iron from damage certainly isn’t the weirdest thing your clients will see the day they visit.
Give us a call at Pro Weld if you need help protecting, repairing, or replacing railings. We’ve got years of experience caring for railings. We’re happy to pass any information we can along to our clients. Stay safe!
