CloroxPro Blog – Professional Cleaning and Disinfection Insights

We’ve all felt it: that first dreaded sniffle or tickle in the back of your throat that signals an impending cold or flu. And if you’ve got kids at home or work in an office or other shared space, you know how it goes: when one gets sick, it isn’t long before the whole group is down for the count. The truth is, respiratory viruses can not only mean missed sleep, but costly missed days of work and learning – and in severe cases, hospitalization or worse.

Are you ready for the 2025-2026 cold and flu season? Ministry of Health predictions expect the risk from respiratory pathogens such as influenza and RSV to be like the past two seasons, but there’s always the chance of unexpected activity peaks. The COVID virus keeps evolving, too. What’s the potential impact of respiratory viruses on kids and adults, and how can you help protect yourself, your family, your colleagues, and your school or shared workspace? Read on.

Impact of Respiratory Viruses

Schools

For every child who gets sick, there’s a parent or guardian who potentially loses workdays and income – but the impact on kids can be even more serious. While most young kids may be quick to bounce back, they are also among those most vulnerable since their immune systems are still developing, and their airways are smaller. Based on data from the SPRINT-KIDS Network, a group of 14 pediatric tertiary-care hospitals across Canada, there were 1,327 lab-confirmed influenza hospitalizations in kids under 18 last season, with 41% of those in elementary school-aged kids. That’s why it’s so important for schools to be vigilant about preventative measures and use cleaning and disinfection products that can wipe out a broad range of pathogens.

Workplaces

Adults can be just as vulnerable to respiratory illness, and you never know what other conditions your colleagues, or their families, might have that can make the situation even more vital. Overall, last season, there were nearly 9,000 lab-confirmed respiratory viral outbreaks in Canada (outbreaks linked to COVID, influenza or RSV reported from provincial and territorial public health departments).

Did you know? Last season, over 25,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations were reported in Canada.

What can this mean for workplaces? Absenteeism. In fact, BrightHR, a global HR and health & safety software provider that monitors 7,000 companies and their employees across Canada, reports that last November saw the highest number of cold-related absences (double the monthly average), and the second-highest number of flu-related absences (131% over the average). And the absence rate doesn’t slow down until the end of January. So, in late fall and winter, it pays to be prepared.

How can you help prevent the spread?

When it comes to influenza, seasonal vaccination is the best way to protect ourselves, our families, our schools and workplaces. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends influenza vaccination every year for everyone 6 months and older who is able. It adds a list of groups for whom vaccination is particularly important – and that list includes:

• Kids from 6 months to 5 years
• Household contacts (adults and kids) of people at high risk
• Those who care for kids up to age 5 in or out of the home

Beyond vaccination, frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes with an elbow, and keeping kids (and ourselves) home when sick is key.

Cleaning and Disinfection Best Practices

To prevent against infection in schools and shared workspaces, make an “end of day deep clean” part of your daily routine, using Health Canada-registered disinfectant cleaners with an influenza virus kill claim. For disinfection in between these deep cleans, consider the benefits of using disinfecting ready-to-use wipes in terms of reducing cross-contamination, and convenience. Make sure to focus on high-touch areas like:

• Desks and tabletops
• Chairs
• Door, cabinet and drawer handles
• Light switches
• Shared classroom equipment
• Keyboards and mice
• Walls

A few best-practice tips include: removing visible soil before applying a cleaner disinfectant (since soil can keep disinfectants from killing pathogens underneath), making sure surfaces stay visibly wet for the contact time written on the product label (so they have enough time to kill the pathogens), disinfecting dirty areas after clean ones (to avoid contaminating clean ones), and starting with high-up surfaces before moving to low ones (so any micro-organisms in dirt or dust up high can be removed when you get to the lower surfaces). You can find even more great tips here.

Help your school or workspace steer clear of respiratory viruses this season – choose CloroxPro™

Ready-to-use wipes:

CloroxPro™ Clorox™ EcoClean™ Disinfecting Wipes (DIN: 02545047)

A citric acid-based disinfectant that is made from a naturally derived plant-based active ingredient, and formulated without bleach, alcohol or ammonia.*

• Kills 20 pathogens in 5 minutes.  
• Disinfects in 5 minutes.
• Kills 99.9% of flu viruses (Influenza A virus, RSV) and the COVID-19 virus in 30 seconds.
• Sanitizes hard, nonporous surfaces in 60 seconds.
• Cleans and disinfects without harming most surfaces, with no lingering chemical smell.

Clorox Healthcare™ VersaSure® Alcohol-Free Cleaner Disinfectant Wipes (DIN: 02473151)

Alcohol-free quat formula with broad-spectrum disinfection; contact times from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.*

• Kills 50 pathogens in 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
• Kills E. coli, Norovirus and Salmonella in 2 minutes.
• Kills SARS-CoV-2, measles and mumps virus, HIV and Influenza A virus in 30 seconds.
• Non-abrasive, very low residue on surfaces.
• No harsh chemical odour.
• Stays wet for contact time.

Clorox Healthcare™ Bleach Germicidal Disinfectant Wipes (DIN: 02465671)

A bleach-based formula in an easy-to-use wipe format, with fast disinfection efficacy, favourable surface compatibility and residue profile.* 

• Health Canada registered to kill 66 pathogens.
• Kills C. difficile in 3 minutes, E. coli and Salmonella in 30 seconds and Norovirus in 1 minute.
• Kills viruses in 1 minute and bacteria in 30 seconds.
• C. difficile sporicidal efficacy tested in the presence of 3-part organic soil load.
• Available in clinical canister and EVS bucket wipe size formats.

*When used as directed.

Learn more about CloroxPro™ products that can help safeguard your facility

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