COVID-19 Disinfection for Grassy Park homes and businesses

Grassy Park is wedged between Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei, with the Lotus River canal cutting through nearby, so standing water shapes life here more than in most Cape Flats suburbs. Summer evenings mean mosquitoes, and the canal banks mean rats, and between those two we stay busy.

Hygiene & disinfection in Grassy Park: what we see

Creches, mosque and church halls and the clinics along the main roads book disinfection most often in winter. Takeaways tend to combine a sanitise with their regular roach service.

Zeekoevlei is one of the largest freshwater lakes on the Cape Flats, and Rondevlei next door is a nature reserve with reedbeds and, famously, hippos. The water table sits high in this sandy ground, so winter rain lingers in low yards and stormwater drains. Reeds and still water along both vleis and the canal are prime mosquito habitat once it warms up.

Most homes are freestanding brick houses on decent-sized plots, many with garages turned into rooms, carports and backyard flats. Prince George Drive and Victoria Road carry a long line of shops, takeaways and small businesses with storerooms behind them. Older homes have wooden floors in places and roof spaces that rats can reach from overhanging trees. Where plots back onto vlei edges or open land, rodents and insects arrive from the garden side rather than the street.

Tell-tale signs

1. Shared equipment such as till points, keyboards, phones and kitchen counters is used by many hands every day.
2. Normal cleaning has been done, but nobody has wiped door handles, light switches and lift buttons properly.
3. A staff member, resident or regular visitor has tested positive or gone home sick with flu-like symptoms.
4. Several people in the same office or household have fallen ill within a few days of each other.
5. You are about to reopen a space that was closed because of illness.
6. A client, landlord or head office has asked for proof that the premises were disinfected.

Respiratory viruses spread mainly through the air between people, but contaminated surfaces play a part, particularly in busy shared spaces. For a business the bigger cost is often staff absence: one case that turns into five can empty a small office for a week. There is also a trust issue, because staff and customers want to know something was actually done. Surface disinfection lowers the load on surfaces, but it does not replace ventilation, staying home when sick or medical advice.

Something most people miss

For homes with small children or pets, the main rule is simple: everybody out during the treatment, windows open afterwards, and wait out the re-entry time we give you.

How the treatment works

We start with the boring part that matters most: wiping down high-touch surfaces by hand with a suitable disinfectant, because fogging alone does not scrub a greasy door handle. Then we fog the rooms with a ULV fogger, which puts out a fine mist that settles on surfaces, including the ones nobody thinks to wipe. We choose products that are suitable for the surfaces and the people who will use the space, and we tell you how long to keep the area closed before re-entry. Electronics are covered or wiped rather than soaked. Afterwards you get a short report listing the areas treated and the product used.

Want the full step-by-step? See how our COVID-19 disinfection service works.

Keeping them out afterwards

• Place hand sanitiser at entrances, the kitchen and the till, and keep it topped up.
• Open windows where you can. Cape Town's south-easter is good for something, and moving air dilutes airborne virus.
• Know who to phone before you need it, so a positive case does not turn into a day of scrambling.
• Keep people at home when they are sick. It does more than any amount of spraying.
• Put a daily wipe-down of handles, switches and shared phones on someone's task list, not just the cleaner's.

How much will it cost?

The cost depends mostly on floor area and how many separate rooms need fogging. Heavy furniture, lots of electronics or food preparation areas take more time because they need careful wiping and covering. After-hours or weekend work and repeat treatments during an ongoing outbreak also affect the quote, which is free.

Our busiest disinfection months are the wet Cape winters, from about May to August, when people are packed indoors with the windows shut and flu and colds spread fast. We still see call-outs in summer, usually after a single case in an office or a care home.

Frequently asked questions

COVID-19 Disinfection nearby and related