Disinfectant services booming

PETALING JAYA: With so many businesses attempting to comply with the SOP on reopening during the conditional MCO, companies offering disinfection services are seeing a boom in business.

Established industry players said “business is so good nowadays that many smaller firms have sprouted out, seemingly overnight”.

“Disinfecting is also a new norm. Everyone and everywhere needs it, ” said Shahrin Sadhri, the director of MSS Biofresh Cleaning in Johor Baru, whose order book is filled on a daily basis shortly after the MCO was implemented.

“Every business owner wants to be confident that their work place is hygienic for customers and employees, ” he said.

Aided by a team of trained staff, Shahrin, who only caters to commercial clients, said a strict SOP was observed throughout the disinfection process, which could otherwise be harmful to humans or cause damage to the premises if not carefully executed.

“All power sockets need to be sealed beforehand, no one is allowed inside the premises for a certain period of time after the process is done, ” he said.

Disinfection, he said, should only use effective chemicals approved by international and local authorities.

Weighing in was Hanisah Azemi, who runs a pest control and sanitising service company with her husband in Kuala Lumpur and Seremban.

Using only solutions approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), she said the SOP must be adhered to throughout the application process.

This was to protect the workers and to assure the thoroughness of the disinfection, she said.

Following the MCO, she said her business received much more enquiries and bookings from homes, offices and even those who want to disinfect their cars.

She said market rates are now at 60 sen per sq ft – meaning a 950sq ft (88sqm) apartment unit will pay RM570 for disinfection.

Shahrin pointed out that the rate can go as low as 30 sen per sq ft for commercial space of at least 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sq m).

“The rate used to be RM1 per sq ft, ” said Shahrin.

He added that the pandemic had given birth to many newcomers providing similar services, though not every player offers the same levels of service.

Hanisah concurred, saying consumers should not go for the inexperienced service providers just for the sake of savings.

“The right amount of chemical solutions is crucial when it comes to this kind of service, and it takes trained professionals to do it the right way, ” she said.

Shahrin also called on authorities to come up with a detailed guideline on the types of chemicals that are allowed for disinfection and related SOP.