Air Force Base Finds Creative Way to Disinfect Classrooms

 Oct. 15, 2020 | BY AIR FORCE SENIOR AIRMAN SERAIAH WOLF

The 17th Civil Engineer Squadron at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, is employing a different way of efficiently disinfecting the classrooms on base — a fog machine.

Taking extra precautions for their own safety, CE members Omar Martinez and Walter Miller enter the school-age program and Child Development Center classrooms and use fog machines to deploy a mist of disinfectant to all of the surface areas within the building.

This disinfectant mist is safe to breathe and be around while it is being distributed. There is a suggested re-entry time of 20 minutes, which allows the chemical to bond to any germs and kill them.

"The time the chemical is left alone on the surface is called wet time," Martinez said. "In the time that it bonds to the germs, it also dries, and, since it is a 'no rinse needed' chemical, you are then good to go."

Each individual organization is responsible for disinfecting its offices daily. The building's staff wipes down the high traffic areas every day.

"We do this when we are requested," Miller said. "This is usually if one of the children has had an especially runny nose or if someone just wants to go the extra step to make sure even the hard-to-reach areas are taken care of."

This method of disinfecting is more efficient for the members to disinfect large square footage areas.

"The chemical that we use is known to be 99.999% effective in killing different viruses," Martinez said. "This is why we are using this method, as well. It is more likely to kill everything we want it to."

Two weeks ago, when COVID-19 was gaining traction, the flight chief for child and youth programs reached out for help to deep clean all of the classrooms and toys. A group of fire and intelligence students volunteered and cleaned all of the classroom surfaces and toys to help protect the children across the base.

Experts say those in quarantine should reach out to friends and battle buddies through social media; take advantage of the new ways to watch movies and television shows together; and always keep in mind that, as frustrating and inconvenient as this experience is, it is only temporary.

(Air Force Senior Airman Seraiah Wolf is assigned to the 17th Training Wing Public Affairs, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas).