PORTAGE, Mich. — As soon as Sue Henshaw drove up to Jeannie Cleaning off of Romence Road, she gave a volunteer an empty spray bottle to be filled with disinfectant.
However, as soon as Henshaw saw her sister Jeannie Henderson walk outside, she began to cry.
“I came to support my sister Jeannie. This is her wonderful business,” Henshaw said while crying in her vehicle. “She's so good to the community. And, it also gave me a chance to see my sister face-to-face.”
Henderson cried too.
Henderson said they haven’t seen each other since late February and they can’t hug because they’re practicing social distancing. But, she made sure Henshaw left with a bottle filled with disinfectant.
Henderson owns Jeannie Cleaning, a home cleaning service in the Kalamazoo/Portage area. Wednesday morning, she filled several drivers' bottles during an event she called No April Fools - Free Disinfectant Day.
“The product that we’re handing out today is hospital-grade disinfectant and it deactivates viruses and kills bacteria in about 60 seconds,” Henderson said. “But, some products need to be left on surfaces for up to 10 minutes.”
Henderson treated the parking lot in front of her business like a drive-thru, taking people’s empty spray bottles and filling them with disinfectant. And she educated drivers on the importance of cleaning everything now, especially ‘high-touch surfaces.’
“That first doorknob that you’re grabbing as you’re walking into your home, you should be cleaning that everyday right now,” Henderson said. “And then just any surface that you’re touching. Our rule is we walk in the door, we wash our hands.”
Henderson added that knobs, light switches, and faucet handles should be disinfected as well as the inside of cars.
“As a matter of fact I did a video yesterday about cleaning the inside of your vehicle,” Henderson said. “Steering wheels, door handles, gear shifts, buttons, so anything that has a handle on it, we should be cleaning on a regular basis right now.”
Henderson said since the coronavirus broke out, she’s been making cleaning videos and posting them on the company’s Facebook page.
She also had to let her staff go, Henderson said. It was the hardest decision she’s ever made.
However she and her team are all focused on helping the community stay healthy and safe during the pandemic.
“Somebody asked me to pick up a bottle of disinfectant for them when I was on the way to their house the other day. And there wasn’t any in the store. And I thought I have an office full of products that we can use right now,” Henderson said. “So, I thought you know we’re not cleaning homes, we should share this.”
***If you’d like some disinfectant, reach out to Jeannie Cleaning here.***
