With its large number of hospitals, research facilities, and nursing homes, Tampa FL has long been one of the frontrunners in medical care. Quite a few Tampa companies were already working with commercial painting contractors to use microbe-resistant paint before the COVID-19 outbreak. In the midst of the pandemic, there is more of a demand than ever for this type of paint. To decide if it is right for your building, it is helpful to learn more about the uses and benefits of microbe-resistant paint.

Your Environment Has a Huge Effect on Your Health

The areas a person spends their time in have a huge impact on overall levels of health. When trying to stay safe, most people focus on things like sanitizing doorknobs, wearing face masks, or purifying air. However, walls are a commonly overlooked surface that actually have a huge impact on health.

To understand why this happens, it is important to consider microbe loads. Essentially, there are always low levels of microbes like staphylococcus aureus floating around. When your immune system encounters one or two of these microbes, it can defend itself fairly easily. However, when it encounters higher levels of microbes, it can easily be overwhelmed. This means that a major part of avoiding disease is simply keeping microbe levels at a safe minimum.

One of the major spots where microbes linger is actually on walls themselves. Walls are not cleaned as frequently as other surfaces, and they make up a huge part of a building’s surface area. As air travels through a building, it is constantly picking up microbes from the walls and spreading them through the air. This can lead to high levels of viruses and bacteria which make it easier for a person to get ill. By making it harder for dangerous pathogens to stick around, you can protect your residents, employees, and customers.

Reduce Indoor Microbe Loads With Microbicidal Paints

Antimicrobial paints are a type of paint that has special additives. Many of these compounds are entirely natural substances like brass, copper, and cupronickel. Once the paint dries, it creates a surface that will resist viruses, bacteria, mold, and other microbes. The paint resists microbes in two ways. First of all, it can directly kill microbes. If these microbes fall on the walls, they will die out instead of replicating. Secondly, it can keep microbes from adhering to the walls, so they instead fall onto floors and other frequently cleaned surfaces.

Sherwin Williams is the leading producer of microbicidal paints, and they have produced the widely popular Paint Shield line that claims to kill 99 percent of all bacteria. There are also some other brands that create similar products. Some types of microbes killed by this type of paint include:

Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

E. coli

Influenza

Enterobacter aerogenes

Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE)

Microbicidal Coatings Have a Wide Range of Applications

There are all sorts of uses for antimicrobial paint in Tampa FL. Florida has one of the highest nursing home rates in the nation, so there are plenty of senior centers that can benefit from these paints. Seniors spend more time indoors than their younger counterparts, and they also have weaker immune systems. This can lead to rampant infections and unsafe living conditions. Assisted living facilities that want to avoid community-wide infections can use microbicidal paints as an especially effective way of protecting seniors. These advanced paints make it hard for bacterial infections and viruses to spread throughout the facility. By lowering microbe loads, seniors can live in a safer environment.

Of course, one of the other popular applications is in healthcare facilities such as doctor’s offices, hospitals, and outpatient clinics. In these environments, there is a major risk of infections. No matter how diligently staff clean, having so many patients in close quarters makes it easy for infectious diseases to spread. Using microbicidal paint for waiting rooms, hallways, and patients’ rooms can help stop these pathogens before they can move on to the next patient.

Tampa’s burgeoning restaurant and hospitality industry can also benefit from microbicidal paints. Many dangerous illnesses, like staph and E. coli, can spread easily throughout food preparation sites. This can lead to massive food poisoning waves that leave many customers ill and weak. By applying microbicidal coatings on the walls, shelves, and other areas of a food prep site, it can be possible to reduce the chances of spreading any dangerous illnesses.

During the pandemic, there are plenty of other helpful uses for microbicidal paint. Essential businesses that must remain open to the public can use these paints in staff break areas and other common areas. This helps cut back chances of viruses spreading between employees and customers. Every microbe that is killed by the paint is a microbe that cannot infect a person. This leads to a drastically reduced risk of illness for everyone who spends a lot of time in these rooms.

Shepard Contracts Can Help You Protect Your Organization

If you think your building could benefit from microbicidal paints and coatings, Shepard Contractors is here to help. Our talented team of commercial painters provides painting services throughout the Tampa Bay area. Our process starts with plenty of planning and preparation. We give you an honest, upfront cost estimate, so get a detailed estimate before we ever begin the project. We will go over your site with you, helping you select the right paints for your needs. With our color matching services, we can help you find paint colors that adhere to brand standards and provide the appropriate environment for your company. Our scheduling staff can work with you to find a time that suits your business’ scheduling needs. When it’s time to start painting, our knowledgeable staff of commercial painters will start by thoroughly cleaning surfaces, so the paint can adhere properly. Then we will carefully apply even coats of paint, ensuring a smooth, professional finish. Finally, we clean up after ourselves, leaving you to enjoy your brand new, microbe-resistant building. Your satisfaction is our priority, so Shepard Contractors always provides a two-year warranty for commercial paint jobs. Give us a call now to discuss your next commercial painting project.