It is extremely important for cleaning employees and staff to know about bloodborne pathogens. Bloodborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms in human blood that can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Knowing about bloodborne pathogens helps cleaning employees enforce precautionary measures to prevent exposure for themselves or others, and contrary to what you may believe, this knowledge doesn't only pertain to medical facilities. Proper knowledge and training should be practiced everywhere you are to clean. Houses, office buildings, schools, church's also have worry of transferring infectious diseases due to the fact they have employees of their own and are generally high trafficked areas for customers, clients, delivery personal and you never know if one of them happen to have a transmittable disease, BP's are not something that can be visibly seen, they're invisible to the eye, so precautionary measures should be implemented into all cleanings for all your business practices in an attempt on keeping the team safe, your clients and staff safe, and to stop the spread of bloodborne pathogens. It eliminates the possibility of costly OSHA fines, creates a clean environment, protects employees who handle sharps bins, biohazard waste, or any other potentially contaminated objects.

In order to reduce or eliminate the hazards of occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens, an employer must implement an exposure control plan for the worksite with details on employee protection measures similar to a fire evacuation plan. The plan must also describe how an employer will use engineering and work practice controls, personal protective clothing and equipment, employee training, medical surveillance, hepatitis B vaccinations, and other provisions as required by OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard in case of exposure to a infectious disease. Knowing how to protect yourself and others against potential exposure and knowing what to do in the case of exposure is of the upmost importance. It saves you and emergency personal time and money. Having this knowledge allows you to be cautious in procedures when working with bloodborne pathogens.