Download the full recommendations here:

Guests expect hotel rooms to be clean upon check-in, but high-touch surfaces like remote controls, alarm clocks, and room phones may require additional cleaning measures to keep staff and guests safe during a pandemic.

VTech Hotel Phones are manufactured from Antibacterial plastic and Silicon Rubber. We’ve added an antibacterial ingredient to the plastic used in our hotel phones. This ingredient uses silver and other ions to prevent the growth and migration of bacteria, mould and fungus. Standard cleaning and disinfection practices can effectively kill viruses (i.e. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19) and prevent their spread.

The effects of COVID-19 are being felt across the globe. The health and well-being of hotel guests, hotel staff, and daily visitors is our top priority and these instructions have been prepared to clarify how to properly clean and disinfect our hotel phones.

Effective Cleaning and Disinfection Measures

These instructions represent “best practice” and we recommend that you follow them as closely as possible. Please remember the key point:

• Firstly, clean the phone carefully
• Secondly, disinfect the phone

Applying disinfectant to a dirty phone, or cleaning a phone but not disinfecting it afterwards, will be far less effective than taking both steps in order.

Before cleaning and disinfecting, you will need…

• 5 soft lint-free/ microfibre cloths
  CLEANING – (1) dampened with soapy solution, (1) dampened with water, and (1) dry to clean off residual moisture.
  DISINFECTING – (1) dampened with disinfectant, (1) dry to clean off residual moisture.
• Alcohol wipes (70% isopropyl alcohol)
• Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), including surgical mask, gloves, disposable gown, eye protection (goggles/face shield) and cap.
• Air duster and brush (optional)

Cleaning

1. Put on appropriate PPE, including surgical mask, disposable gloves, disposable gown, eye protection (goggles/face shield) and cap;
2. Direct the air duster’s nozzle across rows of keys on the dial pad to remove dirt/dust accumulated in between keys. A hand brush may be used to assist in removing settled dirt or dust;
3. Lift the handset and dust out the cradles and handset. Keep your fingers on the switchhook while dusting to prevent making calls accidentally;
4. Use the lightly damp microfibre cloth with soapy/ detergent water to physically remove soil, dirt, and debris from the hotel phone surfaces;
5. Use another piece of cloth dampened with water to clean off residual soap;
6. Then, use the dry cloth to clean off residual moisture.

We recommend cleaning the phone once per day in a hotel environment.

Disinfecting

We recommend selecting European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and/or UK Gov registered disinfectants known to kill harmful micro-organisms, like bacteria and pathogens, on the phone surfaces.

See Suitable disinfectants for more details

1. Fold a clean microfibre cloth to cover your palm;
2. Spray disinfectant cleaner onto the microfibre cloth and rub it until it is absorbed evenly; and
3. Wipe and clean the hotel phone surface back and forth, from top to bottom, and from the inside out;
4. Use the dry cloth to clean off residual moisture; and
5. Lastly, use alcohol wipes (70% isopropyl alcohol) to clean the phone. Do not use excessive alcohol as it is flammable. Wait until the residual alcohol has evaporated before resuming normal usage.

Selecting the right disinfectants to clean and disinfect

Use an ECDC (for EU) and/or UK Gov recommended disinfectant to properly disinfect surfaces to protect your facility against viruses and other unwanted germs. This is an important reminder when considering how to effectively keep staff and guests safe throughout the property.

European Union (EU)
Disinfection of environments in healthcare and non-healthcare settings potentially contaminated with SARSCoV-

UK Gov
COVID-19: Cleaning of non-healthcare settings
Defra approved disinfectant use for cleaning and disinfecting

US
Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2

• Use household cleaning products (e.g. bleach – undiluted) and abrasives;
• Use hydrogen peroxide ( >3% ) or acetone;
• Use any type of scrubbing pads;
• Sanitise with steam, hot water, hot air, or UV-Light;
• Hold the phone under running water;
• Spray or pour cleaner directly to the phone; or
• Rub excessively when cleaning the phone

Why we don’t recommend sanitising

Steam Cleaning
Sanitising uses heat (i.e. steam, hot water and hot air) and requires at least 78°C temperatures to kill microorganisms on surfaces. VTech Hotel phones are mainly made of antibacterial plastic and silicon rubber. The low melting point of the plastic makes it inappropriate for high-temperature sanitising applications.

UV-Light
While the effectiveness of UV-light on viruses (i.e. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19) is still unknown, long duration of UV exposure may cause deterioration in colour and mechanical properties of the hotel phone material.

Download the full recommendations here: