Cleaning companies across the Valley are seeing an influx of service calls as more businesses and schools take preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus. 

The number of confirmed and presumptive positive cases in Arizona increased to 18 on Monday, bringing the total number of reported cases in Maricopa County to eight. 

Commercial cleaning companies in the Valley like Saenz Cleaning and Scottsdale Commercial Cleaning are reporting an increase in calls from businesses requesting precautionary cleaning and disinfecting. 

Saenz Cleaning is receiving five times more calls than it normally would during this time of year, according to owner Paulina Saenz. She said most of the requests for disinfecting related to concerns of the new virus have come from office buildings. 

Trey Whistle, owner of Scottsdale Commercial Cleaning, said his company is getting ten times more inquiries than usual.

But what does that kind of cleaning entail? Is it risky? The Arizona Republic talked with a few local cleaning companies to find out. 

A Phoenix-area man, who — according to his LinkedIn page — is an employee at Riot House, posted a public video on March 6 on YouTube saying he had the new coronavirus. 

Riot House posted to its Facebook page that one of its employees "who has a communicable disease" was briefly inside the club on March 1, prompting the business to take "the added precaution" to clean both Riot House and its sister nightclub next door, El Hefe.  

Square One Builders, a restoration and cleaning company based in Chandler, performed the cleaning on Riot House and El Hefe, which are run by Riot Hospitality Group.

The cleaning company is certified in different types of trauma and hazardous material cleanup, chief operating officer Brandon Martin told The Arizona Republic. He said they have seen inquiries increase in the past few weeks from commercial businesses and some schools looking to take precautionary measures for disinfecting work environments. 

"This is something we take very seriously," Martin said. "We take pride in knowing that we are contributing to the well-being of our local community to help reduce further risk and potential exposure."

The cleaning method depends on the risk assessment, he said. The company has three different levels of assessment: low, moderate and high.

Martin said a situation involving potential exposure to the new coronavirus would be considered high risk, like the cleanings performed at Riot House and El Hefe, and the cleanup would be approached the same as a hazardous material job. 

Thermal fogging and electrostatic disinfection are two methods the company utilizes, Martin said. Thermal fogging devices use heat to create a fog-like dry mist that quickly penetrate hard-to-reach areas. 

Electrostatic disinfection produces an electrically charged spray that is evenly applied to surfaces of all types. The positively charged solution is sprayed on and attracted to negative surfaces. 

Martin said because the new coronavirus is a relatively new virus, a formal protocol hasn't been established by a professional agency. The company has been working closely with a third-party industrial hygiene firm to develop internal protocol for the approach to disinfecting potential exposure of the new virus. 

He said the company isn't involved in testing the environment for contamination after the cleaning, and the decision for people to return to an establishment would ultimately be up to the management team overseeing the protocols. 

An electrostatic sprayer was also used to clean Kyrene School District's 25 schools while students were home for spring break. The cleaning came before Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman announced Sunday that all Arizona schools will close through March 27.  

SSC Services for Education performed the cleaning over spring break, and the company frequently cleans in Kyrene schools. 

The company used spray guns filled with disinfectant to sanitize door handles, desks and nearly every surface in about 45 classrooms at the Kyrene de la Mirada Leadership Academy in Chandler on March 5. 

Technology company Intel released a statement Friday about the measures it has taken following a March 10 announcement that one of its employees who was on a business trip at its Chandler campus tested positive for the new virus. 

The employee was on the Chandler campus near Chandler Boulevard and Rural Road on March 2 and 3, company spokesperson Linda Qian told The Arizona Republic. 

"At Intel, maintaining clean and safe facilities is core to how we operate. As an extra precaution, we have contracted for additional and sustained several-times-daily cleaning of Intel facilities around the world," the statement said. 

HonorHealth, which operates five hospitals in Phoenix and Scottsdale, provided a statement Wednesday to The Republic saying strict infection-prevention protocols are in place to contain the spread of the new virus, including processes to clean patient rooms thoroughly.

Honorhealth is one of the only health systems in the country with "germ-zapping robot technology" that is effective against the new virus, according to the medical group's statement.  

"This technology utilizes high-intensity ultraviolet light to successfully kill germs — including bacteria, viruses, bacterial spores, even antibiotic-resistant superbugs — that may survive the manual cleaning process," the statement said. 

While commercial cleaning companies may be seeing a surge in interest, some home-cleaning services are seeing cancellations. 

Home cleaning services like Maid Easy and The Perfectionist Cleaning Services are taking extra precautions with disinfecting by using Clorox wipes recommended by health professionals and wearing masks when customers request it. 

The Perfectionist Cleaning Services has seen an equal amount of inquiries and cancellations, with most of the cancellations coming from the elderly community, an employee told The Arizona Republic Monday. 

An employee from Maid Easy said the company expects to see an increase in calls in the coming weeks and added cancellations have been coming largely from vacation rentals as travel plans are affected by the virus. 

Reporter Chelsea Hofmann can be reached at email chelsea.hofmann@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on twitter @chofmann528.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.