How to Hire A Handyman During Pandemic?

Pandemic or no pandemic, some service calls often need our immediate attention. From television not working to the air conditioner or geyser has stopped functioning, or there is a pipe burst, especially now with strict protocols in New York and lockdown, these handyman services in Manhattan need to be summoned to have a smooth run of life. We can’t stop ourselves from calling them, but what we can do is ensure safety for us and them.

It’s when we decide to host a person for repair, we understand that it will not be an easy job. Starting from checking the ID card to making sure he is sanitized from head to toe including his equipment. Also, having a constant fear of this person being infected with the virus and spreading it. It all feels very risky to allow a handyman service during the pandemic.

CDC has laid down some principles to reduce and prevent the spread of the virus like social distancing, frequent hand washes, and sanitizing now and then. This also applies when we hire a handyman in New York to work inside or outside the house. 

Let us discuss some of the strategies to protect everybody when we are looking for outside help. We will divide the discussion into three parts- before, during, and after visit steps.

While the Visit Is Planned

It’s important to know if there is any order being stated about the stay at home and restrictions on non-essential movements. If there are, it’s important to know if your request comes under essentials or if a delay is possible.

• Make sure to check if someone around you has symptoms that are covid 19 consistent or have been in close proximity to a covid patient. In case of such an instance, wait for your home to be safe for you and others and then schedule for a handyman.
• Make sure that any person who is at a higher risk of getting affected at your home is either moved to another room or is out of the house when the handyman is hired.
• Make sure a lot of pre-service consultation is done about the safety measures and precautionary guidelines that are followed beforehand and also share with them all the details of the services required including photographs for better preparation beforehand.
• Ensure you have a travel plan ready before the handyman arrives. What route will the person take, where will this person put the tools? Any material that is required from you is ready and available beforehand to avoid unnecessary movements.
• Ensure any hindrance in the path from your main door to the room is removed so that there is no unnecessary touch of things on the way. This removes the risk of germs being carried.
• Do keep a separate towel, soap, some spare newspapers, cleaning material, and extra gloves for the handyman’s ease during work and your safety as well.

During the Visit Is On

• Make sure that you check the temperature of the handyman and use either the sanitizer or hand wash once this person arrives at your home.
• Don’t let the handymen enter your home if you feel there are symptoms of covid 19 or signs of sickness and ask them to reschedule once they are safe or raise this point of concern with the handyman service company from where you have hired the services.
• Make sure that you, your family members, and the handyman are wearing a mask during the entire service and are at least 6 feet apart from the handyman or in another room. Also, ensure you have fresh masks to offer during the service in case theirs gets damaged.
• Make sure that your handyman is wearing shoe covers before entering the house to prevent germs from being spread.
• Make sure there is less conversation inside the house and there are no physical greetings such as a handshake. If you have to have a conversation, ensure there is a barrier of the door between you and the handyman for safety.

After the Visit Is Over

• Make sure that once the handyman completes his service, you make the payment using touchless aids like google pay or others. 
• Make sure that if you are using money or a card, you immediately sanitize your hands and offer a sanitizer to the handyman also while also sanitizing the card. And if you are using cash, ensure that the money is sealed in an envelope and leave it on the table.
• Ensure sanitizing the doors and the room that the handyman has worked in.
• Lastly, ensure that you wash your hands once the handyman is gone for a minimum of 20 seconds.

Remember that there is no time limit on how long this pandemic is going to last. We cannot ignore the repair works that we need in our homes and especially those which we cannot do alone. So, hiring a handyman in Manhattan becomes an important part of the essential services. 

What we can do is ensuring the safety of both the handyman as well as us and our family members. Neglecting even a single point above can expose you to the highly infectious covid virus and can become a serious risk to not only your family and the handyman, but also their family and the people you all interact with like your neighbors, locality, or community at large.