Sales for cleaning supply companies skyrocket due to coronavirus

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – With more coronavirus cases being reported across the country, many people have turned to the pros at local cleaning companies to help battle the bug.

Mississippi hasn’t seen any cases yet, but folks aren’t taking any chances. They’ve made sure their workplaces and classrooms are disinfected.

Cleaning supply companies, like Columbus Paper and Chemical, have seen a higher demand for their products.

“It’s stirred up a pretty good bit of business. We’ve sold out of disinfectant, and we had to re-order and people come in and want to know what they can do to help keep from catching it,” said Tim Nolen is the President and Owner.

Nolen said the last couple of weeks have been so busy it’s kicked his crews into overdrive.

“We’ve done Mississippi State and we’ve done Caledonia Schools. They’ve all been really concerned especially the elementary schools where the kids are touching everything,” said Nolen.

Nolen explained on an average day they make 150 supply deliveries. Now, those numbers have almost doubled.

“We’ve gotten a lot of calls especially for hand sanitizer, facial masks just any kind of disinfectant. People are just kind of wanting to prevent flu and they’re getting a little scared from the coronavirus, and they want to take care of it before it gets here,” said Wilson.

The potential of the virus arriving in the Magnolia State also affected how Nolen’s team does things in the office as well.

“With some of the phone calls it’ll make you a little nervous because you don’t think about it until people start talking about it. It’s gotten a little worse with everybody calling and asking for those sanitizers. It makes you think about it a little more. We’ve are cleaning everything all the time. We have Germ-X at every corner on every desk,” said Wilson.

“We have tons of customers that come through and we sure don’t want to start spreading here at Columbus Paper,” said Nolen.

You can call or visit your local health care provider for more information on the coronavirus and tips to stay healthy.