Are You Really Keeping Your Office Clean?

Like your home, the workplace also needs a regular deep cleaning schedule. We’ve all seen first-hand what can happen when the workplace becomes a haven for bacteria, viruses, and germs. The COVID pandemic is an example of how people catch infections from each other. Besides, an unclean office environment will directly impact your team’s health, happiness, and productivity.

One way to show your staff your workplace is a safe and healthy haven for productive work is to maintain daily cleaning and regular deep cleaning However, if you’re a new business, you may be wondering where to start. Rather than guess what needs cleaning and how often outsourcing your cleaning is worthwhile.
When you hire professional commercial cleaning services to get the job done, you show your staff and customers that their well-being is your priority.

This property talk article looks at some dirtiest workplace areas and how to ensure your cleaners are getting the cleaning done.

Dirtiest Areas Of An Office

As the leaseholder, you are responsible for keeping the workplace and ancillary areas like the bathroom and entrances clean and tidy. However, check your lease agreement as some leases may include cleaning of common areas like the bathrooms and hallways.

Workstations

As it turns out, the devices and equipment are the dirtiest items in an office. It’s no surprise, given people use their computers daily. Eating over their keyboard and using their mouse before washing their hands will result in food stuck to these items. Plus, how often do your workers clean their monitors? If it’s not daily, you can be certain there will be dust, spit, and other fluids on them. It doesn’t sound nice, but it’s a reality. Plus, workers’ workstations are containers of dirt, dust, bacteria, and so on unless they are cleaned regularly.

Bathrooms

Everyone goes to the bathroom during the day. Not everyone has the same cleanliness. Therefore, regular cleaning must keep germs from spreading from person to person. Deep cleaning of this area is also needed.

Standard Cleaning Schedule For An Office

While you would have to hire professional commercial cleaning services to ensure a clean environment in your office, the employees should also be doing their part in keeping it clean. When working at their desks, they’d often sneeze, touch various surfaces, and spill drinks/food occasionally. The office can quickly become a microbial zoo if these surfaces are not cleaned regularly. It would be a good idea to suggest your employees keep their workstations tidy with the following tips.

• Declutter their desk
• Tidy up the surrounding areas of their workstation
• Use storage trays for miscellaneous documents
• Store personal belongings in the designated area

Now that the preliminary tidying is done, your professional commercial cleaning services provider can carry out most, if not all, tasks without encroaching on your staff’s items.

What is general office cleaning?

1. Dusting

The cleaning professionals will start by dusting all surfaces to remove any dirt build-up. The best way to go about it is by using a damp microfiber cloth to catch all the dust. Since your employees have already removed all the clutter from the desk, their job of wiping down the workspaces will become easier. Remind them to clean the dust from the window sills, picture frames, top of the monitor, and fan blades.

2. Vacuuming

While the solid surfaces can be wiped, the office upholstery and other hard-to-reach areas must be vacuumed. Professional cleaners would most likely alternate between narrow attachment, upholstery brush, and carpet attachment to reach every nook and cranny. Vacuuming is also a great way to remove any loose dirt left after dusting with damp microfiber.

3. Disinfecting

After dusting and vacuuming, it’s time to disinfect the workspaces. Ensure that the professional cleaner disinfects commonly touched things like office phones, equipment, mouse, keyboard, headset, etc.

With these steps, the professional cleaners will ensure that your office looks spick and span. Now, all you have to do is maintain a consistent cleaning schedule for your office. If you have a small office with only a few employees, you can hire professional commercial cleaning services monthly or bi-weekly to ensure a clean office environment. Larger offices, on the other hand, should look at a weekly cleaning schedule.

Office Cleaning Checklist

Either get an office cleaning checklist from your cleaners or create one for them to follow and sign off on every time they complete their cleaning duties.

Cubicles, desks, workstations

Most workstations or staff cubicles will have to be similar, so you can create a general cleaning list that will include dusting, and cleaning floors, walls, and surfaces.

Typically you’ll find shelves, work desks, and other surfaces in the cubicle or workstation. Dusting keyboards and computer screens. Vacuuming floors under the tables and desks. Plus, cleaning the windows or walls.

Emptying the trash cans and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces like keyboards, office equipment, lamps, staplers, office phones, etc.

Break room and office kitchen

Cleaning and disinfection of the countertops and surfaces where people eat food. Discarding perishable, unwanted food, food wrappers, etc. Plus emptying out the kitchen trash.

You may need to also wash dishware and utensils and the coffee maker. Plus, look for other kitchen appliances that may have been used and wash them too to keep germs away. One of the least clean appliances is the refrigerator, so don’t forget to clean and disinfect the surfaces.

Reception and waiting area

No one wants to be presented with an unclean and untidy welcome desk. Dusting all the hard surfaces like the welcome desk, waiting room tables, etc.

Emptying any trash bins. Cleaning of windows, glass panels, company signs, and any other areas visitors see when they first enter. Also, to keep viruses off commonly touched surfaces like call buttons, lamps, phones, and the welcome desk – give them a squirt of disinfectant.

Carpet cleaning (quarterly) but vacuuming daily is the usual schedule for this area of an office.

Office bathrooms

Start high and work your way down. Windows, mirrors, walls, and surfaces, including sinks and taps. Clean everything and disinfect everything liberally. Sweeping any debris off the floor and mopping it with disinfectant. Discarding paper towels and emptying trash.

Office exterior

First impressions will be formed before customers and staff enter the office interior. Clean welcome mats and place them in the right area, so they do their job of collecting dirt from footwear before people enter your office. Sweep away leaves and debris, and cut branches if necessary to keep the front entrance accessible and visually appealing Remember to clean exterior windows and doors.

With these tips and a cleaning checklist for your office, you can now make the most of the professional commercial cleaning services you hire or make it easier for your team to keep your workplace safe and healthy and welcoming visitors and customers.