The ongoing COVID pandemic has more people than ever working from home, but generally most of us spend a majority of our time in our offices.
It's important to keep any area where you spend so much time as clean as possible, whether by doing the work yourself or hiring a reputable cleaning company. You can start and develop a cleaning system that involves disinfecting your workplace as part of your office routine.
Simple cleaning works to remove the dirt and dust from the surfaces in your office. However, taking things a step further by practicing disinfection ensures that germs in your environment are removed. Combining these two is a more effective approach rather than opting for cleaning or disinfecting only.
So let's take a look at how you can ensure your workplace is sanitary.
Guide to Keeping Your Workplace Clean and Sanitary
Why Is It Necessary to Disinfect Your Workplace?
These days, careful cleaning to prevent the spread of germs is more important than ever.
Take a moment to observe areas where people congregate on a daily basis. For example, the pantry area where employees often take their breaks can have counters with high touch surfaces.
Pay close attention to where people make their coffee, eat their meals, gather for snacks, and chit chat. It’s essential to make it a priority to clean and disinfect the pantry room.
This is also applicable to the other rooms in your office where surface contact is more frequent.
When Should You Clean and Disinfect?
It’s advisable to clean high-touch surface areas often and at a minimum of once a day. If more people meet and gather in specific rooms then it’s sensible to clean more regularly than that.
The more people gather in an area, the more opportunity there is for an area to become unsanitary.
Areas where young kids are confined also need frequent cleanup. After cleaning, it’s also good to practice disinfection, depending on the conditions of your workplace.
When an employee or colleague is sick, cleaning and disinfecting the work area is an important protocol. This is to ensure that the contagion is kept to a minimum, especially for contagious illnesses such as cough and cold.
Before proceeding, keep away from the area for a few hours.
Close it off so others won’t accidentally situate themselves in that particular spot until proper cleaning and disinfecting has been done.
What Are Examples of High-touch Areas and Surfaces?
If your job includes dealing frequently with customers, you’ll often be exposed to high-touch surfaces such as counters, pens and tables.
In retail shops, you’ll find that shopping carts, keyboards, and light switches in dressing rooms are categorized as high-touch surfaces.
In a private office, you’ll find office desks, phones, doorknobs, toilets, faucets, and sinks to be high-touch points. In hotels, this would include elevator buttons, stair railings, and door handles.
Here are steps you can follow to ensure your workspace is always up to standards in terms of cleanliness and disinfection :
When performing cleaning tasks, opt to use gloves and masks: You want to avoid products coming into contact with your skin. Masks also help to prevent the inhalation of fumes, especially when you’re using strong cleaning and disinfecting products.
Make sure to rinse your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water when you’re done cleaning: This should be done right away once the gloves come off.
Dirty hands must always be washed using soap and water. If the hands don’t appear dirty and access to water and soap isn’t available, you can substitute a sanitizer.
Let people know that you’re cleaning or disinfecting so those who have asthma can find another spot to stay in: Some people have sensitivities towards cleaning products which can trigger their allergy attacks.
Focus on ventilation when performing cleaning and disinfecting in the workplace: Switch on fans or heating and cooling systems. Opening doors and windows are also effective in letting the air circulate.
Pay close attention to soft surfaces: Check if the surface is soft such as rugs, drapes, and carpets. If it is, make sure to use suitable cleaning products such as soap and detergent.
Take time to vacuum the work area: A good vacuum comes with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. Before switching on the vacuum, turn off your HVAC units. This helps prevent contamination.
In office desks, your electronics such as touch screens, keyboards, remote controls and tablets can easily collect the most germs.
It’s best to cover these surfaces with a material that makes cleaning and disinfecting convenient. Remember that some gadgets are sensitive, so make sure to read instructions on how best to clean them.
Disinfect safely by:
- Checking if the surface will not be ruined by a bleach product.
- Read the instructions of disinfecting products and carefully follow them so you’ll know how to use them properly and safely.
- Some cleaning and disinfecting products can be harsh, so wear gloves and goggles to protect yourself.
- Good ventilation is recommended.
- Check to see that you’re using the adequate amount of the product when cleaning and disinfecting .
- Store the cleaning and disinfectant products properly to prevent spills and accidents.
Additional Precautions
If you own the business, remind your staff to follow the proper handwashing techniques. You can hang signs in the workplace or send notifications now and then.
You can also encourage staff to always carry hand sanitizer for hygienic practices.
If a staff member is ill, tell them to report to you right away before coming to the office. It’s best to let an employee rest to avoid transmitting the common flu and cold.
Emphasize that experiencing symptoms is enough for them to stay home. Arrange a contingency plan for situations like these.
Keeping Your Workplace Clean: The Bottom Line
Between busy hours spent in the business and managing tasks, you may find yourself without adequate time for cleaning and disinfecting.
However, this is an essential workplace practice for hygienic purposes. If you need commercial cleaning services, feel free to reach out to Crown Inc. Commercial Cleaning at 719-900-KING.
We offer commercial cleaning services driven to satisfy our valued customers. We'll take care of your workspace by fully dedicating ourselves to using the best cleaning materials and equipment.
At an affordable rate, you'll enjoy an immaculate workplace. Our professional cleaners are properly qualified with excellent training in following the correct protocols.
Contact Crown Inc. Commercial Cleaning today. We offer flexible and customizable cleaning plans!
