Good office cleaning and sanitation practices are important at any time as germs are constantly piling into the office from innumerable other offices, homes, and forms of public transportation. However, cleaning and sanitation are of particular importance during the current situation with the COVID-19 virus. Proper office sanitisation is essential to prevent the spread of this dangerous disease.
Particular care should be taken with all 'high-touch' surfaces. Door handles, light switches, and similar surfaces can easily spread the virus throughout a large group of people over the course of a single day. They should be cleaned regularly and disinfected frequently with an approved eco-friendly product.
Have an Electrostatic Disinfecting for Office Germ Hotspots
Fortunately, the application of approved disinfectants via electrostatic application systems can prevent these dangerous viral infections. Our EMist Electrostatic Application System adds a strongly positive charge to the disinfecting product at the spray nozzle.
Most surfaces naturally have a neutral or negative charge that offers a powerful attraction to the strongly positive disinfecting solution. This produces a more targeted and consistent coverage of the areas to be disinfected with less waste.
5 Office Germ Hotspots
These are the places where germs are most likely to spread from person to person even without physical contact. Numerous studies have shown that many of the items in an average office harbour more germs than the average toilet seat! Even without the threat of COVID-19, it's clear that most offices could probably do with a bit more cleaning than they generally receive.
1. Desks
Considering what happens at your desk over the course of a day, it isn't surprising that it collects so many germs. How many other people touch your desk or place something they've handled on it during the day? Have you set your bag or briefcase on the floor and then on your desk? You've just inoculated it with germs and fed them on the crumbs and drips left from the lunches you eat there so frequently. It's quite possible that your desk has more germs than the floor beneath it!
Wiping your desk down with an antimicrobial wipe at the end of each day will get rid of food residues. Of course, keeping it free of clutter will make wiping it easier. A clear desk also makes electrostatic disinfecting more effective.
2. Mugs and water bottles
How often do you wash your mug or water bottle? Once a week or so isn't enough. At a minimum, they need washing up before you leave each day. Don't use a communal sponge for the job, either. They are hotbeds for germs since they are rarely, if ever, disinfected.
They also tend to collect food particles and remain almost constantly moist. Those are perfect conditions for growing a nice crop of unhealthy germs! If there isn't a dishwasher available, either use a bit of kitchen towelling or take them home to wash.
If you're hot-desking, make sure your mug and bottle are clearly distinguished as yours. You may need to share your desk space, but you definitely don't want to share drinks!
3. Desktop accessories
Your keyboard and mouse, desk phone, and even pens collect a tremendous number and variety of germs. That pen in your mouth may have been on the floor or even someone else's mouth earlier in the day. If you're tempted to chew on a pen whilst thinking, please don't!
Since these items are handled so frequently, and often by more than one person, they should also be cleaned and disinfected frequently. Several times a day is not too often, especially now.
4. Handles, switches, and buttons
Door handles are one of the many 'high-touch' surfaces we mentioned earlier. Think about how often you touch these surfaces over the course of a day and then multiply that by the number of co-workers and visitors in the office each day.
That is a lot of potentially filthy fingers spreading germs all over these popular surfaces! They will definitely require frequent, thorough cleaning and disinfecting, preferably with an electrostatic application system.
High-touch surfaces:
- Fridge, tap, water cooler, cabinet, and door handles
- Countertops and other flat surfaces
- Light switches
- Lift, telephone, photocopier, and microwave buttons
5. The fridge
It's possible that a co-worker could inadvertently bring the COVID-19 virus to the office along with lunch and stash them both in the fridge. To avoid this risk, however unlikely it may be, bring your lunch in a tightly sealed container clearly marked with your name. Before opening it, you may want to wash the exterior of your container with soap and warm water for the requisite 20 seconds. As a bonus, your hands will be clean and ready to eat when you're finished!
A professional office cleaning service will provide the deep cleaning needed to help keep COVID-19 at bay, but it's essential that everyone in the office contributes to the cause as well. You can do your part by keeping your desk tidy and personal items clean. Keep a packet of antimicrobial wipes handy for wiping down pens, the telephone, your mouse and keyboard, and other items on this list, particularly if someone else has touched them.
Eco-Friendly Office Cleaning and Sanitation Tips
Achieving a sterile environment, as in an operating theatre, is highly impractical in an office environment. On the other hand, a workspace in the midst of a pandemic really needs to be more than simply sanitary. Therefore, a comprehensive disinfection program is the best choice. It will ensure that dangerous pathogens such as COVID- 19 are removed for a healthy work environment. Of course, in order to keep that work environment safe, only eco-friendly cleaning and disinfecting products should be used. There is no use in trading one health hazard for another in the name of expediency.
From the lowliest worker's cubby to corporate office cleaning, it's important that all areas receive the same care and attention to detail if this virus is to be thwarted. That's why professional deep cleaning and sanitisation through the use of an EMist system should form the basis of your COVID-19 response.
Let Green Facilities Management help during the COVID-19 Crisis
Offices, lounges, conference rooms and bathrooms are often highly contaminated with germs. Our EMist Electrostatic Application System will effectively and thoroughly sanitise these areas. The reduction in germs and resulting illnesses is important at any time. In the face of COVID-19, that level of improved sanitisation is vital.
For thorough, eco-friendly office cleaning, hire an office cleaner from Green Facilities Management. We have the experience and knowledge necessary to provide the type of deep cleaning so necessary right now. However, that type of germ banishing cleaning needn't happen at the expense of the environment and your employees' health. Our deep cleaning specialists will ensure that it doesn't! Contact us for more information about our eco- friendly COVID-19 disinfection services and a free quote.
