When the COVID-19 virus arrived, it became imperative to talk about bacteria and viruses in the workplace. 98% of workers are affected by diseases annually because of germs. Commercial office cleaning has become a very important service.
According to studies, it only takes two to four hours for germs to spread from an infected surface to 40-60% of other office surfaces. An ill employee will touch an office door and will have spread his germs to the entire office by lunchtime.
In an eight-hour office day, your employees are touching contaminated surfaces. These are the items that your office cleaners will concentrate on.
Here are 15 places with the most germs in your office:
1. Door handles. These are the most often used items to go around your office. Create awareness about the risk of contamination through door knobs. Encourage employees to wash their hands, often with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds. Ask your cleaning staff to wipe door handles throughout the day regularly.
Elevator Buttons and Handrails. “Up” and “Down” buttons are the most used controls in an elevator. Sanitising your hands after an elevator ride is needed. Do not touch handrails unless extremely necessary. Hand sanitizers should be in place when exiting elevators and stairwells’ top and ground areas.
2. Desktops. They have around 21,000 bacteria, fungi, and viruses per square inch. They are 400x dirtier than a toilet seat. These microbes will travel to your hands as soon as you touch the desk. You might spend around eight hours a day in your cubicle working on your office desk. Before you start your day, wipe it clean with an antibacterial wipe. You may do this once a week for as fast as 10 minutes.
3. Keyboards. Because of social distancing, most employees eat their lunches and snacks in their cubicles. Some work during their breaks, inadvertently spilling drinks and dropping crumbs on their keyboards. There can be as many as 16 million microbes on an average office keyboard.
4. Telephones. Office phones have more germs than desktops. They have around 25,000 germs per square inch. Your cleaners should wipe the telephones several times a day, especially if it is a common phone.
5. Equipment. Printers, copiers, faxes, and other devices are teeming with germs since they are used by a lot of people in the office. This equipment should be sanitised after every use. You can also bring wipes when you use them so that you can wipe them before and after use.
Shared pens. Germs on pens can live up to 72 hours. It is not advisable to share pens, but if needed, you should clean them. Washing your hands after you get back the borrowed pen is important.
6. Water dispensers and fountain buttons. Delivered water dispensers are unclean since they have been exposed to the outside elements. The water supplier should have safety measures during the refilling process. Each employee should bring their water bottle. Drinking fountains can breed viruses that cause diarrhea and the flu.
7. Coffeemakers. Since the inside of the coffeemakers is damp and dark, it can become a breeding ground for germs if not cleaned regularly. It can be cleaned by pouring four cups of vinegar and leaving it for half an hour. Start the machine and run it with water until the smell of vinegar is gone.
Coffee pots. Though the pots are washed out, the handles should be disinfected as this is the most commonly used part.
8. Mugs. Sharing of mugs is not advised unless they are thoroughly cleaned, washed, and dried after every use. One study showed that 90% of mugs have germs. Some have fecal matter, probably due to improper handwashing after going to the loo.
9. Sinks. The faucet handle is the most touched part of the sink. Employees use this to wash their hands, utensils, plates, etc. Leftover food in sinks also harbour bacteria in them.
10. Kitchen sponges. The wet and absorbent sponge might be a breeding ground for bacteria. A new sponge can house E.coli and salmonella within three weeks. These viruses and bacteria can then be transferred to mugs, plates, and kitchen utensils. Sponges should then be discarded every two weeks. To be safe, put your utensils in the microwave and run for at least two minutes to kill germs.
11. Microwave doors. When employees bring their food from home, they heat it through the microwave when it’s time for lunch. Each employee touches the microwave door to open or close it when the heating is done. Again, you may bring wipes to clean the handle before and after use.
12. Vending machines. The vending machine buttons can have germs transferred to those who use them.
13. Restrooms. E.coli can be very rampant in an employee bathroom. Faucet handles can be dirty due to common use. Use a paper towel when flushing, so you don’t need to have direct contact with the flush.
Soap dispensers. Soaps in soap dispensers have fecal remains if the user does not wash their hands properly. Automatic soap dispensers are better since there is no need to touch any part of the equipment to wash your hands.
14. Refrigerator doors. Bacteria can grow inside the refrigerator due to spoiled food. Office cleaning services should clean the fridge every two days.
15. Chairs. Chairs are as dirty as your telephones. They are more contaminated than your computer mice, keyboards, and desktops. Seats and armrests are all included. You need to wipe them down and sanitise them at least once a week.
To guarantee your employees’ health and safety, you should consider hiring office cleaners in Melbourne. Even when your premises look clean, there might be unseen germs lurking in the corners. Storm International has experience in providing quality services, with complete equipment, knowledge, and approved cleaning products. Contact us here.
