Is Your Office Being Disinfected Properly?

It’s easy to get sucked into a routine. Once you get used to something it’s hard to change it or even notice when something is wrong. Unfortunately, this lack of attention can be devastating to your business in many ways, particularly in relation to cleaning. If you’re not getting top-notch service then you can’t count on your office to be properly disinfected or even properly cleaned.

Considering the prominence of COVID-19 outbreaks, it’s more important than ever to ensure that these areas are not being ignored and that you and your employees can work in a clean, healthy space. The only way to ensure your cleaning team is meeting the required safety standards is to assess their methods to see whether or not upgrades are needed. This not only establishes and maintains a safe work environment for your staff and (occasional) visitors, but it also sends an encouraging and morale-boosting message to your workforce that you are doing your best to protect them.

How frequently should you be disinfecting your office environment?

This is the first big question you need to answer and it’s not one that has an answer that’s set in stone. In fact, the level of disinfection you should use depends entirely on use.

Basically, if you have a surface that is considered high-touch or high traffic, you should disinfect it on a regular basis, in many cases multiple times per day. These surfaces tend to be light switches, door handles, desks, countertops and the like. Working out which are the most used areas depends on the behaviour of your staff - so monitor and evaluate carefully.

Remember that disinfection is ultimately about breaking the chain of infection by reducing environmental vectors of spread. Regular thorough cleaning will prevent germs from propagating and will therefore reduce the chances of transmission through physical contact - a very important consideration given the current climate.

How Your Office Should Be Disinfected

The next thing to look at is whether your current cleaning procedures match up to the safety requirements and do what’s needed to disinfect a space. There are five main ways you can do this and you should get a commercial cleaner that uses all of them if you want thorough cleanliness.

1. Complete Wipe Down

The first is rather basic. Keep surfaces clear and accessible for the most thorough cleaning. When the cleaner has access to open surfaces they can complete a better cleaning service. Remove the clutter and miscellaneous items by storing items in paper trays, cabinets, or drawers. This will help ensure less disruption to your personal items and a cleaner workspace.

2. Colour-Coded Cleaning

Another useful technique that should be taken advantage of is colour-coded cleaning. This means marking cloths and sponges according to where they should be used, so you don’t end up using a bathroom cleaning cloth in the kitchen, which would be very unhygienic.

3. Smart Spraying

Smart spraying is another technique that is useful and thought to be effective against coronavirus strains. The main thing is that the disinfectant spray should be directed downwards over the whole area in order to create the best protection against germs of all kinds. Spraying a microfiber cloth and then wiping the surface thoroughly will also avoid over spraying.

4. Don’t Ignore Technology

Technology also shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to disinfection. Wiping down work laptops, mouses and cellphones is critical, considering that we touch our phones so often during the working day. Germs thrive on these areas, and can easily move from face to hand to tech, where they sit and multiply. Good cleaners will offer solid electrostatic cleaning options in this area for attacking all germs in these vital, highly trafficked spaces. Providing your staff with disinfectant products and wipes can allow cleaning between uses particularly on common touch shared equipment such as copiers.

5. Add Signage in the Workplace

On a simpler level, you want to make sure that there are appropriate warnings and reminders put up around the workplace. By simply posting handwashing and hand drying signs everywhere from the kitchen to the bathroom you can ensure that your employees are washing their hands and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The drying procedure is also important as it reduces the moisture on which bacteria thrive.

Other Important Factors to Consider

When you’re trying to have a healthy and clean workplace, speed should be the last thing on your mind. Just getting someone who runs through and wipes down surfaces won’t be effective. In fact, some of them may even forget the most important step of leaving the disinfectant on for long enough to clean the area properly.

This leads to another important factor, that being the amount of time given for these sprays to do their job. Spray and wipes or just wipes are virtually useless. Remember, it’s not about how much is being sprayed, it’s about how it’s being used and whether that usage is effective and correct.

Another major consideration that’s already been touched on, is whether the areas that are most commonly frequented are getting their fair share of disinfection. The most touched areas need to be disinfected at a higher rate than other spaces. This doesn’t mean your commercial cleaner can ignore these other spaces, it simply means they don’t need to clean them as frequently.

Above all, make sure that your commercial cleaner is being careful around food areas. You don’t want someone leaving cleaning chemicals in your food stuff which could be ingested, causing physical harm to yourself and others. Plus, remember that you want your walls and ceilings to be thoroughly disinfected, to ensure cleanliness and to halt the spread of dangerous viruses.

Final Words

Now, more than ever, you want to ensure that your spaces are being appropriately cleaned and disinfected. You don’t want to be left in a situation where your office is still unsanitary even after you’ve paid for commercial cleaners to do their job. There are many different techniques and methods to watch out for, but the most important is to ensure that the most touched spaces are kept clean and sanitized at all times.

To learn more about how to disinfect your offices properly, call RBC Clean at 289-301-2095 or contact us here.