6 Ways to Keep Your Office Space Clean & Sanitized

Now more than ever, commercial cleaning and sanitation services are essential to a healthy, productive, safe society. The break room, kitchen, and personal workspaces all pose a risk of harboring infectious diseases and viruses. The most commonly used areas are at an increased risk of infection, even when social distancing is practiced.

Aside from frequent, professional cleaning from a trusted commercial cleaning service like Remediation Solutions, there are multiple ways to cut down on risk.

1. Promote Better Hygiene

You would think we wouldn’t need a reminder to wash our hands, but over 40% of people don’t wash or disinfect their hands after coughing or sneezing. As a result, everyone who touches the same desks, door handles, and phones pick up their germs. These get transferred to break rooms and kitchens where food is being handled. Send out e-mail reminders, post signage in common areas, and invest in plenty of alcohol-based sanitizers to help your employees stay safe.

2. Clean the Refrigerator—Inside and Out

In a busy office, the communal fridge gets touched hundreds of times, often with no sanitation efforts. As a result, everyone shares the same germs and risks contracting the same diseases in a space where food is being handled. Refrigerator handles, drawers, microwave buttons, and sinks need to be cleaned frequently throughout the day. The inside of a refrigerator can also harbor bacteria. Old food spills, months-old leftovers, and crumbs can attract mold, bacteria, and even bugs.

3. Touch Fewer Surfaces

It’s necessary to turn on lights, open doors, and use office equipment, right? Yes, but physical touch shouldn’t be necessary to do so. Consider investing in motion-activated lights, bathroom taps, and doors. The decrease in illness will be well worth the investment.

4. Ask Employees to Work from Home

We know how important social distancing is. Consider letting more employees work remotely to prevent the spread of dangerous viruses. The fewer people interacting on a daily basis, the better the results. You can even implement the changes slowly, allowing for select employees to work from home or start out with a few days a week. Working from home, even part-time, can increase employee morale and decrease environmental pollution. This is extremely beneficial in the home rentals industry, as many leasing specialists are now offering virtual leasing tours, allowing for more people to work from home.

5. Ensure That Sanitizer and Wipes are Available

Making sure that all of your shared spaces, especially conference rooms and kitchens, have access to hands-free disinfectant is imperative. If there is a sanitizer dispenser at the entryway to these locations, it will remind your employees about good hygiene habits. Each employee should have sanitizing wipes available at their desks to wipe down their mouse, keyboard, phones, chairs, staplers, desk, and other devices after use. Also, limit desk sharing whenever possible.

6. Keep an Open Line of Communication with Janitorial Staff

If you have a cleaning crew that comes in each night, remember that they know all of the nooks and crannies of your office better than anyone. Discuss different ways you can increase hygiene efforts and ask if there are any areas that they frequently notice aren’t being properly cleaned during the day.