Commonly-overlooked cleaning tasks in the workplace

The recent pandemic has shed light on a number of things in the workplace. One of them is the importance of cleaning for the health and safety of your staff. A clean space means happy and productive employees who are at lower risk of getting sick.

A space that hasn’t been cleaned properly can only be harmful to your business. If you haven’t hired a facilities management company already, your workplace may not be as clean as you initially thought as people often make the mistake of thinking that just because an is tidy that is clean too.

To help you provide a safer space for your staff, here are the most commonly overlooked cleaning tasks in the workplace.

Touchpoints

When we talk about touchpoints, we’re referring to surfaces in your office that get used a lot, every day. Think door handles, taps, light switches, elevator buttons – the small things that people touch with their hands all the time. Every time someone touches one of these things, they leave whatever germs that are on their hands behind. These are then picked up by the next person who touches that same place.

This is one of the most common ways for germs to spread, yet these surfaces are often overlooked when it comes to cleaning.

To ensure the health and safety of your staff, these need to be cleaned every day.

Work Areas

Another area that isn’t cleaned as thoroughly as it should be is our desks. Often the table itself will be whipped down, but what about our equipment? Did you know that your desk can be home to nearly 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat?

Perhaps it’s time to rethink where you eat your lunch.

If you have a phone on your desk, this will be a hotbed of bacteria and germs. Your keyboard and mouse are also good at accommodating similar unwanted bugs.

Whilst these germs may be slightly less harmful to us individually, they pose a greater risk in a hot-desking environment. So, start by ensuring that all office equipment is cleaned regularly. Next, have wipes available so your staff can do this themselves.

Hidden/Unnoticed Areas

When it comes to cleaning, we often focus on the most obvious areas – mainly, the ones that we can see. This means that areas that are less obvious can be overlooked, and dirt and germs can be left to accumulate.

The more commonly overlooked areas are:

• Appliances such as microwaves and fridges.
• Power outlets that are hidden from view behind furniture.
• Curtains, blinds, and window fittings.
• Lights – be it ceiling lights, lamps, or other light sources.
• Air conditioning systems.

If these aren’t already a part of your regular cleaning schedule, you need to add them as soon as possible.

Final Thoughts

Germs and bacteria love to be left to their own devices so they can grow and multiply. By ignoring these important cleaning tasks, you’ll be allowing exactly that to happen.