Post-Pandemic Tips for Keeping Commercial Offices Clean
Nowadays, people are more afraid to go out due to the fear of getting infected by the Coronavirus. Companies and businesses are still hesitant to work onsite, leaving their buildings unoccupied for so long. However, there are ways to keep your office clean during the pandemic and ensure risk reduction for all employees and customers.
Never take office cleaning for granted because the virus that causes COVID-19 can contaminate any surface. Thus, the government strictly implements policies for safety, such as mandatory cleaning methods to prevent infection. Make sure you keep your office clean by learning the different techniques to help your office and employees.
1. Disinfect High-Traffic Areas
Instruct your office cleaning personnel to do thorough cleaning and disinfection in high traffic areas. They also need to stay on top of cleaning every hour or minute. Make sure that they wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) while working to protect themselves as well.
It is crucial to observe the strict implementation of health and safety protocols to avoid risks of infection, hospitalizations, or long-term quarantines. For instance, when somebody gets infected with the Coronavirus, you might need to close the entire office, affecting your whole operations.
If you want to lower the infection rate around your office significantly, your best option is to disinfect high touch point areas. Also, focus on spots that building technicians access, like exterior access doors and panels. You won’t know if it’s the same or multiple technicians touching them, so it’s best to disinfect them.
2. Clean Out Air Ducts
Another method to keep your office virus-free is cleaning out your air ducts. The HVAC system is the most critical piece of equipment in an office, especially during a pandemic, because it improves indoor air quality. Some systems suck in natural air from outside and then pass it through an HVAC system that cleans the air.
Employees within the office need to inhale clean air and cleaning the HVAC system reduces possible contaminants that can cause them to get sick. Diseases can lower their immune system which further increases their chances of becoming infected with the Coronavirus.
3. Clean Out Carpets
Note that viruses and other harmful bacteria will most likely contaminate surfaces that absorb water or moisture quickly, such as carpets. Most offices use carpet flooring because it provides benefits like less noise from footsteps and easy cleaning. However, the trade-off is that the virus can adhere to carpeting and transfer itself when employees walk by.
Employees can carry the virus into their homes, which can potentially spread and infect family members. Your office cleaning personnel must disinfect and clean carpeted floors to eliminate the virus. Aside from your cleaning personnel, you can always hire professional carpet cleaning services because they have products and intricate methods for cleaning carpets.
4. Clean Floor Mats
Don’t forget floor mats placed in entrances or exits of your office as well. Employees frequently use them so they have a high risk for contamination. Your cleaning personnel won’t have a problem cleaning the floor mats since they are easy to clean or replace.
They can dust off the floor mats and then scrub them off with soap and a brush. Ensure that they scrub them thoroughly, especially when it’s a thick floor mat because the virus and bacteria can get in between the micro threads. Not only will this eliminate the virus, but also prevent people from slipping off of the floor mat. Note that a dirty floor mat can cause fall accidents, especially when it has collected tons of dirt and mud.
5. Clean and Disinfect Office Chairs and Furniture
Your employees will stay at their desks most of the time, so these surfaces need a thorough cleaning. Desks, chairs, and other furniture around the office can be contaminated with the virus, and it’s easy for it to get passed around by your employees. You won’t know whether they cleaned their hands or leaned on dirty surfaces, so it’s best to clean and disinfect desks and chairs frequently.
6. Place Hand Sanitizing Stations
Offices nowadays place hand sanitizing stations in entrances, exits, and other strategic areas to ensure employees keep their hands clean and disinfected. Sometimes, employees forget or don’t have enough time to wash their hands. You can also place hand sanitizer bottles for each desk if you have enough in the budget.
Don’t forget to tell your cleaning personnel to frequently clean the hand sanitizer bottles, especially if it’s not an automatic dispensing machine. It’s better to invest in automatic dispensers to prevent people from touching them.
7. Limit the Number of People in Lounge Areas and Cafeterias
When it’s break time around the office, employees usually head out to the lounge areas or grab a quick snack from the cafeteria. Before, it didn’t matter if there were many people in the area since no one had to worry about a pandemic. However, health protocols usually do not allow group sitting without proper social distancing.
Limit the number of employees that go in the cafeterias or lounge areas and enforce social distancing. If some of your employees hold meetings in lounge areas, advise them to use online communication tools instead. Note that limiting access to some areas of your office can make it easy for cleaning personnel to finish their jobs.
If you still don’t have enough cleaning staff for your office, now would be a great time to hire more experienced ones. The better your cleaners, the better chances you have of preventing the virus from infecting employees. You also have to implement strict rules besides hiring professional office cleaners to significantly reduce the spread of the virus.
Even if your employees are fully vaccinated, never take chances and encourage wearing masks. They need to wear them when inside the office premises and still follow proper social distancing. Keeping the office clean and disinfected along with encouraging safe behaviors will help keep your office and employees protected from COVID-19.
