Sharing an office with other people isn’t easy when you are a clean freak, especially with those who don’t appear to give a care about clutter and office hygiene! Even if your office uses a regular cleaning company, certain cleaning jobs may not be getting the attention they deserve.
To keep your hygiene standards and cleanliness around the office at a comfortable level, here are 7 cleaning tips to keep the dust, dirt and germs at bay.
1. Arrange for an occasional deep clean
Ask your contract cleaner to carry out an occasional deep clean. Most commercial cleaners offer deep cleaning, specialist carpet and upholstery cleaning and hard floor deep cleaning, as well as daily contract cleaning.
Grime does build up over time, so it’s a good idea to ask your cleaners to rotate a deep clean in hard-to-reach places.
2. Keyboard clean
Most cleaning companies are contracted to carry out set cleaning tasks, such as hoovering the office, cleaning bathrooms and kitchen areas, and emptying bins. While some cleaners will clean keyboards, the mouse and telephones, many will not include these items in regular cleans.
Computer and telephone cleaning are often overlooked by employees, but these are places in the office harboring a high level of germs and nasty bacteria. Sorry to share this with a clean freak, but research by the University of Arizona found that the average desktop has 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat!
Don’t freak out! Regular cleaning is easy. You’ll need a few cleaning tools, such as a keyboard brush, canned air and possibly some gooey cleaning gel (Cyberclean is a good brand). Then simply follow these keyboard cleaning tips at least once a week.
3. Wipe plant leaves
For the clean freak, plants may seem like just another thing to clutter up the office. But before you rule them out, you should know that plants actually clean the air! Plants clear the air of toxins and release humidity back into the atmosphere, which is particularly good for air-conditioned offices.
If you have indoor plants in your office (if you don’t you should get some), then leaves will need a gentle wipe with a damp cloth from time to time to prevent the build-up of dust.
4. Vacuum the top of your books, folders and files
No matter how tidy you are or how good you are at putting paperwork away, box files and folders on shelves will collect dust. Regularly hoovering the top of books, files and folders will prevent dust building. Take care not to suck up any important paperwork!
5. Sort and clean your desk drawer
Even the most organised and clean people tend to have at least one desk drawer that gets in a bit of a state from time to time. About every 6 weeks go through your desk drawer and give it a tidy and a wipe clean.
Use drawer dividers with compartments to keep any paper clips, rubber bands, staples and small items in place. Decide what goes in the drawer and what stays on your desk. Stay organized and your productivity will sky-rocket.
6. Set up a fridge cleaning rota
Have you noticed leftover food in the office fridge mutating into an alien life form? If you are avoiding using the fridge for that reason, perhaps it’s time to set up an office fridge cleaning rota. Forgotten food turns bad. It creates a bad smell at best. It poses a hygiene threat at the worst.
A shared kitchen is everybody’s responsibility, as is keeping the fridge clean. Ask colleagues to date food they open and to take responsibility for throwing out-of-date food away. Ensure the fridge gets a weekly clean and staff empty unwanted food stuff at the end of each week.
7. Disinfect your desk and the telephone
Giving your desk a thorough wipe down with disinfectant wipes once a week and cleaning your phone will help to prevent the build up of dust, dirt, grime, food stains, fingerprints and bacteria. It’s also a weekly opportunity to ensure work paraphernalia doesn’t build on your desk and files get put away.
Not only will your desk be a fresher, cleaner and nicer environment from which to work, you’ll be keeping your personal space free of germs. Just a quick wipe could also help to prevent flu and colds.
