Businesses in Wales are hoping that, following the next review in a few weeks’ time, the country will be following England in terms of relaxing some lockdown measures. With this in mind, business owners will need to put in measures to ensure their staff, and any potential visitors or customers, feel safe in the workplace. So, to help fight the coronavirus germs, we’d like to share with you five of the top office germ hotspots that will require daily cleaning when you do eventually return to work. Pass these recommendations onto your employees so they can take some responsibility for their own safety.
Office Hotspots 1 – Your Desk and Phone
You may not realise it, but phones tend to be the most contaminated item in the office. What’s more, US studies show that some typical desk items can be up to seven times more contaminated than traditionally ‘dirty’ items such as toilet seats, which often get more attention when it comes to cleaning. This can be a particular issue in offices where employees hot desk or share equipment.
Some key tips to keep your employees phones and desks germ free include:
Keep a pack of anti-bacterial wipes with you to wipe down phones and other shared equipment (eg mouse or keyboard) before use.
Try not to eat at your desk, but if you have no choice, then wash your hands or use a hand sanitiser before eating and wipe the desk surface when you’ve finished. (And make sure that you’ve moved the keyboard and other desk top equipment out of the way to avoid collecting crumbs).
If you use headsets with microphones in your job, ask your employer for your own personal set to avoid any possible cross-contamination.
Avoid chewing pens, particularly those left in office drawers by other staff members. If you don’t know who else has been using (or chewing a pen) you could be ingesting bacteria or viruses left by someone else. Again, wipe down pens with an anti-bacterial wipe.
All desks and related equipment, and in particular phones, keyboards and mice, should be cleaned at the end of every working day with anti-bacterial cleaning products and colour coded cloths to avoid cross-contamination.
Office Hotspots 2- Fridge
You could pick up bacteria and viruses from touching fridge doors and handles after colleagues have touched them. And there are also dangers in keeping food past its sell-by date.
Respect other people’s food left in the fridge and make sure you don’t put their sandwiches and other snacks at risk of contamination by putting raw meat next to them.
If any out-of-date food is left in the fridge, don’t hesitate but to remove it (even if it isn’t yours); and protect your own food by placing in sealed, Tupperware containers.
Fridges should be thoroughly cleaned out weekly and the outside door and handles should also be cleaned daily with appropriate cleaning products and the relevant colour coded cloth.
Office Hotspots 3 – the Mug
Offices mugs can look grubby and dirty very quickly, particularly if they aren’t washed in a dishwasher. Simple rinsing a mug in a shared kitchen may not remove a colleague’s germs and the outside surface of the mug could become contaminated by their hands.
Our top tips include washing mugs in a dishwasher if there is one in the office. If not, bring in your own mug, wash this at the end of every day (and keep on your desk to stop others using it).
The same applies to water bottles that are stored in a fridge (as you don’t know if someone has had a sneaky sip when you’re not looking).
Office Hot Spots 4 – Door handles
Door handles are one of the most frequently touched spots in the office and a main are where virus like Covid-19 will linger. Although we are all still being encouraged to wash our hands regularly and to use hand sanitisers, unfortunately not everyone follows these guidelines. What’s more, there are still many people who don’t wash their hands after they’ve used the toilet!!!
Door handles are such effective hot spots when it comes to transmitting germs because contamination happens when bacteria is transferred from one person to another via a touchpoint surface like a door handle.
Business owners should look at putting up signs all around their premises, advising people about hand washing and sanitising and providing equipment to enable staff to wipe down door handles, light switches, window latches etc…
Again, all of these areas should be cleaned at the end of the working day.
Office Hotspots 5 – Photocopier
If you look at a standard photocopier, it is operated by buttons and switches with trays and doors for paper feeds and sometimes to sort out paper jams and to change cartridges. Like with other hard surfaces, all of these are ideal spots where a virus can linger.
Employees should take similar precautions as with door handles when it comes to using a photocopier. Employers should put up signs and supply cleaning equipment at all photocopier stations to encourage staff to clean the equipment both before and after use.
JDK Cleaning
We hope you have found these hot spot cleaning tips helpful. Before you do return to work, you may also wish to carry out a deep, sanitisation clean of your commercial premises to ensure you are starting with a clean slate. Then you can introduce the measures listed above to maintain these standards.
If you don’t feel you are equipped to carry out these cleaning guidelines effectively, then JDK Cleaning can help. We work with all types businesses across South West Wales to deliver effective and efficient commercial cleaning contracts designed to keep bacteria and viruses at bay. To find our more, call us today for a free site assessment or visit our website www.jdkcleaning.com
