Slowly but safely, many are returning to their workplaces, perhaps after a long home-office period. Having a well-sanitized office is a must for all business owners and employees, ensuring that the risk of contracting COVID-19 by touching surfaces is minimum or null. In this blog, we will share with you an office cleaning checklist to provide the best results. Consider that every workplace is different and so the surfaces and areas to clean will vary, but the following process and tips apply to all.
- Clean before disinfectionCleaning before sanitizing can lead to better results. Sometimes, the dirt, dust, or other particles over the surfaces can contain many pathogens, and removing them with water and soap will eliminate most of the menace. Then, the disinfectant will be more useful to kill the remaining bacteria and viruses.
- Use disposable gloves and facemasks.Cleaning is a task that requires the use of gloves and facemasks, especially now. This will protect the cleaner and prevent the surfaces from catching some saliva or other fluids' droplets. It's essential to dispose of gloves and masks after cleaning and disinfecting (or separate the washable mask for its subsequent washing.
- Focus on high-touch surfaces.Cleaning from top-to-bottom can be massive work, especially in large offices. However, focusing on the most touched surfaces in your workplace will bring excellent results, eliminating the higher risk of contamination. Objects like doorknobs, faucets, light switches, sinks, chairs, and keypads must be sanitized at least once a day to reduce the transmission of pathogens. Every place must have its own most touch surfaces, observe your office and talk with your employees to define them. Any daily cleaning checklist for the office has to take into account high-touch surfaces.
- Avoid cross-contamination.Cross-contamination is the act of carrying with you germs from one surface to another. Professionals often use color-coded cloths for each workplace area, like blue for the bathroom, red for the desks, etc. This simple method is effective and will ensure no germ is transported to another surface. Also, shoe protectors, gloves, and facemasks are essential to clean and disinfect without leaving any pathogen behind.
- Use EPA-approved disinfectants.Regarding the COVID-19 virus, not all commercial disinfectants can eliminate it from surfaces. Check this list to learn if your disinfectant is EPA-approved; otherwise, you'll have to choose a different one to have adequate sanitation in your office. However, the handiest option will always be a bleach solution. Add five tablespoons of bleach into a gallon of water to obtain a powerful solution to kill viruses.
- Let the disinfectants work.Many people make a common mistake not to let the disinfectant stay on the surfaces for a couple of minutes. Bleach and other solutions don't work instantly; they require time to kill those harmful bacteria and viruses. You can spray all the surfaces of a room, and when you finish, come back to the first one and wipe the disinfectant with a clean cloth.
We hope this daily cleaning checklist for the office was helpful for you. Keep in mind that you'll need to sanitize regularly to ensure a healthy environment for your co-workers or employees. If you need a professional to do it, book one of our office cleaning services on our website.