One thing that will change forever in many offices due to the COVID-19 pandemic is cleaning standards. Many workplaces prioritized maintaining a clean and sanitized environment for the first time. While disinfection will remain important for the duration of the pandemic, it’s also a great tool to prevent the spread of other viruses and illnesses like the flu and the common cold. How can you do a great job keeping your office clean and healthy this year?
1. Be Consistent with Your Cleaning
Just like you need to regularly clean counters in your home kitchen and vacuum your living room rug, you also need to be consistent with your office cleaning. Clean desks daily and surfaces in shared parts of the office multiple times a day. If it helps, you can set a reminder during the day to sanitize hard surfaces and encourage your other co-workers or employees to do so.
2. Clean High Touch Surfaces the Most Often
High touch surfaces should be cleaned the most often, and the Centers for Disease Control has a detailed list of them, which includes:
- Countertops
- Light switches
- Tables in communal areas
- Doorknobs
- Handles
- Desks
- Keyboards
- Phones
- Toilets
- Sinks
- Faucets
- Writing utensils in shared areas
Remember that it is always a better idea to over-clean shared surfaces than leaving something like a touch-screen in the lobby uncleaned.
3. Clean Before Disinfecting or Sanitizing
Many people use the words cleaning and disinfecting interchangeably, but they are two distinctly different things. Cleaning is a term that refers to wiping up or removing things like crumbs, dirt, dust, and surface-level germs from the environment. Most people use water and soap to clean. While this can get rid of some germs, it does not necessarily intend to do so.
Disinfecting refers to using chemical substances or disinfectants to destroy viruses and germs on hard surfaces and objects. Alcohol-based solutions and bleach are both effective disinfectants. In most cases, disinfectant needs to sit on a surface for a certain length of time in order to be effective. Cleaning should always come before disinfecting so that you remove loose debris before sanitizing the surface itself.
4. Use EPA-Approved Disinfectants
The Environmental Protection Agency maintains a list of disinfectants that do a great job destroying viruses and bacteria while also not doing harm to employees or the environment. Some examples of disinfectants that have been found to kill COVID-19 on hard, nonporous surfaces include:
- Lysol Disinfecting Wipes
- Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
- Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner
- Bleach
- Generic Disinfectant Sprays Containing Bleach
- Lysol Multi-Surface Cleaner
- And more!
If you have existing products, you can research whether or not they have been shown to kill COVID-19 when deciding whether or not they are appropriate for use in your workplace.
5. Always Read the Directions First
Many disinfectants require you to apply the spray or fluid to the surface first and then allow it to sit before scrubbing or wiping it away. If you fail to wait, the disinfectant will not be able to remove as many germs or contaminants from the surface. Never apply them to food, the skin, or anything that might be placed in a mouth (unless the label specifies that is okay).
6. Unplug Everything First
Finally, when you are going to be disinfecting electronics and surfaces next to them, you should first unplug everything. When you leave computers and other electronics plugged in, there is often a tiny standby current that keeps it from being 100% off. When liquids or mists come into contact with a small current, it can damage circuitry. Powering down your computer is not the same as completely unplugging it, and it’s also easier to move electronics around to thoroughly clean if they are not plugged in.
With as many surfaces and employees as you have to worry about, let Bayside CBS handle the heavy lifting for you. Cleaning over 10 million square feet of interior space per day, Bayside CBS saves its customers 15% on average per month, by consolidating its facilities maintenance under one roof. Contact us today for more information.
