2020 has changed the way we do pretty much everything. Office management is no exception. As people begin to get back to semi-regular work, office cleanliness has never been more critical. Everyone wants to make sure that they’re doing everything possible to ensure that their staff, customers, and clients are safe and healthy. The following will explore some ideas for keeping your office environment as clean and virus free as possible.

Follow The Sanctioned Protocols

Before we reduce the risk of covid thorough cleaning, it is important to note that these suggestions replace the need for following government-sanctioned protocols. Masks, social distancing, and regular handwashing are all crucial aspects of keeping everyone healthy. Depending on where you live, the regulations regarding how many people are allowed in the office at a given time will vary.

Be sure to stay up to date on all recommendations and legal changes. Lately, the laws have been altered very rapidly. Just because last week you were allowed to have twenty people in a single room doesn’t mean you’re allowed to do this today. If you employ a cleaning staff, you will need to keep this in mind when scheduling your employee’s work hours.

Multiple Times Per Day

If you have many people moving in and out of your workplace or areas that are high traffic, these parts might need to be cleaned and sanitized more than once per day. Things like a door handle, refrigerator handles, the coffee maker, vending machine buttons, and printers might need a wipe down with bacteria-killing cleaning products every few hours. If your workplace is especially high-traffic, this might need to be done every hour or after every customer. Things that everyone touches like the elevator buttons or pinpad machines for debit or credit cards especially. 

When making a list of things to keep on top of cleanliness-wise, ask your employees to note what they touch and how often. There may be items you’ve never thought about cleaning, but they need a bit of your attention given our current situation. Make it clear that staff can come to you with ideas or concerns about the things they require for their work.

Daily Cleaning

Daily you want to be giving the whole office a decent clean. This means not only your regular cleaning tasks but also the wiping down of desks, chairs, light switches, keyboards, mouses, and other items. The bathrooms and kitchen(s) need special attention as these are areas where moisture can gather, and we know that viruses prefer wetter areas to dryer ones. If humidity is a particular problem in your workplace due to the climate or structure of the building or work that’s done, look into getting a dehumidifier—especially for damper rooms. You’ll also want floor cleaning machines to wipe away any grime from outside.

Deep Cleaning Once Or Twice Per Week

Deep cleaning involves cleaning all the unusual things in addition to the usual ones. Once upon a time, deep cleaning was a seasonal or monthly thing. This is no longer the case. Deep cleaning could mean taking all the dishes out of the staff kitchen cupboards and wiping the cupboards out before putting the dishes back. This could mean tackling the staff refrigerator and making sure all surfaces inside have been cleaned with a food-safe disinfectant (this is extremely important as many common disinfectants are harmful if ingested). It might involve wiping down the coat racks (everyone touches those hangers too). Even something like the trim or flat part of the door needs an occasional clean. Experts at mastermaid.ca emphasize that, given the COVID situation, these occasional cleans should come more often. If you and your staff are not equipped to handle this kind of work, there are professionals you can hire for a one-off cleaning or regularly scheduled visits. Especially right now, having a fresh pair of eyes can help you make sure that you’re not missing anything important.

Industry-Specific Cleaning

Depending on the work you do, and how much product is moving in and out of your office, you may need to take additional cleaning steps. If you have a head office, check with them about their recommendations, but also spend a bit of time researching what other employers in your situation are doing to keep everyone healthy. Make it clear that customers can bring suggestions to you regarding anything that felt unsafe or unclean while they worked with your team. And again, ensure that your staff is included in this conversation. There are always things that go unnoticed by everyone but one or two people in a busy work environment.

The above tips should help get you ready for keeping an office clean post-COVID. In addition to the above, try to schedule and organize work to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Keep desks the right distance apart and reduce the necessity of touching things wherever possible.