Dirt often hides in the most obvious areas. In modern offices, collaboration and teamwork are expected, yet as employees gather in crowded conference rooms and cluster over laptops to share ideas, they also spread germs.
We know that the keyboard is covered in germs and that the bathroom door handle is home to a veritable micro-community. However, there are many more hotspots for bacteria in the office, many of which are not where you may expect.
Knowing where germs are being spread from person to person is now more crucial than ever in a post-COVID world where hygiene play’s a significant role in how offices are run.
Here are some of the dirtiest areas you will find in your office.
1. Desk
Your desk harbors 400 times more germs than a toilet seat, which is why you may consider it the dirtiest place in your office!
Although most of these pathogens are clustered around your phone, the desk's surface itself is a haven for dangerous bugs that might hurt you and your team.
Because of this, it's crucial to clean your phone and desk at work carefully, and also any other surfaces you frequently touch.
We prioritize cleaning these places in our office cleaning schedules. However, now that you know this, you won't eat at your desk as much from now on!
2. Elevator Buttons and Door Handles
In a busy office, people come and leave. Some of them are merely stopping by for a meeting or to drop off a package, while others are preparing to begin their day's job. Even after using the restroom, not everyone will have washed their hands.
Some people may not even be aware that they have a cold or something worse!
People can distribute their germs to a surface as soon as they contact the elevator buttons or open a door. Imagine that those surfaces had never been cleaned; this is likely to happen in many large buildings.
Cleaning in offices should extend beyond common areas. These are, if anything, the locations that require the greatest attention since they serve as points where germs are transferred from one person to another.
3. The Kitchen
The kitchen where all the food and drinks are kept is among the dirtiest areas in any office.
The worst offender is, ironically, the location you'd expect would be the cleanest - the office kitchen sink.
Before washing hands, many people use the taps in offices. As a result, they are exposed to everything you want to get off your fingertips, including sticky jam, tea, and accidents involving ketchup bottles.
All that grime is put in the sink, where it is often rinsed away, but traces of leftover food may remain, which might foster the growth of bacteria. Smelly sinks indicate a larger health and safety issue; however, you can prevent them by doing thorough and routine office kitchen cleaning.
Additionally, the less spoken about that worn-out, old dishwashing sponge, the better; just get a new one!
4. The Toilets
Well, it should go without saying that we use the bathroom when we need to relieve ourselves.
In every office, the restrooms are a high-traffic area where diseases can spread quickly. Thus, toilet germs can be very dangerous!
Since most workplaces operate on a regular, accountable cleaning schedule, toilets frequently end up being among the cleanest areas in the office. That is why there is such a strong emphasis on office toilet cleaning.
There will be some exceptions, though; you can't always keep an eye on everyone and enforce good hygiene. You can nevertheless take care of yourself by always washing your hands and avoiding contact with dirty surfaces.
5. Common Areas
An average day of an employee includes several trips to the water cooler, which means many different hands touching the water levers. The placement of hand sanitizers and dispensers close to water fountains promotes hand washing before hydration.
However, sanitizing doesn't have to be restricted to a single area. The placement of these dispensers in high-traffic places like lobbies, conference rooms, and break rooms can encourage employees to use them frequently during the working day.
Even though invisible bacteria will always be difficult to find, items like wipes and hand sanitizer dispensers can significantly lower the danger of germ exposure and ensure that the only things pilling up in the office are good ideas.
Maintainable Schedules and Meticulous Cleaning
Helping Hands Commercial Cleaning offers top-notch cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting services that will help create a healthy and secure working environment for both clients and staff.
We offer customized commercial cleaning in Wood Dale, IL, that fit your business facility’s requirements. Our expert cleaning teams abide by industry best practices, ensuring we leave our clients happy and satisfied.