The emergence of COVID-19 has impacted our lives in ways many of us haven’t experienced before. It’s changed the way we interact with each other and the way organisations run their businesses.
While many workplaces are encouraging their staff to work remotely, some employees, such as those who work with specialised systems and equipment, still need to be in the office. To keep your premises safe for your employees, it’s crucial to observe some hygiene steps and clean office for COVID-19 regularly and thoroughly throughout this time.
In this post, we discuss how to clean office for COVID-19 to make it safe and prevent the spread of this disease.
At Francis Cleaning LLC, our professional Manassas office cleaning service can help to keep your workplace as safe as possible during this troubling time. But regardless of who’s performing your cleaning, make sure they adhere to the following guidelines.
How To Clean Office For COVID-19
Increase Cleaning Frequency
COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus called the SARS-CoV-2. This virus can survive on surfaces for up to several days depending on the environment and surface it’s on. Recent studies have shown that it can survive up to 72 hours on plastics, 48 hours on stainless steel, 24 hours on cardboard and 4 hours on copper.
With the office being a contained and cool environment, it’s best to clean and disinfect the surfaces in your office regularly. You should clean frequently touched surfaces daily, or even multiple times a day with disinfectant, especially if your office uses shared equipment and spaces.
These surfaces include:
- Door handles
- Light switches
- Electronic devices such as phones, keyboards, mice and touch screens
- Tabletops and desks
- Sinks and faucets
- Toilets
- Cutlery and appliances in the pantry
- Office appliances such as printers and scanners
- Cabinets
Surfaces that you don’t come into contact regularly such as the floors, blinds, walls and windows can be cleaned every few days or every week. However if they are dirty or soiled, be sure to clean them as soon as possible as dirty surfaces contain more germs.
How To Clean And Disinfect
To get rid of germs and viruses on a surface, first clean it with soap and water or a detergent. This removes dirt and particles that can carry the virus, which helps the disinfectant to be more effective.
When disinfecting a surface, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to prepare the disinfectant solution and follow any safety precautions. You should always use freshly prepared disinfectant and wear protective gear including gloves, face mask and protective eye wear when mixing the solution.
When using disinfectant wipes, only clean one surface at a time and dispose the wipe after cleaning a surface.
To clean sensitive electronic devices such as computers and keyboards, you can use compressed air to remove dirt from the surfaces before lightly wiping with disinfectant. Alternatively, consider using a protective plastic cover for your keyboard for easy cleaning.
For soft surfaces such as carpets and curtains, use suitable cleaning solutions or employ a professional carpet cleaning service.
Precautions While Cleaning
Although cleaning staff face a relatively low risk of infection, it’s best to take precautions while clean office for COVID-19.
The steps that your cleaning staff should adhere to while cleaning are:
- Wear personal protective equipment (PPE) including disposable gloves, gowns and masks for all cleaning tasks.
- Dispose the PPE after cleaning in a leak-proof plastic bag.
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water or disinfect with an alcohol-based sanitiser before putting on the PPE and after taking them off.
- Avoid the touching of faces while cleaning, especially mouths, noses and eyes.
General Hygiene In The Office
Besides taking steps to clean the surfaces in your office, everyone should practice good hygiene habits to prevent spreading and contracting the virus.
Things you can remind your employees to do include:
- Wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or sanitise regularly.
- Use hand sanitisers with an alcohol content of 60% and above to properly kill germs and viruses.
- Cover their mouth and nose with a paper towel when coughing or sneezing, then dispose of it and wash their hands immediately.
- Wipe down the surface of their desks and devices with disinfectant wipes regularly.
- Clean counters after preparing food.
- Wipe down surfaces immediately if any food spills.
To help you keep your office clean and minimise the spread of germs, you can use this daily and weekly cleaning checklist:
1.- Bathrooms.
- Clean bathroom mirrors
- Disinfect sinks, faucets and toilets
- Disinfect door handles
- Wash bathroom floors
- Replenish paper towel and soap dispensers
- Empty all trash and replace plastic bags
2.- Office area
- Clean and disinfect desks
- Disinfect telephones
- Disinfect office equipment (printer, scanner, etc.)
- Disinfect electronic devices (computers, monitors, keyboards, etc.)
- Vacuum hard floors
- Vacuum and clean carpets
- Clean glass walls, windows and doors
- Disinfect door handles
- Clean elevators and stairs especially frequently-touched surfaces
- Empty all trash and replace plastic bags
3.- Kitchen and pantry
- Clean and disinfect kitchen counters
- Disinfect sinks and faucets
- Wipe down the microwave and refrigerator
- Clean spills immediately
- Empty all trash and replace plastic bags
4.- Weekly Cleaning
- Vacuum and mop office floors
- Clean and disinfect cabinets and bookshelves
- Clean outdoor glass
- Dust and clean desks, lamps and workstation partition tops
- Vacuum vents and chairs
- Dust and clean window sills and ledges
Besides following these cleaning tips and practising good hygiene, you can support your team by providing them with sufficient hand sanitisers and encouraging social distancing.
You should also keep in touch with your team to encourage them and find out if they need extra support.
With these guidelines, you can ensure that your office is clean and safe from COVID-19.
If you have questions about how to effectively clean office for COVID-19 or if you need a specialised cleaning service, feel free to get in touch with us.
