How to Keep Your Office Clean of Coronavirus

Coronavirus is spreading quickly throughout the entire world with new cases popping up daily. Fortunately, the CDC and other health organizations have provided many tips to help offices stay clean of the virus and limit its spread.

KEEP YOUR PERSONAL AREA CLEAN

The first step toward a consistently clean office is to take care of your space. Here are some basic tips on maintaining a sanitized work area:

1. Frequently sanitize your equipment. The equipment you use most often, such as keyboards, phones, mouse, pens and pencils, and your desk are the ones most susceptible to germs.
2. Keep hand sanitizer close by. It’s worth your time to invest in a large bottle of sanitizer exclusively for yourself.
3. Have tissues on your desk. Using tissues when sneezing helps trap mucus and germs from flying about. If no tissues are available, the “Dracula sneeze technique” is your best option (sneezing into the crook of your elbow).

SANITIZE SURFACES THAT ARE FREQUENTLY TOUCHED

In order to halt the virus before it can begin to spread throughout your office, sanitize the surfaces that are frequently touched by everyone.

This includes:

• Doorknobs
• Office equipment like printers, copiers, coffee machines, water coolers, etc.
• Handles of cabinets and drawers
• Countertops
• Kitchen appliances like fridges, microwaves, toaster ovens, etc.

This can be as simple as wiping them down hourly with disinfectant wipes or having a container of wipes for people to use when touching these surfaces. And when nearly everyone in the office is touching these objects, sanitizing them is a smart long-term practice.

ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO WASH THEIR HANDS

This may sound like common sense, but actually 95% aren’t washing their hands properly.

Your employees’ personal hygiene is one of the biggest keys to keeping coronavirus away which is why it’s important to educate and encourage people about proper handwashing techniques. According to the CDC, proper technique involves:

1. Running hands under clean water (warm or cold).
2. Lathering hands with soap.
3. Rub hands together for at least 20 seconds.
4. Rinse with clean water.
5. Dry completely.

When handwashing is not something you have the ability or time to do frequently, hand sanitizer can be helpful, but be sure it contains 60-95% alcohol.

RALLY AND INFORM YOUR TEAM

The fight against the virus shouldn’t be left to just one person. The most effective strategy is to enlist the help of everyone by informing those around you of best practices, providing them with the proper equipment (wipes, cleaners, paper towels, hand sanitizer, face masks, etc.), and making sure everyone does their part in keeping the office clean. As we said above, everyone needs to pull their weight, keep their things clean, and pitch in by sanitizing frequently touched surfaces.

Along with that, you may refrain from basic business etiquette like hand shaking for the time being.

Also, be sure everyone understands the basic symptoms of the virus which, according to the CDC, are fever, cough, and shortness of breath. If someone shows signs of the virus, ensure they don’t come in and risk the health of everyone else.

It will take your whole team to ensure the office stays as clean as possible and as safe as possible from the coronavirus. Everyone needs to be informed and everyone needs to clean. With the right strategy, the right tools, and the right mindset, you can keep yourself and your team healthy.

But ensuring a properly cleaned and sanitized office is time-consuming, to say the least. For those looking to permanently take this operation off their plate, call in the commercial cleaning experts at The Heiser Group.

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