10 Places Germs are Hiding in Your Workplace

Germs In the Workplace

To ensure your employees are healthy, happy, and productive throughout the year, you need to eradicate germs regularly with comprehensive cleaning and disinfecting. This means going above and beyond simply portraying a tidy workspace. To help you get a better understanding of how to keep your employees healthy, make sure to take a read through the top 10 places germs are hiding in your workplace.

1. Desktop Phones

The average office desk phone has over 1,600 bacteria per square inch, making it at least 15 times more germ-ridden than a toilet seat in a shared office bathroom. You use your phone all day, constantly spitting into the receiver without noticing and picking up the handles in the middle of a snack or lunch. Office phones also tend to be cleaned less than cellphones, simply because we don’t think about doing it throughout the day. To eradicate germs in the office and create a safer workspace, phones need to stop being neglected.

2. Keyboards

Your keyboard is another office item that’s touched regularly—often without a second thought. You may have food or drink remnants on your hand and without properly using a napkin or wet wipe, you immediately go back to typing. With the small cracks making it hard to clean, keyboards often end up accumulating far more debris and germs than we’d like to imagine. To properly clean and disinfect keyboards, they should be unplugged and sprayed with a duster to remove excess particles. Afterward, finish cleaning by wiping the surface with a disinfectant or cleaner before plugging it back in.

3. Printers and Photocopiers

Almost every workplace has shared printers, photocopiers, fax machines, and other appliances. It simply isn’t efficient to provide office equipment for every employee. This means that there are hundreds of different fingers touching each appliance every day. While we’d like to hope that employees are taking hygienic approaches when using these shared devices, it’s not guaranteed. Strategically placing hand sanitizer dispensers near shared equipment is a great way to help reduce overall germ accumulation, but they should also be cleaned and sanitized regularly.

4. Conference Rooms

Conference rooms are a great place for employees to meet with clients, pitch ideas, and propel the business forward. However, conference rooms host a lot of people and therefore, are exposed to a lot of germs. In addition to the conference table, the arms of communal chairs are often neglected. Day after day, these arms accumulate grime and germs from several different occupants. They’re touched by forearms and hands hundreds of times before people even think to wipe them down. Rather than succumbing to the germ buildup of conference rooms, make sure that you work with a professional cleaner who pays attention to these small details.

5. Coffee Maker and Mugs

Coffee makers are a staple of the busy workspace. Most employees handle the coffee maker multiple times throughout the day, either refilling their cups or brewing a fresh pot. It should come as no surprise that coffee maker handles are breeding grounds for germs. Coffee mugs are no different. They tend to be used and reused all day, without undergoing a wash between refills. Some employees even leave their coffee mugs on their desks overnight so they can use the same one the next day.

While this may be convenient, a dirty coffee cup is one of the most bacteria-ridden items in any given workspace. This is primarily because of the lack of washing throughout the day or over time in general. With a little extra effort, the number of bacteria that are present on a coffee mug can drop over 2,000 per square inch. However, to achieve this the cups must be cleaned thoroughly, not simply wiped with a dirty sponge.

6. Door Handles

Door handles are some of the most commonly touched surfaces in an office. This means that they’re also the dirtiest. People have to open and close doors to get into the building, use the bathroom, and navigate through the office. While there has been an increase in adding contactless foot pedals for doors in many public areas, a majority of people still reach for the handle. Therefore, door handles should be cleaned and disinfected regularly throughout the day. Bee Line offers disinfectant porters to help make sure that your area is safe day after day.

7. Stairways and Hallways

Employees, visitors, and delivery people utilize different stairways and hallways in your facility, meaning that they’re more susceptible to outside germs. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell who is healthy and who is carrying harmful germs and bacteria when they come into your office, regardless of if they’re wearing a mask. To help make sure that you’re keeping your office safe, include stairways and hallways in your ongoing cleaning checklist.

8. Windows

If your office or facility has windows and blinds, chances are people are going to be manipulating them throughout the day to control the light. The small devices used to open or close blinds are commonly overlooked in custodial cleanings, meaning that over time millions of germs can accumulate on that small surface. In your ongoing cleaning and disinfecting routines, make sure that you don’t neglect your windows or window treatments.

9. Shared Spaces

Don’t let ineffective office cleaning make your facility unsafe for your employees. Make sure that you prioritize cleaning shared spaces to help eradicate harmful germs and reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission within the office. Any place that is used by more than one employee throughout the day should be properly cleaned and disinfected regularly. While it might seem excessive to undergo disinfecting on a daily basis, doing so can help you keep everyone safe, which will boost employee productivity and reduce paid sick leave.

10. Personal Areas

While shared spaces are important to keep cleaned and disinfected, personal areas are also filled with germs. We tend to think that since we’re the only ones touching our things, they’re cleaner than shared items. However, our personal areas and items tend to have more bacteria than communal items, simply because we don’t clean them as often and rarely sanitize our hands prior to using our own equipment. To make the biggest impact on keeping your workplace clean, don’t forget to encourage personal disinfecting throughout the day and utilize a professional cleaning company regularly.

While most workplaces are filled with bacteria, it is possible to kill office germs effectively. One of the best ways to do this is by hiring a professional cleaning company like Bee Line Support, Inc. Bee Line is the leader in medical-grade cleaning and offers upholstery-cleaning services, office carpet cleaning services, vacuuming, garbage removal, and comprehensive corporate janitorial services. We work to ensure that your site is left 100% clean, sanitized, and disinfected to help reduce exposure to harmful bacteria and viruses. When it’s all said and done, you can’t find a more innovative and all-inclusive professional cleaning company anywhere but with Bee Line.

If you’re interested in staying up to date with Bee Line’s latest cleaning tips, follow us on social media. If you need to schedule a service call, Bee Line, at 312-BEE-LINE or message us today to get started on the path to cleanliness!

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