How dirty can an office be? You would be surprised if you knew where the dirtiest places of any office space are. Not only disgusting, if you aren’t taking the time to clean them up, you may be making your employees sick and losing precious man-hours due to illness. Germs lurk just about anywhere but flourish most successfully in warm spots that you wouldn’t’t consider.
If you have a break room or kitchenette, whether you use it frequently or just occasionally, it may be a bouillabaisse of germs. The biggest offenders may not be what you would expect. Break rooms around the globe are a hotbed of mold, bacteria, and yeast, which is why having a regular Toronto office cleaning service to tackle the problem is imperative for the safety of your employees and yourself.
The Coffee Maker
Something as simplistic as a coffee maker can be the dirtiest place of any office setting. Coliform bacteria, which is based on fecal contamination may be residing in the machine that supplies the office morning cup of Joe. In fact, statistics show that it is in as many as 50% of the coffee reservoirs of office coffee kitchenettes.
The Fix: Make sure to have employees wash their hands before they make coffee. Also, rinse the coffee maker with vinegar reservoirs once a week. Lastly, make sure to wash the coffee pot thoroughly every day, not just rinse it once in a while.
Faucet Handles
The kitchenette faucet handles have more germs than a bathroom faucet, and they pass those germs along through the tap every time someone uses them. All the water that comes from the tap is tainted with potential traces of germs from food and people’s hands.
The Fix: Have employees use a paper towel when using the faucet. For additional protection, allocate someone to wash down the faucet daily with a disinfecting wipe to make sure to kill any bacteria that may be hiding.
The Sink
Just like the faucet, sinks are usually neglected when it comes to cleaning. If it isn’t used often, people wrongly assume that it is clean. Just like the coffee maker, NSF found that as many as 45% of the sinks they tested had coliform along with other harmful bacterial agents.
The Fix: Make sure to wash the sink either with dishwashing soap or use a Clorox wipe to cover the exterior daily. If you use the kitchenette, make sure to clean it right away to protect the next person who needs it.
Countertops
During food prep, it is not uncommon for bacteria to bounce from the sink and the appliances onto the countertop. Also, when employees place things on top of the counter, they are likely to leave behind hazardous germs.
The Fix: Take the time to wash down the countertop daily with a Clorox wipe so that it is a safe surface for prep work and to stop the transmission of germs.
The best medicine is prevention, especially in an enclosed office space. With very little time and a little awareness, you can cut down on lost productivity and man-hours lost to sick time by incorporating these quick cleaning measures.
